Month: September 2014

Happy New Year! Everybody celebrate!

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The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, celebrating the start of the year 5775 begins tonight at sundown. Whether or not you are Jewish, I vote that you do something celebratory tonight or tomorrow.  Let me tell you why.

My Little Flower Shop wishes everyone a Happy New Year: L'Shanah Tovah!
My Little Flower Shop wishes everyone a Happy New Year: L’Shanah Tovah!

Many cultures have New Year’s traditions and rituals, and most of them are fun and involve tasty food.  In addition to this Jewish celebration, there’s the Persian holiday Nowrooz, all the variants on the Lunar New Year across Asian cultures, and America’s own version with Dick Clark in Times Square.  Why not have everyone celebrate everything?  What better way to foster understanding and cross cultural togetherness?  Plus- New Years times four or five sounds fun doesn’t it?  Who’s in?  Start tomorrow with some apples and honey for a sweet new year.

Be well and love well.

Dinah

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The biggest wedding planning myth: this isn’t hard, folks.

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Everybody says it, usually accompanied by an eye roll.  “Wedding planning is so hard!”  And it can see that way, when you avoid thinking outside your own bubble. I heard a tale today that put my problems into sharp focus: i.e. that they are about the size of a grain of rice in the grand scheme of things.  Listen up – let’s all start throwing rice in happiness. Why wait for a ceremony?

So what’s the biggest problem people planning a wedding face? Lack of perspective.  Today I had a conversation with a woman who grew up in rural Greece in the 1940s.  She described growing up after losing both her parents caring for four siblings, without heat, indoor plumbing and so little money they couldn’t afford shoes.  “I hear people complain about their shoes being the wrong color,” she said, “and I shake my head.” Honestly – this was a humbling conversation.  centerpiece by My Little Flower Shop in Palm Springs, CA

I did not dare explain the “problems” of helping people plan weddings. Discussing the fact that I wrote about wedding planning “problems” suddenly sounded incredibly shallow.  Seriously? Bottom line we’re talking about happy people, in love, planning a celebration.  When you’re having an issue, step back and think for a moment about the fact that you’re wearing shoes. And that you’ve been lucky enough to find an individual you want to marry. That’s pretty phenomenal.

Be well and love well.

Dinah

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Joan Rivers: Celebrity Wedding Planner

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When the world looked at Joan Rivers, they saw a pioneering comedienne.  Me too, but I also saw the woman who pushed me into a career in wedding planning.  How could an insult comic I never met set me on the creative path that’s landed me as a wedding planning, etiquette and fashion authority at the top Palm Springs florist? Here’s how.

In 1998, Melissa Rivers, Joan’s daughter, got married.  Joan swung into action as a celebrity wedding planner, seeking out the services of innovative event designer Preston Bailey to create a glittery snow garden inspired by “Dr. Zhivago” with 30,000 white flowers for the wedding at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

Inspired by Dr. Zhivago, Russian opulence permeated the wedding.
Inspired by Dr. Zhivago, Russian opulence permeated the wedding.

 

The magazine photos live in my brain to this day. When a client says “winter theme” that’s what I see.  That extravagant celebration showed me what was possible, what creativity could imagine and what opportunities were there to be a part of such events.

Thank you Joan, for your inspiration towards stylish entertaining – and being entertaining.

Be well and love well.

Dinah

 A lovely post script: Joan officiated at the wedding of Preston Bailey and his partner Theo Bleckmann on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

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