An Enchanted Evening - Sara & Walt are Married

One of Adrienne’s closest friends from high school was married recently to her sweetheart, Walter in an enchanting, magical manner. The natural beauty of Lexington, KY, home of rolling hills, bluegrass and manicured horse farms, was the setting for the ceremony and reception. A beautiful day, a soft breeze and the amazing landscape made everyone feel truly blessed to be there.

As guests arrived they were directed through a large manor house to the backyard setting, where the ceremony chairs were set up under a huge draping tree from which were hung small origami birds, made by a friend of Sara’s. The breeze caught them and they swayed and added a special touch to the area. When the ceremony began, the bridesmaids, dressed in perfect pink dresses, carrying lovely bouquets of roses and greens in all the soft colors, pinks, peaches, creams and yellows came through the lawn, followed by the spectacular sight of Sara on her father’s arm beaming with happiness matching Walter’s waiting smile. Sara’s dress was a beaded, fitted top with a drop waist that went into the most lavish confection of tulle and satin roses beneath layers of lace and a train. To say she was beautiful simply doesn’t capture it properly.

The reception tent was adjacent and it was a truly magical sight. The entire ceiling of the tent was hung with giant paper lanterns and flower balls in the floral colors, made by the bride’s family. Martha Stewart should get this creative group on her team without a doubt.

The tables were draped in pale green silk with floral centerpieces that were garden fresh and included all the soft colors in roses and stock and lisianthus, hydrangeas and green bells of Ireland. Surrounding the main centerpiece were multiple tiny arrangements in silver julep cups (we’re in KY, remember) with smaller cut versions of the main flowers and twinkling votives. As the evening continued, the lanterns were lit, the delicious food was eaten and the cake presented. As a guest, you truly felt you had been part of a loving family event.

Sara and her family are so welcoming and everyone felt included – relatives, friends, children, horses and even a blind, deaf dog, their beloved family pet. It was a truly enchanted evening.

Pumpkin Fun

I was recently reading an article in a small local newspaper (one of those you get free in your mailbox) and there was a funny (to me) piece on what to do with pumpkins. I figured I have had some experience with pumpkins and I would come up with my own list.

Pumpkin Problems and Possibilities

1. Never try to carve those tiny cute squash things to use as candle holders or place card holders for your table. A smallish pumpkin will work but those gourds and squash things need an electric saw to get through. I know this from experience and have the scar on my finger to prove it.

2. Don’t let anyone talk you into toasting fresh pumpkin seeds in the oven. First, you have to get through all nasty gook and then clean them and frankly you can buy them at the grocery for practically nothing.

3. Make yourself a pumpkin pie – surely the easiest pie to make in the world. I never have the urge to tinker with the recipe on the back of the Libby’s pumpkin can. It’s perfect as is.

4. If you have people coming over, make a pumpkin cheesecake. Very delicious and a lot of recipes available out there.

5. Make pumpkin soup – again from canned pumpkin. This time hollow out small real pumpkins or do what I did…buy cute pumpkin shaped bowls from a discount store.

6. Make yourself a nice buffet or foyer centerpiece using pumpkins in a couple of sizes, some gourds and corn and wheat. I really do love the fall colors and a centerpiece like this will last a long time in the house. The pumpkins don’t rot as they do outdoors if the sun gets them.

7. In the article, they said to make pumpkin butter. I tried this and it was awful, so don’t go there.

8. The article also suggested carving out an extra large pumpkin and posing your small child or pet inside and taking a photograph. WHAT? Stephanie, please do not place my first grandchild in a wet pumpkin for a photo – not that you would ever do that!

9. OK so other than baking, and there are a lot of great recipes for pumpkin desserts out there (mousse and cake and even bread), I cannot think of another good or bad idea. So, there is no number 10. Have a beautiful fall.

Your Holiday Home

So first off, I apologize for not posting the last week or so, but I took a trip to NYC to enjoy the holiday magic and to help a friend with some design work. I will write more about my NYC adventures soon. As Christmas nears, I know most of you probably have already finished your holiday decorating but I thought you might enjoy a few last minute tips to make your décor even more special. Remember, bigger is almost always better (except in a weight loss program) and statements of design are the key to making your home a little different than the neighbors.

Candles: Having a nice candle centerpiece on your dining room table is fine but having multiple votives all around the centerpiece, all through your bookshelves and lined up in a row on your sofa table will make your room beautiful. Use cream or white votives please, that way any color or style of votive holder will work.

