The Full Bouquet

HOLIDAY DECOR FOR CORP. AND FOR WEDDINGS

These lovely designs were loaded up and headed to Alexandria for a wedding this past Saturday. Surprisingly enough we still have weddings. Mix the weddings in with the corp. work and we are crazy busy.

Our bride wore this awesome corsage on the sash of her gown instead of holding the typical bridal bouquet. The corsage was stunning and matched the look of the day perfectly. The wedding featured one long king table with 10 very full and lovely centerpieces and then clusters of hurricanes and candlelight. I heard the catering staff was in awe when we left the site.

Our next event was a corp. party for the Immix group. The holiday party is typically held in the corp. offices. The above, all white design, greeted guests as they arrived.  It is amazing to me the way designer and Senior Account Executive Meagan, of RSVP catering, can always transform the space. This year was truly remarkable. Meagan turned the whole entire media center into a lounge complete with furniture and a white dance floor.

 All red designs were added to this completely white space.

These fun white cocktail pieces were displayed outside of the lounge where the walls are red. It was fun to play off the colors of the rooms.

Long contemporary designs flanked the board room tables. I loved the look of these designs. It is fun to be contemporary as well as classic, all in the same weekend.

Three large snow balls were created and placed on clarinet vases with silver balls. The vases lined the hall and the food stations.

Mini snowballs were used for cocktail tables on the opposite wall. These designs were so freaking awesome. I literally woke up in the middle of the night wondering if I could roll carnations in white glitter to make them look like snowballs.  To make certain that the glue and glitter would not harm the flowers I did a test early last week. We also rolled the glass square vases in glue and glitter. I loved this inspired creation.

The file cabinets were converted into an incredible floral showcase.

I left this job just in time to head back to Leesburg for an event at Rose Hill Manor. Here comes the classic vintage look...

Three 40 feet long king sized tables were created for this event. A huge round of applause to corp. planner Beth who came up with the concept. I was in love with the linen and the theme.

Each table featured 3 manzanita trees with hanging votives and crystals. Silver foliage's and dried wheat were our accent colors with the cream flowers.

Each table featured designs in mercury glass vases and designs in burlap. We loved the look of these elements with the black toile patterned linen.

Guests were treated to carriage rides by Harmon Carriages and a lovely dinner provided by Occasions catering. This was such a beautiful event and I was so thrilled to provide these super designs. BTW, I now have enough mercury glass for next years weddings. I am sure the mercury glass is going to be huge next year!

Many thanks to photographer Anne Robert who was willing and available to come out and photograph the tables. I can't wait to see the images from this event. One big problem I have found with corp. work is that there is often not a photographer at the event.

Since Anne was coming out I popped these two bouquets together just to give her a little more to shoot.

Another successful weekend.

CORPORATE AND HOLIDAY "IN THE COOLER"

We truly have created some of our most inspired designs for this weekends corp. events and our one and only bride.  We even made snowflakes, pretty impressive I know. The snowflakes were made by rolling clear tape in a tube and then dunking them in snow powder. The little rolls of tape were inserted onto the branches of our manzanita trees. There are times it actually boggles my mind that I can be so insistent on a design that I will sit and roll up tape and create snowflakes. Obsessive...

These pieces truly make my heart sing, from the wooden boxes made from old barn wood, to the natural wheat. I am thrilled with these designs and I can't wait to pair them with the mercury glass designs and our vases covered with burlap. The only thing that will be more awesome is the incredible linen they will be placed on. We are using a black toile table cloth, and I can t wait to see this come together.

We have a really wonderful wedding, and contemporary corp. party, also chilling in the cooler but we have had trouble with the blog tonight.  Each event is truly stunning and I will bring you images as quickly as I can.!!!

Congratulations to our son Alex who finished his masters dissertation today. You are an amazing man!!! Next comes marriage!!!

Building Something Beautiful - Hyatt Dulles

Last night was the grand opening of the new ballroom at the Hyatt Dulles. We were asked to create a table that represented the Earth and its bounties.  Most often our designs are made prior to the event, but in this circumstance the piece I envisioned was so large that I would need to make it on the job. For an installation like this we start with a really big mess in the hall of the venue. I often wonder how the hotels can stand to have us creating things on site.

This is the beginning stage of my creation. I imagined willow and corn fodder as a the structure for my design. Just in case you are wondering, corn fodder is another name for corn stalks, leaves and all.  Not a pretty picture of me, but that's what its like when you are reaching, tucking, and building.

Elodie and Kelly came along for this installation, at this point there is always a lot of contemplation. Is the deisgn sturdy, is it straight, is it going to work?

After agreeing that we had a great foundation, we secured the structure with wire to the willow.  The willow  was our main support, and it had been driven into the foam in the center of the design.

We wove corn, grasses, bittersweet vine, asclepias monkey balls, Don's always amazing dahlias, red peppers, persimmon branches, seeded euc, and fall foliage's through the base of the corn and willow.

Whoops, we also used wheat, dates, and amaranthus as well.

Small pumpkins were carved and used as vases for mini arrangements.

I was totally thrilled with the final creation. I have to admit designing a table that represents the Earth was fairly easy for me. I am completely aware of, and grateful for, the many creations nature gives me to design with. This was totally fun.

Many Thanks to event planners Laura Ritchie and Megan Pollard, of Events In The City for bringing me in on this event. Thanks also to DC Rental they supplied so many of the beautiful decor items throughout the evening, including the amazing table I got to design on.

