Engage!10 Day 2: A Look Back

Day 2 of Engage!10: The Breakers (put on by Engaging Concepts and hosted by The Breakers Palm Beach) started bright and early with breakfast in the courtyard.  Then it was straight into the general sessions which blew me away.

Photos Courtesy of DVB Photographers, Allen Zepeda, Mel Barlow and my iphone

Our speakers left to right starting at the top:

Top Row: Paul Leone of The Breakers; Kathryn Arce & Rebecca Grinnals of Engaging Concepts, Rebecca shared on the state of the wedding industry; Joan Bever of The Breakers.

Middle Top Row: Mindy Weiss shared with us the good, the bad & the ugly of wedding planning; at lunch, Sylvia Weinstock decorated a cake for us; Cindy Novotny spoke with us about balance and the business of weddings (I got the opportunity to sit and chat with Cindy at lunch). 

Middle Bottom Row: Darcy Miller, editor of Martha Stewart Weddings, led a discussion with Amy Atlas, Donna Newman & Abby Larson ; Todd Fiscus, Tara Guerard & David Beahm shared with us how to make it work, make it your own and they challenged us to think long-term. 

Bottom Row: Marcy Blum’s talk was titled “Musings with Marcy” and she simply told us how it was from her stand point and I loved the candor.  Carley Roney of The Knot led a discussion about selling style with Randy Fenoli (from TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress) & Ceci Johnson of Ceci New York.  Our General sessions ended with Bryan Rafanelli (Chelsea Clinton’s wedding planner) talking about the business of events.

The photos below are shots of the many meals of the day! 

Photos Courtesy of DVB Photographers, Allen Zepeda, Mel Barlow and my iphone

 Breakfast, lunch, a citrus break, dinner with the speakers and the dessert party.  Each meal and break was an experience in itself.  Breakfast in the courtyard…mini skillets of scrambled eggs & eggs benedict, yummy fresh juice and oatmeal to name a few items.  There was a yogurt break with yogurt parfaits served in champagne flutes as well as a citrus break where everything was orange…mini cheesecakes, jelly bellies, orange crush sodas & more.  Lunch was served in the Circle Room.  It was a gorgeous boxed lunch complete with individual wedding cakes for dessert.  As I mentioned, Sylvia Weinstock was our lunchtime speaker…she decorated a cake!  At the end of the general sessions we joined the speakers for dinner at various restaurants at The Breakers and in Palm Beach.  I (along with 6 others) had dinner at The Flagler Steakhouse with David Beahm of David Beahm Design.  David got his big start when he designed a little wedding for Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta Jones.  Dinner was incredible and I enjoyed getting the opportunity to talk with David and the other attendees in a more intimate setting.  We headed back to The Breakers after dinner and attended the evening dessert party on the lawn.  Once again, over the top!  There was a donut station, cake shots, fruit & cheese, hot chocolate & coffee with various add-ins and the list goes on….  The band was fabulous and the photo booth was a hit!

Day 2 was packed full of amazing speakers who shared with us their triumphs, trials and advice.  Unforgettable and so impacting!

Engage!10 Day 1: A Look Back

At the beginning of October I had the opportunity to attend Engage!10: The Breakers. I posted a few video recaps in a previous post and wanted to share some photos now. Engage!10 was put on by Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce of Engaging Concepts and it was hosted by The Breakers Palm Beach.  The Breakers served as the perfect backdrop to  3 days of inspiring speakers, new friendships and over the top parties. 

My mom travelled with me and attended the “parties” portion of Engage.  She has been such a huge support to me over the years and has helped set-up and tear down many events with me.  I thought it fitting to bring her along to experience the magic of Engage.  We were greeted with such a warm reception from The Breakers, Rebecca, Kathryn and the other attendees.  From meeting in the airplane (Pauline Parry of Good Gracious Events and I sat next to each other on the plane, she is so much fun) to registration and through to our departure we were welcomed, pampered and felt completely spoiled.  Thank you!

