APRIL 2012 NEWSLETTER: Events Extra with Suzanne Smith

Suzanne was born in Los Angeles California. A Pisces with a passion for flowers and Nature. She is a Third generation Designer who was raised amid the petticoats of her family's popular LA Bridal salon. Her creative career includes time as a Professional Photographer, Costume Designer to Rock Stars and Competition Ice Skaters, Milliner and Fashion Buyer.

She fell in love with flowers at an early age, but only became passionate about them after a not so perfect experience with her own wedding day flowers. “Receiving my bridal bouquet and seeing it wasn’t what I ordered, (just the color was correct! LOL) and hearing stories from other brides who came into the family salon, I thought I would look into floral design. I went in with an idea to do something unique and break from the past for a new generation of brides, and I have continued, it’s my passion!”

Suzanne is known for her romantic weddings and creative theme Party designs.

“It’s the personal touch that can set you apart from others! Personal service and a good ear to hear what your client’s vision is!” www.suzannemsmithdesigns.com

Exotic Inspirations

Designing weddings that cross cultures and mix materials

By Suzanne M Smith- uBloom Special Events Expert

My work is never boring!And is always an education.When presented with designing a traditional Punjabi East Indian wedding in February and staying on a realistic budget, the issues would be selection of décor and floral content that would not be part of the Valentine Month crush, yet stand apart from the crowd in texture and color. More than just design details, it is about learning the religious traditions, so we would be respectful to the couple’s beliefs and the temple rules.My Couple Navin and Karthik would be married in a Gurwarda temple here in Southern California. Receiving photos of the temple, I saw that we would have vibrant royal purples, golds, reds and a Pavilion altar with the traditional East Indian shapes and feel. We would need to keep the designs simple and free standing, for the most part.The bride who is very modern, opted to stay traditional for the temple, but wanted to break some barriers to do something a bit different for her reception for 400+ guests. She selected soft Pearl finishes and peach pink tones with a Sea shell motif and crystal detailing.The reception ballroom was impressive with a mirror and crystal detailed ceiling. So we would need to bring in a focal area that would sit above the sea of tables. We designed a frame of Rich greenery and flowers with two large Urn arrangements that were highly textured with Willow, Flowering cherry blossom, Tropical Heliconias, Antheriums, orchids and roped pearls. A Bridal Sweetheart stage pavilion placed by the dance floor would allow for the guests to enjoy the entertainment and focus on the Bride & Groom. After a design session with the happy couple, the bride fell in love with Pin cushion and Protea flowers. Her shell motif worked well with these exotic blooms and adding in Cymbidiums and soft Peach and pink roses would give her plenty of texture. Of course the massive amount of beautiful shells and starfish we used and the yards of thick rope pearls gave it an under the sea elegance.I love designing with Exotics, These flowers are a designers dream, and they have great holding power. The colors, textures and almost otherworldly shapes fascinate all that see them.I called Diana at Resendiz Brothers in the little town of Rainbow, Ca to ask about varieties that would be available for my event. E-mails flew back and forth with photos and we arrived at a beautiful Mix of Pinks, oranges peach and golds in the Pin cushion, and then a mix of the white to Deep pinks of the Protea, The Feathery feel of these amazing blooms added one more dimension to the texture. One variety of Pin cushion that we used had the look of small curled satin ribbons, just an amazing blossom!Designers should use these flowers often, don’t be intimidated, they are great for Hot weather areas and can be held outside of the cooler with ease. A bit of stem prep , such as cutting on a sharp angle on the wooded stems for insertion into floral foam , and removing a few of the leaves under the flower head to maximize the look of the blossom helps.On the day of the wedding, we knew it would be a very long day of setups and teardown, from 7AM until 2AM the following day! We were excited to get to the temple early in the morning to see the groom arrive. This would be a very new experience for my crew.Upon arrival we saw that the large horse for the Grooms arrival was dressed all in red and gold with lots of finery. The temple would host a breakfast and then the ceremony and we would set a tent with vibrant cubed designs for a luncheon to follow the wedding for 200.Setting up the designs in the temple made me feel as if I had been whisked to India. We all had to remove our shoes and cover our heads to enter. It’s amazing how good an organdy table topper looks as a scarf! My guys borrowed head coverings from the temples basket of small “visitor” head coverings. The chants and prayers and sitar music filled the air as we brought in the designs to await our cue to fill the altar. It was a very happy cultural experience for everyone.As the traditional celebration began, the groom mounted his white horse and paraded into the temple grounds followed by family and friends. Family members and friends “blessed” the groom with rose petals and wishes for happiness. The bride would be arriving soon, but as the designer I had to make my exit and add the final touches for the luncheon and then head on to the evening’s reception set up across the county.The reception designs were a mix of several blended designs. The Brides favorite was an 8 inch Clear Bubble Bowl that I filled with regular and jumbo clear Deco Beads to look like glowing bubbles. Using dual light white Acolyte LED . I topped with a massed topper of Pin Cushion, Protea, Cherry Brandy roses, Peach Stock Blossom and button mums. Adding in Real sugar and Pencil Starfish, Murex and Pearl Snail Turban shells and Clear Capiz accents gave it an elegant “under the sea treasure” feel.My couple did not want the tall elaborate reception designs of the past, but rather a more intimate low profile with lots of sparkle. The other designs were multi trio floating candles and orchid and pincushion flower sunken with Pebbles and Pink sea glass. Settings were scattered with large and small Pearl Turban shells. A cocktail reception area was set with bar top tables and low cocktail settings with Lounge areas and a Central appetizer Buffet that we highlighted with a Tall tropical spray of Pink Gingers, and Proteas.Of course No event of this size is a one person job. I have a great and talented team. My Husband Alan is a master garland maker. His detailed hand wired garlands are part of my design magic. We wanted a strong contrast to all the white and crystal in the room design. So we used Salal, Tree fern, Milllion star and Pink Statice as the base for the sweetheart frame. I applied water vials filled with Gebera, Cymbidiums and roses to the garlands once we had wired to the Custom frame. Hand gathered White satin panels were wrapped on the poles to blend with the draping behind the stage, this would give the illusion that the greenery was floating above the couple. My setup team helped to hang multiple strings of Crystal and Capiz shells across the back of the Pavilion to float and sparkle. I added in Bunches of Curly willow and back Corner sprays of Tropical palm and flowers and we finished with two modern large white urns spilling with flowers at the front. Working with the Lighting crew of the venue we added up lighting and a monogram to the dance floor. Testing the lighting, it would go from crisp to candle glow throughout the evening. The overall look was clean and festive with a hint of the extravagant East Indian influence.You always learn something from every event you design. You may not always see your couple together on an event this size (I never saw the bride, since there are no bouquets in most Indian ceremonies) But I did see the handsome groom and his smile said it all!Be organized, be respectful and be happy, the creativity will flow!  

( Photos By S. Smith)