Flowers or Greenery: I once worked for a fabulous designer and she had us to her home at Christmas. She purchased about 30 small pots of white cyclamen from the florist and placed them on every flat surface she could find. She scattered votives amongst them and I cannot emphasize enough how magical the space was. She lined them up on the fireplace and the candles reflected in the mirror above. Cyclamen are now available at your grocery store florist, greenhouses or retail florists.

On my own entry table I have a huge clear vase my sister bought for me. Every year for the holidays I fill it with pine and cedar branches and large sprays of silvery, glittery faux stems. One year the tape unwound from the faux branches and colored the water a not so pretty brown color. I changed the water and added a teaspoon of red food coloring and what a pretty change that made!!

Glass Bowls: Enough cannot be said about how pretty a glass bowl can be for the holidays when filled with floating flowers, silver or gold ornaments or pinecones with a red plaid ribbon. You can even spray paint the pinecones. We all have those glass salad bowls people gave us years ago and they really do a nice job at Christmas. You can put a candle in them with silver marbles or even fill them with candy. I personally prefer Lindor truffles.

Lights: You can never have enough lights. I even put lights up the sides and across my dining room window treatment. Mix them with greenery and swag the mantle, the staircase, your mirrors (I love it when people even decorate the powder room mirror). Light up your doorways too. The simple mini clear lights are so inexpensive and available everywhere, so buy a few more 100 strands and get going.

There you go, now take what you have already done and add to it to make it even more special!!

Photos from Pottery Barn

Thanksgiving Centerpieces

Today in my local newspaper there were photos and an article about Thanksgiving table centerpieces and I just had to start writing. The table styling was done by a local designer and it was the kind of design that makes me nuts. Of course anyone can lay a walloping big horn of plenty cornucopia thing spilling fruit in the middle of a table or line the table with a ton of pumpkins and a giant floral piece, but come on! We all know the practicality is this - you need a place to put all of your wonderful food AND you need to see the person sitting across from you (even if you aren’t wild about them). Ultimately, these huge centerpieces have to leave the table when you sit down to eat, so what is the point of having them? As a young bride I purchased a large pumpkin tureen and filled it with flowers for the center of my table. Not only was it hugely expensive to fill, but the minute the food was ready I had to take it off the table. Now it sits on my table in the fall everyday BUT Thanksgiving!

You can make your Thanksgiving table look beautiful and festive without going overboard. The photo below from Country Living is a great example. Individualize each place setting instead of doing a large central piece. I like to place a votive in an autumn styled votive holder (I have tiny wrought iron ones with leaves) at each place setting so there is pretty candlelight but not a gigantic candle. Please use unscented candles at dinner so they don't compete with the food. Give each guest a favor next to “their” candle, like a colorfully wrapped chocolate turkey or personalized pumpkin cookie. At each end of the table you can have a small, SHORT floral arrangement in a clever container like a wineglass or pitcher or vase – use orange tulips cropped short, any type of fall mum or my favorite natural look, bittersweet. Just make sure they are small and you can see over them. Don’t even try that trick of hollowing out small pumpkins. I did that one year and every variety of squash I tried was SO HARD that I needed a knife and saw to make a holder. Go to Michael's or Tuesday Morning or HomeGoods and buy a cute fall holiday votive holder. They can look colorful and interesting and you can spend your time perfecting that pumpkin pie!!

I will be writing more about Thanksgiving dinner soon since it is coming up so quickly. Creamed onions, anyone?

Photos from Better Homes & Garden and Country Living

More Floral Tips and Tricks

I promised I would give you some more info about ordering flowers from a florist and here you go:

Beware of the standard holiday centerpiece. I have worked for large and small florists and they all do the same thing (like the cut flowers in a vase from my recent blog). They will make up dozens or even hundreds of identical centerpieces for the holidays. For Thanksgiving they will feature yellow mums, any rust colored flower and HORRIBLE FAKE LEAVES. For Christmas they feature poinsettias, one or two red candles, some berries, and Christmasy greens. If you want to send a centerpiece to a friend (and it is generally a nice thing to do – although she probably already has plans for the center of her table and sometimes the table is so full of food there is no room) please, please be specific about what you want so the florist will have to make up something special just for you. Better yet, don’t order a centerpiece. Order a low silver bowl filled with red roses and holiday greens or a pretty red tulip and lily combination - the hostess can put this in a lot of places.