Photos Courtesy of DVB Photographers, Allen Zepeda ,  Mel Barlow and my iphone

The photos above are are a mix of registration and the welcome sessions including: my welcome packet, the infamous swag bag (it was awesome), The Breakers Welcome Lounge with towers of white dendrobium orchids, pink limeade and pink & green cupcakes, our welcome session with suggestions from previous Engage attendees and a motivating & challenging talk from Simon T. Bailey.  The room was beautiful.

I had just enough time to relax a bit before grabbing my mom and heading to the Welcome Party held between the pools by the beach.

Photos courtesy of: DVB Photographers, Allen Zepeda, Mel Barlow, and my iphone

The palm trees had pink and green uplights, we posed on the pink carpet, drank blended mojitos, snapped photos with new friends, kicked back on crazy cool furniture, oohed and ahhed over funky floral pieces and even did a little dancing.  It was a great way to kick off the event.  More photos to come this week! 

Engage!10: Video Highlights

I don’t quite have words yet to describe the event I just returned from.  Over the top…mind blowing…inspiring…simply fabulous!

Last week I attended my very first Engage Wedding Summit at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL.  In looking back on what I experienced, I feel so blessed and I am in awe.  To our hosts (The Breakers & Engaging Concepts), I say thank you.  My life is forever changed.  To our speakers (too many to list now, check out the link for the full list), you were inspiring, encouraging, and you challenged me to think bigger and to tweak things in my life and in my business.

Bruce Patterson of Cloud Nine Creative, Inc. put together a few same day/next day video edits for us.  Here is a glimpse of Engage!10: The Breakers Wedding Summit. 

Thank you again Rebecca & Kathryn…it was magical!

2010 US Amateur Open

In August my team and I had the incredible opportunity of working with Chambers Bay Golf Course on the 2010 US Amateur Open Championship.  Our job:  to provide the floral arrangements for the VIP hospitality tent and dining room.

The idea behind the design was to keep it natural using foliages, berries, branches and pods.  I pulled in white and chocolate cymbidium orchids to add a bit of elegance.  The containers were all square glass vases of varying sizes and all of them were filled with black rocks.  Here are a few photos of the floral designs and the course out at Chambers:

Kathryn showing off our on-site work area.

 

 

Above is a photo of half the VIP tent dining table arrangements (left) and a close up of the arrangement (right).  These arrangement doubled as centerpieces in the restaurant for a few evening dinner events.

One of the beverage station arrangement.

The large buffet arrangement.

 

4 inch cubes with single cymbidium orchids were on the tall cocktail tables as well as on the buffet.

 

The tent at sunset.

A view of the course from just outside the VIP tent.

Check This Out: Best of Western Washington

Jen’s Blossoms has been nominated as Best Florist in the King 5 Best of Western Washington Contest.  We would be thrilled if you would take a moment and vote for Jen’s Blossoms!  Just click the link below or the button to the right.  Thanks so much!

VOTE NOW!

Looking Back: August 2010 Part I

This last August was an incredible month!  Here are a couple events I worked on:

For this first one the colors were pale lavender and candy apple red.  We brought in a range of purples and a pop of red with the flowers.



The brides bouquet; a mix of purple, lavender & red



The bridesmaid bouquets (left) were a mix of purple & lavender.  For the maid of honor we added a pop of red.

  Here are the bouquets for a purple and white wedding we did at a private residence overlooking Hood Canal:

Brides Bouquet: schwarzwalder and picaso mini callas with rhinestone detail on handle

Bridesmaids Bouquet:  white roses, gerbera daisies & dahlias with purple lisianthus.

 More August events to come!

Check This Out: Pantone

New York Fashion Week just ended on September 16th and Pantone released their “Top 10 PANTONE Colors for women’s fashion chosen by New York designers for spring 2011”!  I truly love this mix of colors and I am looking forward to seeing how these choices play out in the wedding and event industry.

