Floral Arranging Party

Like photography, floral arranging is something I've been taking amateur shots at for a while now. And I can't imagine I am the only one! It's both a practical and beautiful skill to have, a practice you can completely immerse yourself in—no screens required!

So I decided to throw a floral arranging party for my son's school fundraiser and the other moms and I had such a great time gathering with one another and learning new skills from the talented Jelena from Viola Floral! Jelena is a superstar florist and instructor, based in Santa Monica, with a studio dedicated to luxury arrangements and flower arranging workshops. I had the pleasure of hosting her for our class and everoyne left having learned some great foundational skills in addition to the most beautiful bouquets!

Here's how the whole event came together, enjoy! xx

My day started with a 5am trip to The Original Los Angeles Flower Mart, my third visit now, and some strong coffee. My mother was excited to join me and instead of helping reign in my flower budget she just further encouraged our joint obsession. I wrote a whole post about how to navigate the flower mart here, but in short, you just can't beat the selection and wholesale prices. Obviously my knowledge is super limited, but conidering the flucuating market rates of flowers by season, any seasoned florist knows what's considered a "good deal" and so if you are planning to make more than 1-2 small arragnements I believe it's well worth the trip!

I am happy to report we did very well sourcing our showstoppers: anemones, coral peonies and rannuculas; the supporters: pink daisy spray chrysanthemums, garden roses, and pink rice flowers; and the fillers: Queen Anne's lace, pink yarrow, Italian ruscus and privet berries for a little texture. Jelena recommended I go the day before so they have a full day to sit in water and shade, however, the morning of seemed to work fine too.

For the party setup I knew we would be outside but I had no idea it would be so hot in March! So I made sure to keep the beverages simple—champagne and rosé, served over lots of ice if you're like me! To make snacking easier during the class, I made individual trio appertivo bowls: olives, truffled marcona almonds and chips for each guest. I also made individual crudités coupes with a dollop or two of tzatziki so it would be easier for everyone to socialize!

Jelena had us all choose stems from my selections, so the guests could "go shopping" for blooms if you will! We each got our own opportunity to create an arrangment following her lead and it was really helpful to better understand the general mechanics I have been missing. Perhaps I need a photography lesson next!?

After our stunning arrangements were complete we sat down for dinner à la Arthur around Jelena's stunning demo arrangement. We sipped rosé and caught up, while enjoying Arthur's famous crab cakes and potato au gratin. By then the sun had moved over just enough for my lovely murano table lamps to glow. After everyone left Parker came home just in time to enjoy the cake I forgot to serve, proving it a perfect evening for everyone. xx

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