Floral Design Classes and... Pearls!!!

Hello Everyone,
I am back with some fun news and some pictures of a wedding I designed while I was gone so long from Blog land.
First the fun news....   I am starting up my floral design classes again!

The picture above is from a photo shoot I did not too long ago. I am letting the cat out of the bag by showing you the image, hope I don't see it all over Pinterest in the next month.  I am trying to hold the rest of the amazing pictures for later publication!

I used to teach these several years ago and had great success with it.  My clients loved it and ended up making beautiful arrangements that I could have used in any wedding.  I am super excited to teach these again and especially to hold them on the ranch where I live.  I have a lovely compound with a prop warehouse, work studio and beautiful grounds.  We will create in the garden using some of the herbs and flowers I grow.  Each class will have a unique style with music, food and wine befitting the theme of the (I find wine always inspires the muse to greatness!).   I will also create and then discuss setting a magical environment in which we showcase our beautiful creations.
Imagine getting our of your car on this beautiful ranch and in addition to the sounds of the surf in the distance you are greeted by French cafe music.  You look over at the garden and set in amongst the flowers are barn wood tables with all your tools laid out ready for you to design.  Also on these tables are crockery, urns and platters from which to choose to design your masterpiece on.  Laid out in front of you is a mini flower shop with an abundance of beautiful blooms all for you to play with!  Tucked in a little corner of the garden is a beautiful bistro table set with fresh baked bread, local cheeses, olive oil and French wine for our pleasure as we create. I am so excited!!!

Also another fun and related tid bit is....(drumroll please)....  I am very close to launching my series of Floral Design Videos.  I filmed these a while back and am now compiling them into two videos which will show you all you need to know to create beautiful floral arrangements of your very own!  Now no matter where you are you can take classes from me (you have to supply the wine and cheese though). Lots of fun projects for me to play with in the Summer (along with weddings!).

So... speaking of weddings,  here is quite a beauty to show you.

This couple makes their living as pearl dealers in Hong Kong.  They wanted to keep the style and feel of the wedding around the ocean and pearls.  

They had a fresh seafood bar for the cocktail hour which of course was set right on the beach.  

Those are the escort cards on either side of the barn.  They are pined on two large burlap boards.

The main curtains at the entrance are tied back with flowers.  Soooo pretty!

Close ups of the flower tie backs.

This was the couples "love" seat.

The bride made this head table runner.  It was exquisite!

The tables were a study in textures and layers.  They had a base cloth of Irish linen then one of my vintage lace over lays then a runner of natural silk.  

The flowers were a dreamy blend of Roses, dish plate Dahlias, Anemones, Stock, Peonies and Dusty Miller.  The palette was so soft and lovely and reminiscent of the beach.

We also had small silver and glass dishes of Blueberries scattered around for a 

lovely midnight blue touch.

We also used real pearls throughout the centerpieces!!!  They gave me a huge box of pearls to play with, unfortunately totally inventoried so I had to give them all back.

However this lovely bride and groom gave the wedding coordinator (Tonya Szele of Soigne Productions) and I the most BEAUTIFUL necklace of Tahitian black pearls!!!!!!!  I have had some incredible thank you gifts and tips in the past but this one is right up there at the top!

This bride and groom were so generous... believe it or not they also gave every guest a strand of pearls as a party favor (beats candy almonds don't you think!!!).  

The tables were named after locations where they get their pearls.

They had a beautiful lounge.  I love the mixture of elegant furniture set on hay in a barn!

And of course... chandeliers!

They also had a fun photo area.  We set a beautiful chair in a picturesque corner of the barn then hung a frame in front of it.  The camera was set back a bit so people could get their picture taken and have the frame as the border of the picture.  They also have some fun props for their guests to play with.

Here is the idea... thats me

The props

The desert table was truly spectacular!

It was such a beautiful wedding!  I so love doing what I do!!!

Blessings to you!

Tricia

The French Country Wedding and.... African Drumming?!?

