Spring Centerpieces Part 1

Spring is here!

New Yorkers are still getting quite a bit of rain but according to the news this morning this long holiday weekend should be beautiful. I am heading out to my best friend Vicente Wolf’s house in Montauk and can’t wait to get there. We of course will be having some fabulous dinner parties and I wanted to share the centerpiece that I will be creating.




I love this centerpiece because it is easy to create and looks modern and elegant at the same time. I like to use plexi-glass or glass for my containers for this because it adds another visual dimension, but it is not necessary.


What you will need
o plexi-glass containers any size or shape but make sure it as least about 3 to 5 inches deep
o clump moss or moon moss
o flowers of your choice- in my opinion orchids work the best
o water

Put a small amount of water in the bottom of your container and then add your moss. At this point you can also put some water into a spray bottle and mist the top of the moss to make the green really come out.

Then take your orchids and cut them down to size make sure you leave the stem long enough to drink the water at the bottom of the container. Now just play around with where you insert your orchids to find the perfect balance

I had added a few baby sprigs of green hydrangea that we had laying around. This was a last minute addition and as you can see it really makes it pop!
I encourage you to do experiment with what you have around the house or in the garden. You will find the more you experiment the better combos you will produce.



This centerpiece should last 3-5 days and maybe even longer don’t forget to keep watering it. If you do wish to have it last this long make sure you are using hearty flowers such as orchids or roses. If you only need it for a day or two you can use more delicate flowers like sweet peas or lilies of the valley.

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day!

I know many of my blog readers are in the wedding industry or thinking about getting into it, if you are definitely check out the site below.

http://www.engagingconcepts.com/index.html

I believe it is the first of its kind, a business to business consulting for the wedding industry on a global scale. They say it best so I am going to steal their quote

“Quite simply – no one understands the "ins and outs" of this lucrative but constantly changing and super competitive market better than we do.”
Which is absolutely the truth; just take a look at who the founder is! Rebecca Grinnals! That woman is a genius!

“Prior to creating Engaging Concepts, Rebecca co-founded Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons for The Walt Disney Company, and spent ten years developing the concept into an unprecedented success. She directed the complete branding strategy, development and implementation of the program, building it into almost a $100 million per year business for Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and the Disney Cruise Line. These efforts resulted in over 18,000 weddings and the coveted status for Disney as the # 1 Domestic Honeymoon Destination. “

Rebecca has set up her first B2B conference which I am thrilled to be a part of along with Rebecca and other experts. Check out the details on http://www.engage08.com/

Hope to see you there. I guarantee it will be worth your time.
I am really so impressed by Rebecca and her goldmine of knowledge and willingness to share to with others, where was she when I first started!

Recent Travels

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been so long since my last post- I have been traveling for work which I am excited to tell you about

First destination Jakarta, Indonesia.
This was my first time to Jakarta and it is amazing! The people are so incredibly nice, the food is out of this world and the ladies are extremely fashionable not to mention drop dead gorgeous.

My team and I stayed at the Dharmawangsa Hotel which is an absolute luxury. The smell of fresh jasmine lingers through the entire hotel becasue they have it everywhere - below is an image of the jasmine in my room. As you can see the jasmine they have there is completely different than what we usually get in the states.




They also have these vibrant fruits int the hotel - my team and I had never seen them before but loved the way the looked.

My room was fabulous I wanted to magically pack it up and take it home with me. This boutique hotel is a must if you are ever in Indonesia and want to be treated like royalty. We actually stayed a day longer then scheduled because none of us wanted to leave.
http://www.the-dharmawangsa.com/


I went to Jakarta for 2 reasons one to launch Preston Bailey Asia and secondly an opportunity came up where I was able to collaborate with my new favorite designer
BIYAN! You must all check him out his collections are pieces of art!
http://www.biyan.com/


It is Biyan’s 25th anniversary in the business and to celebrate this milestone we threw the fashion show of a lifetime. It was Marie Antoinette inspired as you can see. The models actually walked down a wedding cake onto the runway which was an extravagant dinner table.

anbout 1,500 people came to the show and you could hear their gasps as each wedding dress came down the runway.

what did I tell you they are stunning gowns!

Here I am with Biyan on the left and the fabulous Editor-In-Chief of Harper's Bazaar Indonesia, like I said so chic!




After Jakarta it was off to London for the Covent Garden Spring Renaissance Launch.
As I am sure you all know Covent Garden is one of the most famous flower markets, understandably I was very excited about this opportunity.

I decided a good way to represent Spring would be through a living sculpture and of something that represents renewal and beauty, which to us is peacocks.

I do floral sculptures all the time for my clients and they are always a hit so I thought it would so fun to do a public sculpture, but make it out of all potted plants so it was living and would last and grow for a month.

Here I am checking on my birds!

Here is a close up of the potted flowers, I cant wait to see what they look like in a month!




I loved watching people interact with the sculptures- especially this little guy

I am very excited about the doing more public installations in the future I will keep you all posted.

In London we stayed in the Covent Garden Hotel – another beautiful boutique hotel with customer service like I have never seen and a wonderful tea service.
http://www.firmdale.com/index.php?page_id=9