Photography by Tina Halturin
Design of Special Event by Arina Lanis

If there is anything I love, it is great news! So when I found out that my husband's cousin, Tim, had gotten engaged, we were all absolutely thrilled.

Needless to say, parties to celebrate this great occasion were destined to be planned and I looked forward to helping in any way I could. So when my mother-in-law, Gail, asked if I wanted to be involved in planning a bridal shower for Nancy, I had no hesitations... I wanted to host it!

After much thought, we decided that I would design and host the shower and Gail would cater it. This team effort turned out to be the perfect formula for a beautiful and meaningful bridal shower.

It didn't take us long to face our first stumbling block. How do we design an event for a person neither of us knows very well? The only thing that we did know was that Nancy was a vegetarian, which helped us narrow down our menu choices -- other than that, we were on our own. After considering some options, we decided to focus less on designing an event to match Nancy's personality and instead design the shower to reflect symbols and meanings of "Good Luck" in the marriage and "Prosperity" in their family life.

A few days of extensive research brought me the answer... designing the entire event around the concept of fruit (primarily citrus). I also added my signature trademark which I incorporate in to all my special events... roses. My first design idea was to focus on lemons, limes, oranges, and other citrus fruit. Lemon/Citron represents a plethora of wonderful meanings such as financial prosperity, warmth, optimism, new beginnings, and enthusiasm. In Roman and Victorian times, citron was the symbol of love and fidelity and was an integral part of all wedding decorations.

My next challenge was to design centerpieces and decorations that would not only be beautiful but would also enhance all the powerful symbolism citrus embodies. Wreaths were at the top of my list, as was focusing most of my decorations around the hearth of the fireplace, a powerful area in the house that is not without its own share of symbolism, such as warmth, family, and prosperity. I used a Mint Julep Set, consisting of Julep Cups, Mini Mint Julep Cups, and Mint Julep Vases (my favorite) filled with roses, for the fireplace mantle. Typically, when designing around the hearth, a fire should always be lit to encourage good energy, but since it was summer, this was definitely not an option. Instead, I added candlelight in small votives as well as creamy pillars which not only made the entire design more attractive, but brought much meaning as well. Each guest received a citrus candle as a favor.

Of course, no venue is ever perfect, including my house. So when the dining room's bold Victorian red and blue wallpaper completely ruled out the idea of decorating with citrus, I went to "Plan B" -- sugared apples, red roses, and blue hydrangeas for centerpieces, accented appropriately with pears... the quintessential symbol of posterity and Christmas love (think "partridge in a pear tree"), the time when Tim and Nancy announced their engagement. Don't hesitate to change the design colors dramatically if the room begs for it. No matter how beautiful your centerpieces may be, if they clash with the decor of their environment, your efforts may be wasted. As long as the "theme" and ideas stay the same, the design has room for improvisation.

The table consisted of a sugared fruit centerpiece and silver-plated mini champagne buckets which not only looked stunning as decorations, but reflected the afternoon's aperitif, mimosas! Candlelight was provided by gentle silver-plated Star Tea-Light Holders.

The bridal shower was an enormous success. As for seeing if my symbolic theme had any effect on the upcoming union, well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.