Here are the colors!  What are your favorites?



Honeysuckle, Russet & Coral Rose



Regatta, Peapod, Blue Curacao & Beeswax



Lavender, Silver Peony & Silver Cloud



My favorite combination? Honeysuckle, Beeswax & Silver Cloud definitely tops the list for me.  To view the colors along with fashion sketches visit the Pantone website.

September Wedding Expo!

The 11th & 12th brought wedding professionals back to the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall for the wedding expo put on by Brides Club.  I worked with American Party Place again to decorate their booth.

Linen Choice: Ironwood Pintuck Table Cloths with Magenta Chair Ties

Flower Colors: Magenta & Bright Yellow

Flowers & Supplies Used:  magenta garden roses, pink mini callas, magenta gerbera daisies, pink hydrangea, pink stock, yellow freesia, magenta & yellow satin ribbon, manzanita branches, glossy black curly willow, black rock, and a little yellow flat wire

Here are the designs I created for the show:

Check This Out: Brides Magazine 09/10

I was recently looking through the September 2010 issue of Brides Magazine and when I came to the back page I loved what I saw.  Of course I think that flowers topping a cake is simply lovely but part of me loves the tradition of using figurines to top the wedding cake.  Below is the back page of the magazine.  The figurines are made of paper and can be customized to match your hair, skin color, bouquet, outfits and more!



Brides Magazine, September 2010, Page 374



These particular figurines were made by an artist with a storefront on Etsy called Concarta. 

A few other ideas mentioned in the article:

Cultural Symbols

Origami

Monogram

Art

Shells, Starfish, Sand Dollars

Crepe Paper Bouquet

Seedling Trees (plant them after the wedding)

The Land of Weddings: September

School has started, there is a chill in the air and although I wish for just a bit more sunshine and warm weather I welcome the opportunity to curl up with a cup of java and catch up on the paperwork, review the summer season and dream a bit. I recently ran into a friend and we were chatting about how quickly the summer months flew by and yes, I was reminded that I didn’t post anything in August. But sometimes that is how it goes. August was incredible and in the next month or so I will take you back to those events but right now I will highlight the 2 events I did on Labor Day weekend, September 4th & 5th.

The ceremony for the September 4th wedding took place at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church. The inside is beautiful and ornate so we just did a few pew swags at the front rows. Unfortunately I was unable to get a photo of these hanging inside. Below is a photo of the outside of Holy Rosary as well as the red orchid swags.

The reception took place at the Hotel Murano. We delivered the bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres to the hotel and set-up the ballroom.

Brides Bouquet:  black bacccara roses, schwarzwalder mini callas, red mokara orchids, fern curls and dried lotus pods

Bridesmaids Bouquets: black baccara roses, schwarzwalder and red mini callas, fern curls and dried lotus pods

Boutonnieres

Mother’s Corsage: designed on a keepsake pearl bracelet

Centerpieces: glass cylinders with black baccara roses and a floating candle

On the 5th I had the opportunity to work at Kensington Gardens.  The colors were smoky blue and white so we brought in blue hydrangea and a variety of white flowers along with white ostrich feathers and peacock feathers.

Brides Bouquet: white asiatic lilies, white mini callas, white roses and stephanotis surrounded by white ostrich feathers.

Bridesmaid Bouquet: blue hydrangea, white asiatic lilies, white mini callas, white roses and peacock feathers.

The boutonnieres and corsages were accented with peacock feathers except for the grooms which had a white ostrich feather as an accent.  The boutonnieres are shown below (left) as well as the corsages (right).

For the ceremony we used swags of blue hydrangea and peacock feathers at the ends of the rows and also draped white and navy tulle down the aisle.

Tulle draping with hydrangea swags



Aisle Swag: blue hydrangea and peacock feather

It was wonderful to be a part of these events.  I wish much happiness to these beautiful couples.