Notable Kitchen Tour

Enjoyed decorating a lovely home for the tour yesterday! Nice to work together with a wonderful group of people to support the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was a great day of food, decor and flowers, of course!

Happy New Year!

Even though I've been decorating events for many years, every now and then I'm still surprised by something new. Usually the main person I'm consulting with in deciding the decoration for a wedding is the bride. Sometimes her mother, a bridesmaid or fiancé will give some input, but mostly the bride is the driving force.

Although one of the last weddings we decorated in 2012 was organized by only the groom! The bride was in South America – where they will have a second wedding at a later time. For the stateside celebration it was left all to the groom, with a few guiding emails from the bride.

In making the affair to be to her liking he made great efforts. So, I was happy to help him with suggestions for details he hadn't considered. In the end everything worked out beautifully. I hope that this year holds even more such interesting and pleasant surprises! 

 The following is his letter to me.
 

"I want to express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation for the beautiful floral arrangements at my wedding.  They received numerous compliments from (very discerning) members of both families, and I thought the altar table was perfect.  Thank you for helping to make your first 'groom-only' client successful in his wedding planning endeavors.  (The Bride) adored the bouquet."

Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday and you are all recovering from your turkey comas!

FALLING FOR FALL

I love the Fall! I love the slight chill in the air, pulling on the first pullover of the season and the homey scents of fireplaces, apples and fallen leaves. I also love decorating events using rich autumnal colors - fiery Reds, Deep Burgundies and Purples, vibrant Oranges and Yellows and even Naturals and Browns. Yes, you can still decorate your wedding in light pink if you wish. But if you're inclined, embracing some of the colors of the season is also very pleasing.

Classic flowers we utilize throughout the year - Roses, Calla Lilies, Hydrangeas - in autumnal tones can lend themselves to a more more refined or lush look, especially in combination with beautiful Damask linens and sumptuous candlelight. Or you can have a more homespun feel by incorporating flowers such as Dahlias, Sunflowers and Mums, perhaps in vintage pitchers or mossy Terra Cotta pots.

Also, not to get too kitschy, but it's sometimes fun to tastefully incorporate pumpkins or gourds into the decoration. Maybe not necessarily with each centerpiece – although we have done arrangements in actual pumpkins! But utilized as groupings with column candles on window sills, with votive candles on cocktail tables or around the base of a Place Card Table arrangement can work well.

For more interesting textures a nice touch is to include some pretty, little Seckle pears, Persimmons or Berries into arrangements or as accents. Naturally colored Oak leaves, various pods and Rose hips can also be unexpected and attractive additions to the mix. Although, I might not use all these elements at once. One or two in a few key places gives a nod to the season without being overwhelming. And I would definitely take pause with corn husks, bunches of Indian corn and bales of straw - unless your party's theme actually is a hoedown. Then by all means, dosey doe!

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BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG WEDDING!

Amongst all the possible elements decorating your event – beautiful florals, attractive linens, opulent table settings – lighting is often an afterthought. Or even worse, overlooked all together. This is a huge mistake, as proper lighting can really set the mood and elevate the entire look of a room. Let's put it this way. How do you feel on a veranda on a sunny afternoon? How do you feel at a special candlelit dinner? How do you feel in an office with fluorescent lighting? More than likely your venue will not have fluorescent lighting. But if it does – change venues immediately!

Perhaps your event will be held during daylight hours outside or in a room that lets in good light. Then you don't have to do anything - but pray for sunlight! But it's always important to at least consider what light you have at your site, natural or otherwise. Viewing your site at the same time of day as when your event is to be held and at the same time of year is best. You can then determine whether you will need to add any candles or special lighting. See if there is any already available, like uplighting on columns around the room or existing pinspotting.

What is pinspotting you ask? Pinspotting is when lights (either permanently mounted on the ceiling or that have to be brought in and mounted on stands) are directed right on your centerpieces. Generally there should be two lights on tall centerpieces and one on low ones. And candlelight should still be incorporated on your tables. Other key areas, like your place card table and cake table, are also usually pinspotted, as well as having a gentle light wash over your dance floor. You could even have a custom gobo made (like perhaps your monogram) to be projected on the dance floor.

If you have your heart set on just a candlelit event make sure of your venue's open flame policy. Some venues will allow real flame, but enclosed within a holder. Other venues, like museums and galleries, will not permit any flame whatsoever. So, if your venue does not allow any real flame an alternative could be using LED votive candles - some even flicker a little. Static LED lights, which come in a variety of colors, can also be attractive.

I recently incorporated LED lights into arrangement designs at a low light site with no flames permitted and no pinspotting to be utilized either. Because the theme color was red I nestled several red lights amongst glass beads that filled tall glass cylinders. It gave a soft, glowy look that didn't look gimmicky or detract from the florals placed on top of the cylinders. For the cocktail tables I put individual lights in small cylinders also filled with glass pebbles, each with a single flower tucked in. I think it was a fun way to add a needed bit of warm light to the room. But no matter what tack you take, specialty lighting, hanging lanterns or an array of candles, just be sure to consider your lighting options. And as they say, let there be light!