The Savage Garden

Here is a shot of a Chuppah I created for a Valentyine’s Day wedding. Initially I was not thrilled about the bride’s request to add tuel to this design, but I found a way to use it like clouds in the trees and ended up loving it. I hope you do too.

Wedding Bouquets 

Ninety five percent of wedding bouquets continue to be the “hand-tied” style, where the flowers are gathered together and the stems are wrapped in stain ribbon or some other coordinating material. For a more natural look I have used burlap ribbon, raffia, and even fresh sheet moss as a ribbon wrap. Granted the fresh sheet moss takes some getting used to as it feels moist, but for the bride who wants an earthy natural feel it’s perfect. With the popularity of beach and garden-style weddings, brides wanting a more rustic and natural look to their bouquet add elements such as shells, feathers, berries, seed pods, interesting dried forest lichen, or pinecones…nature’s beauty knows no bounds and is infinitely interesting when you bring it into focus. For the bride wanting a glamorous feel, add beads, antique brooches, rhinestone pins, monogrammed ribbon, and even fabric left over from your dress alteration to dress up plain ribbon-wrapped stems and blooms.  

Flowers

Roses are the tried and true flower of choice for bridal bouquets, and for good reason. Growers are offering more and more varieties each year; some with subtle differences in character, like ruffled petals, or more dramatic offerings that actually look like peonies.

If roses aren’t your cup of tea, there are a multitude of choices. Varieties of Lilies, Peonies, Hydrangeas, Tulips and Orchids are a popular choice, but why not make a unique and delicate statement with a bouquet of pristine white anemones or rustic mini sunflowers. Arrangements with a just-picked and looser casual look have replaced the more tightly-bound bouquet shapes of previous seasons. Vivid flower colors remain popular in 2010.

Corsages

More and more mothers are carrying small posies instead of wearing the traditional corsage. They watched as their mothers endured enormous bouquets ruined delicate silk dresses and are opting to carry something instead. If you prefer a corsage, the number one comment I get from women is that they are too heavy; so I see a trend towards smaller, delicate corsages that accents, but doesn’t take away from the dress.

I’ll post more about 2010 trends that I predict and what some other wedding blogs are seeing for the coming year. Happy New Year everyone!

A few years ago, I had a revelation.

Since the first time I studied Leonardo da Vinci I was convinced I wanted to be a renaissance man. To that end I became consumed with learning, and have since become what I refer to as lifetime learner. After all, if we stop learning, what’s really the point of living?

My revelation came when one day I realized that I had devoted a great deal of time, energy, and ambition to nurturing my relationships, my spirituality, and my thirst for knowledge, but had let my professional life drift unattended for years. This lead me to an observation about Leonardo and conversely about myself. Leonardo da Vinci was a genius (which I am not), but the quality that propelled him and all other successful people was “focus”.

We’ve all seen it before; the people who knew they wanted to be a doctor, dancer, or actress since childhood and grew up to become exactly that. Every child fantasizes about what they want to be or do when they ”grow up”. But it’s the rare child/person who is able to maintain an idea of what they envision in a consistent enough way to actually create that life for themselves. This, I discovered, is my simple challenge – Maintain a consistent focused idea of areas of your life that you wish to create in a certain way. But that alone is “wishful thinking”; not entirely powerless, but incomplete.

Many of us already express this type focus in a destructive way by worrying about things we cannot control, or believing  people who tell us something is impossible or destined to fail. By doing that we create “destructive” focus. A spiritual teacher once told me that the law of attraction is not magic. When we hold a concept or idea of ourselves and our world in our consciousness we take actions based on that belief. This is how we create our dreams, through thought ” followed” by action.  The trick is discovering your gift, finding a path to express it, and staying on that path. Will you stray as you explore? Of course. If balance were easy everyone would do it.

Christmas is upon us once again and it’s time to haul out the usual red gold and green…or is it? I think the New Kids on the Block may have said it best, “We got a funky, funky Christmas goin on.”

I think it’s a safe assumption that those who have fewer Christmases in front than behind them tend to lack the same zeal for decorating as those who are “less experienced” with the holiday. Well, I’m here to tell you that whether you saw the birth of the aluminum Christmas tree or you are buying holiday decor for the first time, there is more out there now than ever to let you express you own inner Christmas child than ever. No, I’m not suggesting that you wear Christmas tree skirts as ponchos, rent a limo, and go bar hopping like we did last year….although it did improve the holiday mood.

All you have to do is look at current fashion trends and you’ll see unique color combinations that can easily translate to your holiday decor. Any decor professional worth their salt will be able to hook you up with the personalized look you seek….and much of it is on sale right now. So if you haven’t already pulled this years Christmas look together, how about starting early for next year. Think how much fun it will be to open new Christmas decor “before” Christmas….hello?!? Double Christmas!

Have a great holiday season everyone!!

When it comes down to it, we all want to live the best life that we possibly can. Oprah Winfrey believes in this concept so strongly that she has made it her company’s guiding mission. For those who know me, you know that I believe my best life is lived to the limit. This is not to say I live dangerously, but rather exploring the limits that we place on ourselves and discovering ways to make it bigger, more grand, spectacular…OUTRAGEOUS!

I have created this blog to explore “what’s next” in the wedding and event decor world. I will be displaying not only my own recent work, but will feature co-vendors in the event industry who share my passion for living life to it’s absolute fullest; those who are passionate about their craft and have found ways to express their own uniqueness through their art.  So stay tuned everyone, this is going to be fun!!