Fun night, great venue, great people. AWESOME!!!

Events In The City - T. Boone Pickens- Smithsonian - Holly Heider Chapple Flowers LTD.

If you follow me on Twitter or read my blog you know I did a huge event last week at the Smithsonian American Indian Museum. The event was hosted by Madeleine Pickens in honor of her  Save America's Mustangs Foundation.  Madeleine is married to T. Boone Pickens and the event also was a birthday party for T. Boone.  

A huge thanks to Laura Ritchie and Megan Pollard, the two superstar planners that brought me in on this event. Laura and Megan own and operate the planning company Events In The City. Thank you for your constant faith in my business and for bringing this amazing event my way. Your work was as always, fresh, flawless, and just plain incredible.  Next big thanks goes to Genevieve Leiper Photography, who came to the event on my behalf so that I would have photos, and because she loves me, am I lucky or what.

 

I absolutely adored the designs we created for this event and I am so happy to have these images. Our elevated centerpiece was designed with a pilsner glass vase that we completely covered in preserved moss. We flew 25 orange mango callas out of the vase, along with willow, and leucadendron. At the base of the design we massed bright orange pin cushions, which totally looked like a burst of sun.  The base of the design also featured more callas, blue thistle, safari sunset, solidago, and red orchids. We also wrapped the vase with the red mokara orchids and pheasant feathers. The color and the drama was perfect for the evening.

 

We also chopped down a good bit of my red maple tree, the  leaves were simply stunning and added a nice touch to the base of the design.

 

Our second centerpiece was simply a piece of art.

 

This piece began with a large grouping of green wheat grass. We cut out the center of the grass and started the design with a piece of  lichen. Lichen is a branch that has a green moss growing on the bark. We then started adding unique elements that spoke of the Native Americans or the Plains. We spun the vase inserting a new earthy element or blossom as we turned the design. This made the piece interesting and different on all four sides. We used thistle, safflower, pieces of birch bark, raw cotton, kiwi vine,solidago, leucadendron, green wheat, flying pheasant feathers, mushrooms, and other pods and berries. Each vase was wrapped in burlap and twine. 

 

Mrs. Pickens gave each guest a book about her beloved Mustangs,and we placed an individual blossom in each book.  350 individual blossoms.

 

 

 

The cocktail hour took place outside of the museum, where a large tee pee was on display. Guests had time with the horses and were entertained by the Native American dancers. I provided clusters of thistle and safflower for this space.

 

 

 

 

 

Challenger the bald eagle was amazing. We actually saw him fly through the museum during set up of the event.

 

The list of performers was amazing, and you can read more about the event on the BizBash DC website, the event was featured yesterday. Many thanks to all of the vendors who worked so tirelessly to bring this event together. The girls from Events in the City had 3 weeks to help plan this event, and they brought together this list of amazing vendors.

 

CELEBRATING AMERICA'S HERITAGE WITH MADELEINE AND T. BOONE PICKENS Audiovisual Production, StagingNational Events LLC Catering (Cake) The Sweet Life Catering Ridgewells Design, Event ManagementEvents in the City Flowers Holly Heider Chapple Flowers Ltd. Lighting Atmosphere Lighting Production Hanson Productions LLC Rentals Perfect Settings L.L.C.

 

 

In The Cooler- Plus Indians, Horses, and Bald Eagles

Three weeks ago I was contacted about a huge party that would be taking place at the Smithsonian American Indian Museum . The event was to honor the American Indians, the wild mustangs, and T. Boone Pickens. The party would require centerpieces for 35 tables and a considerable amount of decor.  We spent the first week securing the rental of 15 foot high weeping willows, birch, and pine trees, only to have them cancelled by the museum. Turns out that the museum frowns upon the arrival of  insects or creatures that can destroy their priceless artifacts. This makes sense to me.  

My next effort had me racing to Union Station to get the amazing Gus off of a train from New York. Gus owns the American Foliages Design Group. Gus came to DC to give us estimates on making huge trees that are created with real stumps and silk branches. The stumps are sealed, this makes the trees safe for use in museums. Gus designs for the top planners in NYC,  TV sets, and movies. Getting to know Gus was a huge treat.  Unfortunately we were unable to work with Gus and that was a major disappointment because I would have loved to see his creations.

Over the last 3 weeks, I have been to DC 4 times for this event, made 3 different sets of samples, and literally jumped through hoops to get this order complete and perfect.  Having this opportunity was remarkable, having it happen during the peak of  wedding season was more than challenging.  I simply could not allow the enormity of this event to effect my wonderful brides.  I am happy to say that the event happened last night and it was a huge success. I literally stood in a room full of Congressmen, Senators, wild mustangs, bald eagles, indians, and my flowers. Yes, this week has been totally amazing. As I left DC late last night, my only thought was I need to get back to the flower shop for my brides.  I am working diligently on several weddings that are beyond important to me, and I must say every single blossom is delicious. I am certain we have hit the nail on the head for each of our girls. I love our pieces and it is with huge excitement that we will head out on delivery tomorrow. Here are some of the pictures from this week and " in the cooler". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Designers of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I got you Lilly of the Valley and I will put it in your bouquet in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope these pictures don't scare any of my brides.  The pieces are stunning and for some reason I can't get the camera adjusted correctly. Probably because I desperately need to get to bed.