How to Host a Floral Workshop With A Brunch-Tastic Summer Recipe

How to Host a Floral Workshop + A brunch-tastic Summer salad recipe

How would you like to host your own floral workshop or party? Samantha at Splendid Musings shows us how to plan our own! Originally published on September 4th, 2017

Photograph by Splendid Musings

Select your guest list.

We're incredibly lucky to have a welcoming, social group of independent florists and farmer florists here in the Madison area, so choosing the initial guest list was easy. From there we tried to consider other professionals that may enjoy and benefit from attending a floral workshop, and event planners and photographers came to mind. I reached out to an event planner I work with regularly and put out a request for photographers on our local Tuesday Together Facebook Group, which is sponsored by the Rising Tide Society. If you're not already part of this fabulous nation-wide community, definitely check it out!

Survey your guest list for availability.

There's nothing sadder than planning an event that no one can attend.

Send out a detailed invite.

Include all the basics like time, date and location, but don't forget other important logistical info. What's the timeline? What should they bring? What should they wear? Will you be outside?

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Here was our invite agenda:

2:00-5:00 pm Play with flowers. To reduce costs and keep things interesting, we're asking everyone to bring at least one big buckets of blooms and foliage to share. It can be from your fields, garden or wholesaler - just make sure it's stuff you love working with. Bonus points for cool textures and unusual fillers. The focus will be centerpieces, but we can work on whatever people want to practice - handhelds, wearables, etc. Bring a favorite container or two as well.

5:00-7:00 pm Drinks and photography. We'll crack open some bottles of wine and photograph our work. Bring your fancy camera, phone or whatever else you use for pictures. We're planning to invite a number of local photographers looking to build their portfolios to join us at this time as well, with the hope that they'll share their work in exchange for wine + dinner, beautiful subject matter and credit whenever we use their pictures.

7:00 pm Celebration dinner. Last but not least, we'll have a beautiful, candle-lit dinner at a long table just dripping with flowers, a la Floret or Love 'n' Fresh. More photographs, more wine and hopefully lots of great conversation and connections. Dinner will be simple + seasonal.

Make sure to bring: At least one big bucket of blooms + foliage to share, a few fun containers, and snips, tape, glue and anything else you'll need for arranging.

Consider food + beverages.

Nothing brings people together like food, so ending the workshop with a casual sit-down dinner (where we could display our creations) was a no brainer.

We kept dinner nice and simple—Costco Mac & Cheese doctored up with fresh tomatoes and herbs, pretzel rolls, fruity spinach salad (recipe below) and cupcakes from the amazing Bloom Bake Shop. 

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Fruity Spinach Salad

10 oz spinach
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries
2/3 cup raspberries
Optional extra toppings like feta cheese and sliced almonds

Dressing
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt

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Send a follow-up invite or two after your initial email.

Summer, in particular, can get busy, and sometimes people need a few reminders.

Plan and prep as much as you can ahead of time. 

Where will people sit, where will they do the arranging, where will they put all their buckets of flowers and finished pieces? Do you need to borrow tables, chairs, coolers, etc?

Day of

Set up as early as you can, but stop 15 minutes before guests arrive (even if you're totally behind) to freshen up. You'll be your best host if you feel confident, and guests are more than happy to help with last minute tasks if they arrive before it's all done. This is a key point for me, as I'm always a bit behind. :)

Then just enjoy yourself!

Full Story Credits

Hosted by Homegrown Flowers, Heatherhill Floral, Blooms by Brandi, Alluring Blooms, Hilltop Community Farm, Sunborn Florist, Madison Wedding Flowers, and Bliss Coordinating 

Photography by Splendid Musings Photography, Jenna Leroy Photography, Mai Ka Photography and Pang Khang Photography  

Full Image Gallery

Need More Hosting Ideas? Continue Reading For More pointers on creating the most entertaining atmosphere