stunning flower arrangement

No words to describe how stunning, yet simple this flower arrangement is by Nancy Chin in San Francisco (her main site can be accessed here)

myhkwedding.com

I lived in Hong Kong for a year and there is no shortage of parties and event resources in the city.

Should you ever have the opportunity to plan a wedding or party in the city that never sleeps, I would recommend checking out www.myhkwedding.com 

The site has tones of resources on flowers, venues, dresses, gifts and anything else you should need to pull off a successful party.

I would recommend looking at the florals from Kim Chan Flowers and Gary Kwok Flowers.

P&R Florals

I was involved in planning and executing a cocktail party for some friends from business school a couple weeks ago. 

In this post, I am going to share some of my experiences working with florists and of course show the finished product at the event. 

I think it is fair to say that when you are putting together a budget for an event, to estimate that florals will come in around 10% of your overall budget depending on how much you want. 

If you are doing a handful of arrangements and keeping the blooms in season, nothing too exotic, you can work with a $1500-$2000 budget or use the 10% rule of thumb for a high estimate.  That being said, if you look back at one of my older posts showcasing my favourite Brazilian event magazine, Fiesta, event florals like the ones in my post would cost upwards of $10,000, easy.   Mind you, the pictures I selected were extravagant and ornate and to show the beauty of what dreams are made with if you have a generous floral budget. 

The other important thing to remember is evaluating whether you can work with this individual, your florist.  Do your personalities mesh?  Do you trust that he or she interpret your creative vision?  I like the analogy of selecting a hair dresser.  Selecting a florist is a similar process to finding a great hair dresser, unless you are ripping out a photo from a magazine, handing it over and saying “recreate this” which is fairly unimaginative- when you work with a florist or a good hairdresser, you provide a bit of guidance, share your vision and the rest is up to the artist.  If you are nervous or unsure, ask for a mock-up a couple days before the event to allay your fears. 

In the case of the event I was involved with, the MOB had seen the work of Ingrid at Thirving Metropolis in Toronto and was comfortable with her aesthetic and design. 

The flowers and containers were followed the white and green, modern, loft theme for the night and   highlighted the loft space at Andrew Richards Designs very well. Overall, bride, groom and MOB were content!

floral arrangement by Thriving Metropolis and branches behind glass

Loft lounge area with flowers

bar floral arrangement

coffee table arrangement

bar arrangement

Brunch Formal Event

I will not hide my love of brunch.  I love brunch food, I love the time of day when people go for brunch and I love incorporating brunch into a formal event.   Holding a brunch event gives the host/hostess the flexibility to offer a wide variety of food (breakfast/lunch) and demands nothing but the utmost creativity to execute it well.  Thinking about how to dress up bagels and cream cheese is no simple feat but with the right flowers, dishes and lighting and you have the start of a dreamy, memorable party to share with friends and family.  I will mention that some people tout that holding a brunch event is a cost cutting measure due to lack of meat and day time event venue rental costs.  I disagree.  Depending on what type of event, quality of ingredients and decor you select, brunch events can have costs equal to those of a regular affair.

First- setting the mood with mood boards.  Here are some of my favourite that evoke class, beauty and peacefulness.

Brunch Event Board from Elizabeth Ann Designs

Champage Brunch Board from Maison Petite Blog

Now on to the food and drink presentation:
What brunch is complete without a mimosa bar?

Mimosa Bar from Eddie Ross

Brunch appetizers (mini open face sandwich rounds)

Brunch Appetizers from Intimate Weddings

Brunch bagels and pastries (aka brunch carbs!)

Brunch Carbs from Gourmet Gal

And last but not least, flowers.  Keep them fresh and interesting. Nothing too ornate that will overpower your table.  Here are some ideas:

Okay a bit over the top- but so beautiful and textured (from Kim Vallee)

Flower Board from Holland Flower Council (via Kim Vallee)

Creative Containers

I am in the process of working with a friend to help plan her cocktail party wedding reception.  The topic of flowers has come up several times in the past couple weeks and specifically about how to add colour to a room if you want to work with white or green flowers against a white backdrop. 

This prompted me to think of containers- a great and underutilized means to inject colour and draw attention to a focal point.  It is quite common to go for a clear glass container, a silver container or white porcelain. 

How about these alternatives I have found; everything from antique tins, to tea cups, coloured glass goblets to textured material:

Moss and Rose Centerpieces (photo credit marthastewartweddings)

Tea cup vase (photo credit Domino Magazine via Duet Weddings)

Antique Tin Vases (photo credit Domino via Duet Weddings)

Antique Tin's Martha Style (courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings)

Tinted Shot Glasses (via Duet Weddings)

Floral Centerpiece (via countryliving.com)

Bamboo containers (via style at home magazine)

Transatlantic Floral: UK company Mcqueens

My goal is to keep this blog as international as possible by featuring people who excel at creating beautiful events around the world. 

Today I would like to highlight UK based flower designer/company: Mcqueens.  Kally Ellis set up the company in 1991 with a mission to provide clients with simple, stylish flowers.  Not only has she more than accomplished her goal for the Clerkenwell-based shop  run with the Italian-born florist Ercole Marconi, Mcqueens has a global following, and provides arrangements for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Vanity Fair and the Tribeca Film Festival.  She has also expanded the company to offer an education component, Mcqueens Floristry School, stores, Mcqueens Flower Shop and the ever so lovely candles, McQ.

I find Mcqueens floral designs to be modern, bursting full of colour and elegant.  If you are lucky enough to reside in London, England and are in need of a florist- Mcqueens should definitately make your short list.

Enjoy some pictures:

Mcqueens Flower Shop (photo credit Mcqueens)

Mcqueens Focal Grouping of Flowers (photo credit Mcqueens)

Mcqueens Pink Hydraengea

Mcqueens Red Calla Lily and Rose Table (photo credit Mcqueens)

Mcqueens White Calla Lily Vase

Mcqueens Candle (photo credit Mcqueens)