Never a Bride - Always a Florist

One of the few things that I know that I do well is make pretty flower arrangements.

It was the first job I had after graduating from art school (besides being a club kid, which wasn't as much as a vocation as an intervention-waiting-to-happen).

Every weekend for five years, I designed and/or coordinated weddings from the very simple to the very elaborate.

The last wedding I was involved with had a flower bill that was almost twice my annual salary.

That's when I gave up the biz.

It's brutal, beautiful work, but it's emotionally draining and stressful.

And I wanted more from my life than constant stress and aggravation.

Friday, I poked some posies for a dear friend of mine who was responsible for hiring me at my first "office job."

She's a talented woman who orchestrated and organized one of the best weddings I have ever attended.

You do the math: take a couple of weddings a week at 52 weeks a year, times five years...It was a party and a half.

We worked together to create some really nice touches:

There were handcrafted, Mission Style pedestals with floating candles and huge sprays of Stargazer Lilies and Roses.

The mothers had delicate nosegays of creamy spray roses.

A simple color palette of reds and whites offset the black of the girl's dresses and the contemporary art gallery that hosted the wedding and the reception.

So many things about Friday night linger in my memory.

The woman who officiated the service was wise and thoughtful and presented the bride and groom with a beautiful heart-shaped glass vessel during the ceremony.

There was a chocolate fountain. And strawberries the size of golf balls to dip.

A friend of mine was surprised to see a fella there that he knew...um...well and even more surprised to meet this fella's wife.

The lovely lady next to me at dinner was a character and had me rolling in stitches the whole night.

The night flowed beautifully from one component to the next.

The food was outstanding.

The conversation lively and the music was first rate.

I will admit that I left before they played The Chicken Dance.

Why ruin a good night?

So...here's to love and happiness and all that other stuff that brings passion to life!

Here's to you, Kelly and the life you and your husband have chosen to make together.

I can rant and bitch like a mo-fo on here, but there's one thing I know for sure:

The greatest thing you'll ever learn, it just to love, and be loved in return.

And I'll get back to bitching in just a bit...