GLITZ & GLAM - In The News Industry Buzz June 2005 New York, NY-- 40 of the city’s best designers create an Avant Garden for the Horticultural Society of New York’s Annual Spring Gala, Flowers & Design, honoring artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, two leaders of the environmental art movement and creators of The Gates exhibit in Central Park in February 2005. Each year a group of floral and event designers fashion an expression of different tabletops, and this year designers were encouraged to get a little edgy. Showcasing opulent floral designs, the focus was squarely on the flowers. Peonies, tulips, orchids and roses were the predominant flowers, used with matching linens, tableware, candles, and place cards that created a truly artistic feast for the eyes. Sally Nelson, Director of Special Events, managed the gala that included designers such as Bill Blass, Escada, Hermès, Lilly Pulitzer, David Beahm, Michael George, Renny and Reed, and Van Vliet & Trap. A floral masterpiece by Lewis Miller, of LMD Floral Events in New York, included an extravagant white peacock perched above the floral arrangement (see photo left). Lisa Freeman Dorhout of Studio Sweet Pea featured several tiered compact arrangements with graceful hands that sprung from each design. Inspired by the Museum of Modern Art's mercury glass exhibit, Marilyn & Meredith Wago of Belle Fleur in New York used a collection of photographs by Christian Jaillite in plexiglass frames as place cards, and a flowing arrangement of coral and salmon poppies that complemented matching table linen. Susan Edgar of Flowers, Sticks and Stones, created a masterpiece of illusion, utilizing cut greenery on the base of a glass table, bringing it to the tabletop for a truly visual effect. Square red candles were suspended over the tabletop, tiered with beautiful green cymbidiums on either side. The event supports The Horticultural Society’s community outreach programs, which include environmental education classes in under-funded public schools, lovely gardens at public libraries, and a vocational program that provides inmates, both during their incarceration and after their release, with skills to help them gain employment. ___________________________________ Fashion That New York, NY--In the news for a second straight month, floral design Raul Avila created another masterpiece, this time for Swedish clothing giant Hennes & Mauritz, otherwise known as H&M, at their massive fashion show and concert staged in New York’s Central Park. Over 840 guests passed through Avila’s 16- by 12-foot curtain of hand-strung orchids before entering the cocktail reception, which was enclosed by a 16' wall of ivy and roses underneath an ivy-strewn teak trellis that was hung with twinkling candlelit lanterns. Avila decorated the reception area with two walls of red, pink, and fuchsia roses (of course from Mayesh). It’s rumored that the event may have cost upwards of $7.5million, and the fashion show was billed as being the largest fashion show in Central Park’s history. ___________________________________ Oprah’s Legends Ball Santa Barbara, CA—Oprah continues to raise the bar when it comes to entertaining. Nine months in the planning, Oprah Winfrey worked again with celebrity party planner Colin Cowie (dubbed “The Man Behind the Magic” in People Magazine) in hosting the lavish Legends Ball in tribute to pioneering black women. Festivities began Friday at Oprah’s 42-acre Montecito, California estate with an exclusive luncheon for legendary divas such as Tina Turner, Naomi Sim, Maya Angelou, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll, Halle Berry, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson, to name only a few. Flowers for the events included, but were not limited to Coral Peonies, Cymbidium Orchids, Tweedia, Kumquats, Muscari, Hydrangea and Viburnum, in addition to 20,000 white peonies flown in from Israel and Ecuador. Wow! If only I could have been a bee in the garden, what a delight this must have been. On Saturday, the main event moved to the ritzy Bacara Resort and Spa, a celebrity getaway just north of Winfrey’s estate, where USA Today reported that eighty cases of champagne were flown in from France, 120 pounds of tuna arrived from Japan, along with entertainment from Michael McDonald and a 26-piece classical orchestra. The head table, which seated 40, was lined with compact arrangements of red roses, which complemented Winfrey’s Vera Wang red gown; a standout in the sea of black and white attire of the guests. The celebration ended Sunday with a gospel brunch at Winfrey’s estate. ___________________________________ Fine Print --One of the most stylish bridal magazines published on the west coast
today is --Contributors include industry heavyweights such as Scott Corridan of Santa Barbara, CA, and Mary Dann, a featured planner on the Style Network’s “Who’s Wedding is it Anyway?” --In the Summer 2005 issue, the up and coming design house of Square Roots takes center stage, creating a pageantry of spherical floral designs for the stunning “Out of the Blue” . Blending pinks, lavenders, blues and green lavishly in a mixture of Dutch Hydrangea, lavender Vanda orchids, Lily of the Valley (this month from Mayesh), tulips, freesia and blooming jasmine, Jeff Johnson’s masterpiece is quintessentially poetic. --The issue includes featured weddings from west coast design firms such as Mark’s Garden, Katie Duong, Flowers by Michele, Silver Birches, Gardenia Studio, Floreria Patricia, Square Roots, Hearts Bloom, Enchanted Florist, The Hidden Garden, Tommy Farmer and Andre Jackson. --Raul Avila leads the way in mastering floral design in the June issue of Brides magazine. The article, “In Full Flower” features Avila’s artistry in an overflowing design representing a Dutch still life that includes varieties such as poppies, calla lilies, angel hair fern, Hypericum berries and geranium. Not only is the issue packed with designs from floral artists such Michael Gonzalez, Christopher Basset, Miho Kosuda and Prudence Designs, it also includes a diary of flowers by color palette for wedding bouquets. --From Asian-inspired to Romantic Rustic, David Tutera, master of events, whips up themed ides also in the current issue of Brides magazine. The article is timed perfectly for the release of David’s new book, “The Party Planner.” Here’s kudos to his publicist Eda Kalkay. ___________________________________ Los Angeles, CA—Mary Micucci, owner of special events firm Along Came Mary, will receive the coveted “Star Party Planner of the Year” in Life & Style magazine’s StyleMakers issue. In honor of the style maker, the magazine will host a soirée at Hollywood Boulevard’s Montmartre Lounge that will also include a celebrity gown charity auction benefiting Clothes Off Our Back, with entertainment by American Idol Fantasia. ___________________________________ Show Biz Sasha Souza Events has been chosen as one of the planners for the 2005
season of "Who’s Wedding Is It Anyway?" on Style Network.
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