Colour Palettes Made Easy: Rosenow Floral Design

I came across a florist based out of San Francisco called, Rosenow Floral Design and I was drawn to how the owner effectively presented the endless colour options for floral arrangements.  The site offers viewers an artist-like colour palette for all to see and then provides corresponding floral categories for guests to browse.  The simplicity of her site makes it both enjoyable and easy to navigate  and the intricacy and texture in her arrangements were pleasing and attractive.   

Colour Palette (via Rosenow Floral Design)

Rosenow Floral Design (via Happy Hour Bride)

Rosenow Floral (via BoredIncDesign)

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

BED: Yifat Oren

What does an outdoor Paris themed wedding, Kevin Costner and a bento box full of bite sized desserts have in common?  The answer is Yifat Oren, the 14 year event designer based in Sherman Oaks, California.  

Her work was described in an article titled “Simply Sensational” by Natasha Garber for SpecialEvents.com as elegant, natural and whimsical, Yifat Oren’s events are a breath of fresh air.  After taking a good look through her portfolio on her website and other pictures I managed to find floating around on the net, I would describe her event aesthetic as not too over the top, classy, comfortable and well balanced.   Just the perfect mix for those who are looking to wow in an unobtrusive, understated way. 

My favourite event that Yifat put together is titled a Paris (my computer does not let me put accents on the “a” where it should be).   The elegant, Paris chic outdoor event is my vision of a perfect event.  Her Paris theme brings something out of the ordinary with its full Paris style furniture outdoors, a mix of modern and antique items and a peaceful looking ambiance. 

Second runner up for inspiration is Yifat’ bento box filled with bite-sized desserts.  I can’t begin to emphasize how easy and fun bite sized/passed desesrts are at a party.  They beat the full size desserts hand down!

Bento Box of Dessert (via yifat oren and associates)

Peacock Florals at A Paris outdoor wedding (via Yifat Oren Associates)

'a Paris' bar set up (via Glamnest)

'a Paris' outdoor wedding (via Yifat Oren Associates)

Rooftop Patio Party (via Yifat Oren and Associates)

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)

BED: Barbie’s 50th Birthday Bash

Today’s beautiful event design will go to the team involved with creating Barbie’s 50th Birthday Bash in Malibu.

From looking at the pictures on blog, Hostess with the Mostess and other sources, I can’t begin to tell you about all the fabulous details, colours, event ideas and food that went into the Mattel sponsored Barbie 50th birthday/anniversary party bash that was held at the Malibu mansion, but I will give you a brief synopsis:

Event Planner: The magical and world renowned, Colin Cowie

Interior Designer:  Home accessory style maker, Jonathan Adler

Interior by Jonathan Adler (photo via mawphoto)

Jonathan Adler Barbie Living Room (photo via mawphoto)

Key Event Ideas/Take-Aways:

1. Colour Theme: Pink, White and Black- repeated throughout the entire event in areas of interior decor, accessories, accents, food and beverages.

Centerpieces (photo via hostess with the mostess blog)

Barbie Party Cupcakes (photo via hostess with the mostess blog)

2.  Love the dessert table- particularly the pink marshmallows, graham cracker trays and barbie chocolate to make smores.

Colin Cowie designed dessert bar (photo via hostess with the mostess blog)

Barbie Party Smores Tray (photo via hostess with the mostess blog)

3.  Barbie Malibu Mansion living room chairs are adorned in some pretty funky looking graphics (looks like the many faces of Barbie)

4. Lighting- Lighting as a whole, can take an event to the next level (it can also have the opposite effect if done improperly).  The Barbie event had beams light hitting everything that was pink to give a romantic pink effect to the entire scene.  The lighting particulalry  did wonders to all the fuscia elements on site.

Barbie Mansion Day Time (photo via mawphotos)

Barbie Mansion Night Time for 50th Party (via hostess with the mostess blog)

Glassaware- Molo

As a constant entertainer their comes a time when you look at your portfolio of glassware and shake your head.  You are craving something new, something different, something that will have your guests talking for days.  If this is the case, look no further than Vancouver, Canada based design and manufacturing company Molo Design for some very modern and interesting pieces.

My two favourite glassware products of theirs (out of many- they have a substantial number of different designs) are FLOAT tea lantern:

Molo Float Tea Lantern

Second favourite: FLOAT red wine glasses.  Now to me, it looks like there is coffee or cafe late in the picture but I looked it up on the company website and it does indeed say red wine glasses. 

Molo Float red wine glass (picture from molo design)