Tropic of Flowers - San Gabriel, California

Hillary Noble

There are so many absolutely amazing aspects of working with Mari that it’s hard to know where to start. She is talented, kind, creative, a great communicator and listener, and just an all-around supportive and calming presence in the midst of wedding planning chaos.

My wife and I started the planning process knowing nothing about floral design — we had a vague vision and general flower types and colors we thought we liked, but not much else. From our very first conversation, Mari gently guided us through the entire process from start to finish and brought that vague vision to life in a way that was 1000% better than we ever expected or hoped! She went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect (including spray painting our ceremony arch in the days before our wedding since the color wasn’t quite right, spending hours on set-up and take-down on the hottest day of the season, and so much more). As a result, the flowers were a standout highlight of our wedding day. We could NOT get over how incredibly beautiful everything looked, from our bouquets to the ceremony installation to the tablescapes, and neither could our guests — they’re still raving about her work months later. (This sounds like an exaggeration, but it’s not.)

In addition to florals, Mari designed our invitations and welcome sign — which matched perfectly with our floral color palette — and was an advisor to us on so many other parts of the planning process, outside of florals and paper. Throughout the whole process, she was flexible and understanding about our budget, hardworking and committed to making our ideas a reality, and always fun to chat with and be around. We were truly stunned by how epic the flowers turned out on our wedding day, and we seriously can’t recommend Mari strongly enough, as a vendor and a human.

Devon Capizzi

Mari and her team were incredible to work with! My wife and I were planning a low key celebration following our private wedding ceremony, and Mari made the night and our venue space feel so special. We knew nothing about this process going into it, and it was so comforting to be able to trust Mari to take what little notes and preferences we had and really bring our vision to life! Her flowers, table dressings, and calm energy totally blew us away. We couldn't imagine working with anyone else!

Amanda Dembowski

I honestly cannot recommend Tropic of Flowers enough. Mari has a wonderful aesthetic and an eye for natural beauty. Her incredible botanical knowledge shines through in the gorgeous arrangements and installations she creates. Think: magical. Beyond that, she just a totally down-to-earth and lovely person. She brings genuine and sweet energy to the wedding process. She’s the best!

In regard to design, Marisa listened to my requests and really honed in my personal aesthetic. She hand-painted a gorgeous fern theme in watercolor which she used to design our invitation suite, menus, escort cards, table numbers, wine labels, and thank you cards. During the design process, she was extremely easy to communicate with and quick to adapt to my (often changing) requests. The end results were always *exactly* what I wanted. It was so special to have a wedding design that was truly our own.

Marisa also did our florals and went above and beyond. I requested a "magical, secret garden" feel and the effect was exactly that. We had hundreds carnations hand-sewed into garlands, floating from the center of the tent. Dramatic centerpieces, floral headpieces, and boutonnieres added to the magical, flowery feel. It was truly the secret garden of my dreams! I was completely blown away and so were my guests.

I really cannot recommend Mari enough. If you are looking for someone to make your dream wedding into a reality (and do it with joy), you've found her!

Sarah Buscho

Working with Mari was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. She is reliable, kind, works well under pressure, and we felt like all of the details were taken care of, so we didn’t have to worry. Instead we concentrated on having fun.

She is gifted with creativity, vision, and execution. She really listened to what was important to us and was able to translate that into real life. It’s not an exaggeration to say that our wedding would not have happened without her! She makes great decisions, has an incredible amount of vendor contacts and resources, and is a stress reducer to be around.

She kept everything on track, communicated with all of the different vendors and tied all the details together enabling our dream wedding to come to life. I couldn’t recommend her services highly enough – we did the whole package and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Lena Neufeld

Mari is the most talented florist I have ever encountered; and working with her was a highlight of my wedding. Flowers are extremely important to me and finding someone I could trust with this component of my wedding was crucial.  From the moment we started working, I was blown away.  The combination of her talent, skill, professionalism, and amazing personality was almost too good to be true. She brought clarity and depth to my vision.  And, of course, on the day of my wedding, my flowers were a dream come true.  I could not believe my eyes and I could not believe how full my heart was looking at them.  I cannot recommend Tropic of Flowers enough.  Whether you know exactly what you want, and need to find the person who can execute your vision, or you have no idea where to begin, and need a florist who can walk you step by step through the process, Mari is as good as it gets.