We LOVED when someone would order something different, like red and white roses, poinsettias and curly willow – it was a nice break from the monotony. I once went to a holiday gathering and the hostess had received THREE centerpieces from the same florist, all exactly alike. This is a failure on so many levels – the phone people, the floral manager that handed out the orders, the designer and the delivery driver. Pretty much takes out any feeling you got something special!

Go to T.J. Maxx or a place like that and buy a special urn or cool vase and take it to the florist and let them fill it. Already you have done something nice. Or bring something you own but don’t use like an oversized wine glass – they will fill it with moss and beautiful flowers. Be specific about greenery too, say “no leather leaf please”—that’s the junky greens you get at the grocery. They will have to give you ruscus or a fern and won’t charge more.

*Becky Knows Everything: With the economy the way it is, please try to support your local florist. Flowers are considered a luxury item and in tough times people don’t send them. If you do, please go to a florist. Don’t we all think the grocery stores make enough money?? I mean, Philadelphia Cream Cheese is $2.49 here – IT WOULD COST $10 FOR ME TO BUY THE CREAM CHEESE FOR MY FAVORITE CHEESECAKE. Now that’s a problem!!

Sweetly Southern

Sarah Z. writes “Becky, I am doing the flowers for a friend's wedding in August and I could use your help. Have you any ideas for interesting, inexpensive and pretty floral arrangements? Her theme is 'Southern Belle Afternoon Affair' and her colors are purple and pink. She has purchased short vases."

I just love questions like these since I get to relive my bridal florist days and talk to my floral friends. If the theme is “Southern Belle” we need to go soft and pretty with a “fresh from the garden” look, as in loosely arranged. I wish Sarah had mentioned how wide the mouth of the vase is since that makes such an impact. If the vase has a wide mouth, it will of course take more flowers which means more $$. One way to combat this is to use one large anchor flower (like hydrangeas) cut close to the edge of the mouth, then fill in with less pricey flowers like lisianthus. Use a soft drapey green like plumose fern or fresh ivy. If hydrangeas are too pricey, use lilies. They are fragrant and each stem has two flowers and a bud so they can fill in a good sized space if used with enough nice support greenery.

For a nice fresh mixed look, use white daisies, pink tulips, a few lavender roses (Blue Bird are incredibly fragrant), and add some lisianthus for the sort of less structured look that is so pretty. Tulips are available year round at a reasonable price and the colors are so nice. Use a single pink color for greater impact, then add the purple touch with limonium and greenery and then tie or glue a beautiful purple ribbon around the vase and let it drape. Other pretty garden flowers are ranuculus, asters (beautiful rich colors), iris, snapdragons, and delphinium. Another purple flower is liatris, which stands straight and tall. Sarah, you have such a great theme to work with. Have fun!!

*Becky Knows Everything: If you are using short vases like Sarah Z., be sure not to make the centerpieces too tall - guests need to see each other across the table. Another thing to keep in mind that Sarah didn’t mention - the size of the tables. A too tiny arrangement will be lost on a table set for 10. Use candles or ivy or other greenery to help out.

Centerpiece Sense

A bit ago, I wrote "Top Ten Design Things I Wish We Could Change" Let’s choose one and discuss it. I know it's not really a discussion since it’s only me telling you what I think, but that seems to work best for me! I do welcome your future comments and questions and hope you will post a comment on my blog.

Centerpieces, floral arrangements (real or silk), deco pieces, accent pieces – they all need to fit the space. They can do a lot of talking all on their own, bringing color to a room, adding a variety of line and texture and they can even highlight a personal interest.

On a dining room table, be sure the centerpiece you use when entertaining dinner guests is not so tall that your guests can’t see over it. How distracting to be peering around the centerpiece to make eye contact. If the table is not being used, put something great on it—a huge glass bowl, beautiful fruit (no fake fruit please), a decorative vase, cool candleholder (you get the drift) and then, when you are using the table move the centerpiece to your foyer table or the buffet (or put it in your master bath as far as I’m concerned). Then, switch to something sweet, like a bud vase at each place setting with a fresh bloom or a line of cool votives glowing down the center of the table or just put a “favor” at each place - a treat to take home like a chocolate truffle you’ve made (or bought at Godiva), a chocolate dipped strawberry in a pretty container tied with a ribbon or sealed with your initial. Often, if you’re lucky, you’re husband or boyfriend will let you eat his too – and that is a yummy treat all on its own.

My advice is to look in magazines, steal ideas and modify them to make them your own so the “centerpiece” of your life is as creative and beautiful as you are!