An Early Fall Affair

Side-note: Let's start by ignoring the fact that my last post was in April of this year, and jump into the fact that fall is almost among us! (Let's just say that I only blog if the temperature is tolerable....tolerable enough to sit inside and type).  

Anyways, what better way to kick off a new season than with a post about a wedding, the ultimate celebration, starting point, and new beginning. I was fortunate enough to be asked to help Anna Gregory with the flowers for her wedding this past weekend. Now, Anna is unlike any other bride we have ever worked with...as in the coolest, laid back bride (and person) that I know. If I were to have a full time floral design business, I would create an "Easy Bride" discount...Anna would have gotten two of these discounts. This weekend offered a chance to dive into design roots of floral design, a passion that is uncapped only a few times per year, but a true love of mine. 

the backdrop to the ceremony

We worked off of about 10 different pictures (not 10 different editions of 10 bridal magazines) to create Anna's story. The setting was the Memphis Metal Museum, a treasure tucked along the banks of the Mississippi River in Memphis. The entire event overlooked the Mississippi River as the sunset in the background. I must give props to those who designed the layout of the museum because it works flawlessly for events. 

The story line was based upon Anna and Terrence's love of bikes, a theme that was carried throughout the weekend. We (I use we because my partner in design for the weekend, was my very talented mother, who graciously agreed to help me on this) started with the centerpieces for the table. Consisting of  recycled bike parts, three colors of roses, stock, dahlias, thistle, billy balls, pink sedum, hydrangeas and artichokes, the arrangements were set on burlap toppers and surrounded by votives. 

entrance arrangement

 dessert gazebo arrangement 

The bike parts were carried off the tables and into the larger arrangements that accompanied the rest of the setting. I put my own metal sculpture skills to use to create the entrance and gazebo arrangements' base of bike parts. These arrangements also consisted of our three colors of roses, stock, billy balls, thistle, hydrangeas, artichokes, seeded eucalyptus, pink sedum, and an assortment of greenery. Yes, the greenery creating the dropping effect around the base of the entrance arrangements is amaranthus, or pigweed as most farmer's in the Delta refer to it. 

 The pew markers served dual purpose for the event, as a pew markers and bar toppers. While these didn't have any bike parts, they carried the same combination of flowers throughout the setting. 

As a designer, nothing is more exciting than the chance to work with something new and the succulents of the weekend provided a lot of excitement. The one flower, or plant in this case , Anna requested was the succulent. We used them on the bistro tables, tucked away with some sheet moss, in the boutonnieres, and on the cake and dessert table. If you're ever in the market for some, visit : http://thesucculentsource.com/, yet another great vendor, with which I had the pleasure of working. 

 Maid of Honor Bouquet

 Bride's Bouquet 

 Mother's Bouquet

 Entry Table Bouquet

 Moss Basket for Flower Girls 

The handwork mimic'd the fresh out of a garden look with roses, ranunculus, lisianthus, dusty miller, thistle, pink sedum, and scabiosa pods with stems wrapped in moss and copper wire. The boutonnieres (although I failed to get photos) consisted of thistle, rosemary, seeded eucalyptus and dahlia blossoms. The flower girls wore halo's of rosemary and thistle and carried moss petal baskets down the aisles. 

 The wonderful part about an outdoor wedding is letting nature serve as the backdrop to create the setting of the event. Saturday, the glorious Mississippi River created the serene setting of the entire evening by offering one of the most majestic views of a river sunset that I've seen all year. Needless to say, the river did the work for me. All we had to do was to simply frame the ceremony, which was done with these arrangements of roses, dahlias, hydrangeas, lisianthus, stock, amaranthus, bear grass, and artichokes. And although, I cannot take credit for the rose colors (as Anna handpicked those), I'm not sure if any other rose would have imitated the colors of the sunset that day as well. 

