Oooooo! Flower School

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I want to go back to school. Well at least this school.

While traipsing around looking for something interesting to bring you for Flower Friday I ran across La Belle Ecole. Located in Paris, the school offers a variety of disciplines from cooking to painting but it was the floral design that caught my eye.

Offerings are set up as either 5 day intensive workshops or individual 2-3 hour classes. The workshops, called the Floral Art Week of The French include a field trip to the famed Rungis, the largest open air market in the world.. ~sigh~

I especially covet this one The Parisian Florist: Florist and Decorator, on June 30th. It covers Bouquets, window design and wedding flowers.

Enjoy the pretty slide show on both links. If you suddenly start dreaming in French, don’t blame me.

Vicki, if you are reading this, I can pack really quickly and my passport is in order.

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Mad about Green

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Maybe it’s the season, but I am suddenly mad about green. A pretty place to start to pick the colors for your wedding is to choose a base of one or two related greens, then add cream and an accent color for pop. You can almost not go wrong. This works especially well if you are planning an outdoor wedding.

For more inspiration, go to COLOURlovers and type green into the search box.

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Centerpieces for a Casual Wedding

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Last weekend was busy, busy. I wanted to share with you some shots from Friday night’s rehearsal dinner.

The goal was to have a casual country feel to the event. It was held in a beautiful location, the carriage house at Belle Meade Plantation. I know you wouldn’t think that using burlap for the table clothes would work for anything but in this setting it was spot on. Combined with the black chairs and black napkins it looked easy yet elegant. What do you think?

Vicki at Branching Out, along with the mother of the groom gathered a massive assortment of blue glass bottles and rustic lanterns. The vases were filled with simple individual stems to evoke a very ‘wildflower’ look and the lanterns withstood the strong breezes to add a bit of candle light. It was just perfect.

I particularly liked the use of mason jars for water glasses. I completed the look to give everyone a casual vibe to enjoy the late spring evening before the more formal events of the next day.

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Jenna Bush’s Wedding

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I don’t know if it’s all the politics I have been watching lately or the fact that the wedding is less than two weeks away, but I decided to pull together as many of the details of the up coming event in Crawford.

Yes, that’s right Crawford, TX is the site chosen by the couple. The First couple will be hosting an outdoor tented wedding at their home in Crawford. “I was raised in Texas and it just felt right,” Bush, 26, said of holding the festivities in the Lone Star State rather than the White House, according to The Washington Post, citing the upcoming issue of Vogue.

The 200 guests will attend an outdoor ceremony at 7:30 to avoid the Texas heat, then will retire to a seated dinner and dancing under the tent.

“It means a lot to Henry and me to be outdoors,” she’s quoted as saying. “We wanted something organic and low key.”

In keeping with the outdoor, Texas, organic theme, hotter than hot designer Lela Rose is creating knee length crinkle silk chiffon dresses. The 14 “house party” dresses are dotted with a hand done rosette and an antique silver sash. Each of the dresses will be a different color inspired by Texas wild flowers ranging from bluebonnet blue to a shade of Indian Paint Brush red. For Jenna’s twin, maid of honor Barbara, Rose has designed a moonstone blue silk shimmer soft long gown with a fluted open back. It will have the same sash as the “house party” to tie it all together.

The bride will wear a custom gown by Oscar de la Renta, long a favorite of not just Jenna but a slew of White House residents before her. Miss Bush describes the gown as a very structured organza gown with embroidery and a bit of matte beading and a bit of a train.

No news of what Mrs. Bush will wear. It is said that she and Jenna have done all the planning on the wedding themselves rather than hire a wedding planner.

The engagement ring features a round diamond, an heirloom of her fiancé Henry Hager’s family, and two sapphires.

source source


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Habitat for Humanity

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Last Sunday just before the crack of dawn, they assembled. Groggy from weddings and parties the night before, the members of The Tennessee Wedding and Events Specialists Association traded their pearls and heels and other wedding day finery to don jeans and muddy work boots. Did I say muddy? Make that extremely muddy. They turned out in mass to pitch in on the build of a Habitat for Humanity house.

Each year TWESA picks a philanthropic cause to champion as a way to give back to our community. This year we chose Habitat and are we ever glad we did. It turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences we have ever participated in.

We were involved in one of the biggest build days in Nashville history. There were sixteen houses going up simultaneously. TWESA managed to break a few records for build teams. We had the most participants show up for a build ever and we hung the cabinets in the kitchen in 90 minutes; usually a four hour task. Woo Hoo! What can you expect; we are after all a bunch of over-achievers.

