I found my Florist and absolutely love her.  Her shop is in Chula Vista (right by my house), she has very reasonable prices, years of experience, and is a lovely person that makes you feel like an important bride... and not just another client. 

Her work won the '09 Best Flowers in San Diego area from 10News.  Take a look http://kgtv.cityvoter.com/tessilk-flowers/biz/367469

Here's her website.  It's filled with endless pictures of her work.  www.tessilkflowers.com

After reading through the threads and seeing some of the budgets out there I came to realize that the only way to meet my flowers budget would be to DIY... after meeting with Tess, I can't wait to sign a contract.  She is within my budget and is a pleasure to work with.  Most importantly, I don't have to DIY anymore. 

Tess squeezed me into an appointment that canceled and took her time with me.  She did not rush me and told me not to be scared.  To tell her what I "wished for" and that we would make it work.  We chatted for over an hour about my vision.

She is going to have a mock up centerpiece for me by the end of the year.  I will post as soon as I get it.  She offered to make it this week but I will be going out of town. 

P.S. She did my moms wedding and everything was beautiful.  Tess was also highly recommended by a friend of mine that uses her for every occasion (her own wedding, baby showers, parents anniversaries, etc.).  I'll post pics of my moms wedding soon.

        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EDIT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          That's her (left) MY CENTERPIECE (center) & me (right)

Here is my mom's lovely bouquet!!!  It was stunning and perfect for her garden wedding =)

Here are some of her ceremony flowers...

Awesome! I'll check her out! I was going to DIY all the flowers too but my fiancee actually had to stop me. I would totally be stressing out the night before our wedding and probably still be doing them the day of

Here is my mock up centerpiece with the stand I had specially made from this inspiration photo... 

My color is Peach!!! Picture from phone so not the best.  I love them!

Wow, it's really nice! How much is she charging you for if you don't mind me asking?

My budget is coming in under 2k.  I really recomend setting up an appointment with her and someone else (I also checked out Flower Wholesale) to compare prices. 

I'm using Tessilk also - definitely a budget-friendly vendor with high-end quality.

deelim ;)  ...isn't she the nicest ever!  I live right by her shop.  Let me know when your in the area. 

Hmmmm... I know you posted this a long time ago, but Im considering looking into them.

pinkpan - where did you buy your crystals for your BEAUTIFUL cp??

CheekyMar

The crystals are from Michael's w/ a coupon. They come in different sizes and I tied them to fishing string. 

...BUT I found a place where they sell wedding stuff/silk flowers and they sell a larger pack (all the same size) for about $5-6.  I don't know the name of the place though.  It's off of I-5 way down south by where I live.  Let me know if you're interested still.  Maybe I can swing by for them and meet up w/ you when you visit Tess.   

Make sure to make an appoinment with her becuase she is soooo busy :)

P.S.  they are plastic crystals (hehehe plastic crystals...sounds funny)