No bride could have asked for a more perfect setting or perfect early fall day for her wedding. It was a true joy working with Anna to make this event come to life with flowers. These photos only hint at the beauty that was present that evening at the metal museum. As it turns out, wedding flowers are truly meant to be viewed in real life, when they offer a sample of all senses to a wedding party and guests....Congratulations Anna & Terrence! 

 A very special thanks to Mamie Shannon,wedding coordinator extraordinaire of Classic Party Rentals and Ameila Timms, caterer extraordinaire of Graze Food Truck (http://grazefoodtruck.com/), two joyous souls who helped make this day perfect and were a delight to work with. 

Trees that "Brought It" this Spring

With summer temperatures suddenly upon us this week, I caught myself longing for that cool spring that was gone before we knew it. I flipped through some spring photos for a reflection back on the flowering trees that just "brought it" this spring. 

With flowers that transition the season from winter to spring, these species make a fantastic specimen planting in your home landscape with flowers appearing before their leaves. They are classified as a smaller tree, not reaching over 25'. The Redbud and Dogwood are native varieties that promote bird and butterfly habitat. 

Start planning now to work one of these guys into your landscape, so when next spring arrives you have breathtaking glimpses of:

The Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis

                                                The Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida

The Yoshino Flowering Cherry, Prunus x yedoensis

The Delta Does a 30th

It's been about a solid year since the last post on the language of Southern food, so this one is dedicated to a new twist on an old favorite...a Delta 30th birthday. Now birthdays and cocktail parties are nothing new in our language, but the 30th birthday is for our generation. As my group of friends is beginning and continuing to celebrate 30th's, I've come to realize the 30th birthday celebration means accepting your role as a Southern, grown up host and learning to carefully walk the line between a college blow out (such as your 21st) and a black tie affair (which will be your 60th). In the language of Southern hospitality, the 30th is a true coming of age year because no longer are your parents hosting parties...you are. 

So this is a step by step translation on walking that line for a Delta 30th birthday...or well, any birthday for that matter or even any solid cocktail party.

The guinea pig for learning the language of a 30th Birthday, was our friend Malone, whose birthday was all the way back in January (so this post is only a slight 4 months behind). A group of us got together to throw a "Down in the Delta" surprise celebration. 

Step One: The invite... a new take on the classic Blues Club poster...

 Step Two: Your Table. After the invite, comes the table-scape for the food, since the evening was going to be centered on Delta recipes. The table-scape was simply some Cypress Knees, glass canisters for Fatsia, Aspidistra, floating candles, and votives surrounded by the McCarty serving pieces you have been given since you graduated high school. And don't forget the napkins...the cocktail napkin is the glue that holds a party together.

Step Three: The Menu. The menu consisted of some solid favorites from our books:

 Chicken Sliders with a Dill Gerkin on top on Comeback Sauce

 An Antipasta Dip with Toast Points

 Hot Tamale Dip & Frito's 

Sausage & Cheese Plate (didn't get a picture of it)

And in honor of Malone's favorite chip, a bowl of Nacho Cheese Dorito's (as I mentioned, we were walking the line and couldn't be too serious with the menu, and these turned wiped out all the homemade dips...)

Step Four. The Bar. Now any true Deltan understands that the menu is only there as a sideshow to the bar set up. As true Southern grown ups, we made sure all mixers were present and abundant ice could be found in the freezer.

 

Being that it was a 30th birthday, shots were needed, but also needed to be given a shot of class. Therefore, we (in true adult fashion) researched & strategically followed a recipe for "drunk gummies", which soaked in Le Creuset casserole dishes for an entire week beforehand (only when you reach the 30's do you even have name brand casserole dishes). They were then transferred to a glass serving piece.... because serving them any other way would not have spoken to our wisdom of the cocktail party...

 

Step Five. The Favor. For this shin-dig, we blew up the invite into a poster and had all the guest sign it for the birthday girl. 

 Sure in the South we speak much slower and more drawn out, and we will no matter how old we are. However, when it comes to the cocktail party, no one is more articulate than the hosts in the Delta. So you see, whether young or old, learning a new language or even our language can be as simple as 5 steps, when that language is Southern food.