Best of 2008

At the end of every year, I like to take a day and reflect on the good and the bad that has occured over that past 365 days. 2008 was an incredible year for Mocha Rose and honestly, I could only come up with one item that fit in the bad category. The one negative part of our business is that we cannot accommodate every wedding and event that comes our way. Quality and service are extremely important and we have always limited the amount of work we take on in a week for this reason. In the Spring of 2009, we are adding additional staff and will be expanding our space so that we won't have to turn as many weddings and events away.

Enough of the bad...

Now I want to share the good of 2008 and what made it to be such an amazing year. I'm also sharing my favorite designs and images that we've collected along the way.

I continually tell people that I have the best job in the world. Sure it requires a lot of last minute work, long hours and stress, but the reward is that I get to use my creativity and am constantly surrounded by beautiful flowers, places and people. My job over that past year has taken me everywhere from Heinz Field to The Zoo to pretty much every country club, historical site and museum in Pittsburgh.

I have met some of the most amazing people and have been able to be a part of one of the most important days of their lives. Some of my clients families have welcomed me as if I was one of their own. Some of my brides have become good friends that I know I will see throughout the years.

I have been at over 100 weddings in the past few years and it is still hard to fight the tears when I send one of my brides down the aisle.

Perhaps the biggest change here at Mocha Rose was when we moved into our new design studio on Penn Ave in Bloomfield in March. This place is a second home to me. I love the East End and enjoy watching the area change and thrive on a weekly basis. I love that I'm 5 minutes from downtown, Oakland and my two favorite cupcake shops (Vanilla Pastry Studios and Dozen). I'm excited to see what the opening of the new Children's Hospital will bring in the spring of 2009.

I plan on being in the East End for quite a few years.

In August of 2008, we welcomed Andrew onto our staff. If I could have designed the perfect employee, it would be Andrew. Where my talents lacked, Andrew excelled and he has helped me bring Mocha Rose to a whole new level. He makes work fun. When he leaves us to attend Parsons School of Design and Andrew Nordin becomes a household name with his signature cocktail dresses, there will be some tough shoes to fill over here at Mocha Rose.

Click on his website and you'll see what I mean:

www.andrewnordin.com

And he better send me some of his dresses...

I love that every single client I have worked with is unique. Our clients are modern and stylish and I love how much they like to think outside of the box. Even though we may work in the same venue five or more times throughout the year, each event looks incredibly different.

I love that my clients trust my creativity and are constantly finding new ways to challenge me. I think I would get bored if every wedding looked the same.

In 2008, we saw a lot of color.

We worked with beautiful people with beautiful ideas.

We got to play in the water.

We learned that lily of the valley smells a bit more heavenly in October.

We learned that we love moss.

We still think that peonies are nature's most perfect flower.

We were on a salad kick for awhile. (Though the cupcakes won in the end.)

We played in the water... a lot.

Yes, 2008 was a beautiful year.

On that note, we have chosen to spend the rest of 2008 with our families over the holidays who have missed us during the busy wedding season.

Mocha Rose will be closed from December 23rd-January 5th.

We will have limited access to phone and email during this time but will get back to everyone as soon as we return.

Happy Holidays!

Thank you for an incredible year.

-april