Add to that the amazing job our caterers did. Now think about it, when you put the finger on some of the top caterers in the city to feed a hungry work crew they tend to go a bit over the top. So much so that we started inviting the work crews from the surrounding houses to join our feast. They thankfully accepted.

To really get the full picture, check out the images a couple of our photographers took for us. (Now you just knew these guys wouldn’t be able to leave their gear at home) Dave Pavol was our official photographer; you can view his images here. David Wright joined the mix. That is his image above and there are more on his blog.

If you are a member of a wedding related organization let me know about your philanthropic works. I’ll spread the word.

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Terri Hilferty and 2 Be Brides

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What a weekend! Dear, dear friend of the Dish Terri Hilferty was in town this weekend and what fun we had. Terri is the designer behind the 2Be Brides line and was in town to showcase her designs at a Trunk Show at Arzelle’s.

On Friday night after a long afternoon of finding just the right gown for the brides at Arzelle’s, Courtney Hammon and I showed off Nashville to Terri and her hubs David. Terri is such a big fan of Nashville that she is having the national meeting of her 2Be Salons here this summer.

Saturday I headed down to see the samples for the Fall 2008 collection myself. Oh my! Such pretty lace and stunning embroidery. One gown in particular just blew me away, in oyster and ivory with triple bands of ribbon and the most beautiful beaded sheer fabric layered over the top. It won my heart; not that I will need a wedding gown in the foreseeable future but still it was so yummy. Even Arzelle’s owner Bonnie Boone tried to get me to try it on. Another favorite is the all lace gown that Terri is helping a bride with in the collage below. I wish you could see the back, the dress itself is cut a bit low in back but the lace goes to the neck making a very pretty look.

For those that don’t know, 2Be is a private line that is only sold through a select group of some of the best salons in the country. Terri gets together with her salons twice a year to find out exactly what their brides are looking for and designs accordingly. So you see, this line really is designed with the bride in mind. To take a look at the full collection or find the salon nearest you check out the 2Be website. While your there sign up for their newsletter; you may just find the writing familiar. Wink.

edited to add: For my UK readers I believe the line is called Serafina over there. It is handled through Mon Cheri.

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A Moment with Tara Guerard

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As promised I sat down for a chat with Tara Guerard yesterday. Author of the beautiful book Southern Weddings and CEO/ mastermind of Soiree, Inc, she is a planner, designer and consultant specializing in extraordinary events.

The main purpose of my interview was for an article for my website, Think Like A Bride. Still, I couldn’t have this talented of a mind to pick and not get at least a bit for my dear brides.

Since I know this is something brides struggle with as they plan their wedding I asked Tara about establishing a theme for your events. In Tara’s words

“A theme is what brings cohesion to an event. The more of a recurring theme; the more of a statement is made.”

I asked Tara how she found the ideas for these cohesive threads that would tie her events into the beautiful packages that they are. Tara quite simply works to uncover her clients personality; their identity. Taking her cues from the tangible bits they have given her she then

“Clearly states their identity with visual images”

Sometimes you have to find a jumping off point. One bride she spoke of told her little else than that she liked all different colors and couldn’t decide on colors for her wedding and the flowers she liked best were Gerber daisies. Tara went on to build a entire look around gerbers in an array of beautiful colors, even using the image of a gerber daisy on the paper wardrobe. The bride was surrounded by bright colorful things that she loved. Perfect.

The other point Tara emphasized is that by carrying the same cohesive theme from save the dates through to the reception you were giving your guest a clear image of what to expect at the event. One of the hallmarks of a true hostess is thinking first and foremost about your guests comfort. By letting them know with visual cues the feel of your event in advance they will be all the more comfortable at the event. For instance, if you send out very formal invitations to your wedding your guests are likely to take that as a cue that you are planning a formal event. What a shame when they show up terribly over dressed to find a casual outdoor affair!

It is about cohesion. It is about that single ribbon that ties it all together. It is about finding a visual way to express your unique identity. Really, it does make it all so much easier.

Pick up a copy of Tara’s book to see just what a difference it can make.

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What Color is My Wedding? II

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I spent some time catching up on the posts to Wedding Bee and the Wedding Plans group on Live Journal. I kept hearing a recurring theme. “I can’t decide on the colors for my wedding”

I suggested in a previous post that you look in your closet because chance are good that you buy clothes in colors you like that also look good on you. You do want to be surrounded on you wedding day by colors you love that also look good on you, right?

Here is another thought to ponder: go where the graphic designers go. These are 2 of my favorites. Lots of inspiration.

Kuler from Adode

ColourLovers Color+ Design Community for Creative Inspiration This is also a great source for patterns

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