Hello my blog friends.  It has been a while since I last wrote.  My wedding season has kicked in and then add some photo shoots and life in general and I have been a busy girl.  I have enjoyed being super creative lately.  In addition to everything above I have been painting too.  Goodness but it is good to find me after all the heartache of the last year and a half.  I am discovering parts of myself that got left behind years ago.  I am amazed at how I slowly changed over the years of my marriage, and not really for the better.  I wasn't asked to change, it just sort of happened.  I stopped nurturing my dreams and inner creative voice.  I stopped living fully.  I lost myself in the marriage and lived through my husband more that through and for me.  Definitely not a healthy way to be and not good for my marriage!!!!  Well, I am happy to say that is no longer true!  In the last 6 months or so I am truly expanding into my own sense of self...   of who I am and what I love.  I am remembering activities that I used to love and discovering new ones.   I remembered that I adored painting and I am making sure that I paint regularly now.  I am careful not to allow the days weeks to just waist away.  I try to live fully...  right now... this very minute...  creating often, trying new things and just having fun!  I forgot how much I love music.  I had let that part of me go too.   Now I have the stereo on all the time and am dancing through the house.  I also really got crazy and started drumming!  I have always loved the sound of African drums since I was a little girl, they stir something deep inside of me.  I found an amazing group of dancers and drummers that have been a part of Santa Barbara for years.  They are called Panzumo and every year they are a huge part of our local Summer Solstice parade.  Well, yours truly will be one of the drummers in the parade banging away on my Djembe African drum.  I cannot tell you the thrill I feel hearing the sound of 20 or so drummers all on the same rhythm giving it their all as the dancers get lost in the beat.  I could go for hours and not get tired.  I think it is part of our genetic code and triggers ancient memories.    It is incredible!  Well, anyway suffice it to say that I am having a blast living my life.  It is GOOD!

So today I will show you all the pictures of the French Country Wedding shoot that was recently published in French Country Magazine.  The photographer is my friend Shirlie Kemp who is truly a gifted photographer and artist.  It was a pleasure to work with her and her daughter Harley Moon and her friend Haley.  All of them are superb photographers and such fun!  I blogged about this shoot earlier here but now I can show you the rest of the pictures.  There are tons so get ready!  It was all shot in the Avocado orchard right next to my house.  The models if you can believe it are all my neighbors that live on the ranch (except for the flower girl who is a friend of my BFF and lives in Santa Barbara).  Almost all the props are from my Vintage Vignettes prop business.  The table, chairs and some of the dishes are from Town and Country, a great party rental company!  The flowers were generously donated by my wholesale flower company called Florabundance.  They are absolutely lovely and make my weddings and shoots so beautiful!  So many beautiful goodies...  Enjoy!

The check in area where the guests would get their table assignments was set up like a French Laundry with old galvanized containers stuffed with flowers and vintage whites hanging in the trees.

Below is the "guest card table" where they got their seat assignments.

Their names were attached to French milled soaps set in a bed of lavender.

Above, vintage lace table cloths.

French toil quilts in a vintage laundry bin.  Great to have available so the guests can spread them out on the ground for late night cozy visiting.

Our little French ring bearers.

Can you believe all these beautiful people are my neighbors!!!???  This is truly a magical ranch!

Above is the ring bearer's bucket.  So much more masculine that I pillow I think.

Above, The bouquet had Scabiosa pods, garden Roses, Wax Flower, and Thistle.

The bridesmaid's bouquet was a bundle of blue Muscari surrounded by grass that was blunt cut.

Below is the appitizer table with French baguettes, cheese and fruit, and iced lemonade-tea.  After the shoot we scarfed it all down  : )

All these pieces are my props from Vintage Vignettes.  

Above, In addition to the soaps that the guest's names were tied to, the party favors were small bottles of Olive Oil.  The label said in French "Cook with Love".

The table was set in one of the rows in the orchard.

The chairs, linens, silver ware, the white plates and all the glass ware were from Town and Country, an absolutely wonderful party rental company!

The benches and sofas are mine from Vintage Vignettes.  The red toil dishes are also mine.

The napkins were dish towels wrapped with yarn and a sprig of Lavender.

Well thank you for sticking through all the way to the end... that was a lot of pictures!!!

I will be back before too long with several shots of recent weddings.

Blessings to everyone!!!

Tricia