Big Fat Greek Wedding Traditions. Opaaaaa! Ouzo for Everyone!

Greece is suffering some economically terrible times.  However, people are always getting married, and so there are parties going on in the midst of the austerity.  They may not be quite as big and fat as in years past, but a Greek wedding is never anything but a joyous celebration.

Most Greek weddings take place under the aegis of the Greek Orthodox Church, which has some lovely wedding rituals, including the bride and groom wearing ceremonial crowns that are tied together with ribbon to signify the bond between them.  The bride and groom hold lighted candles, and make three circles around the altar to represent their journey through life.

Chris & Alethia's Wedding: Courtesy of TheBrideAndGroom.com

At the reception, the party gets underway.  Live music is de rigeur, Plates are broken for good luck, and money is traditionally thrown at the musicians.  Traditional foods such as spanakopita and baklava are served, and are easy ways to bring a little bit of Athens to any wedding.  Toasts are raised with ouzo, a strong licorice flavored spirit.

One last tradition to be very careful with, should you choose to adopt it, is that of breaking open a pomegranate on the ground representing fertility, and good luck.  As an event planner, this makes me apoplectic.  My bride is wearing white, and you’re stomping on pomegranates?  Where’s the ouzo? Opaaaa!

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My Little Flower Shop. What Are We All About?

In addition to “centerpiece,” a popular search term bringing people to the My Little Flower Shop website is (shock!) “My Little Flower Shop.”  We’re thrilled that people know our name, and want to get to know us.  So, in that spirit, here’s some things “About Us.”

Our Experience:Past projects include prestigious events such as the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, Five Presidential Inaugurations and Inaugural Balls.  We are trusted to create celebrations and tribute arrangements for celebrity clients across Southern California. Most importantly we have created hundreds of unique, personal weddings, birthday celebrations, showers, anniversary parties, and all occasion/holiday bouquets, using only the finest flowers.

A Bride's bouquet, paired with the complementary Maid of Honor bouquet.

Our Staff:  Combined, our staff of Special Event Artists, Stylists and Wedding Experts has over 50 years experience designing, planning and executingone-of-a-kind, high profile social, corporate and charity benefit special events. Growing up in a prestigious Ohio floral empire, Gregory Goodman, Special Event Artist, has had event artistry in his blood from the get-go. Alan Kelly, CEO, learned floral design after leaving the military, meeting Greg and discovering his true passion and an untapped wellspring of talent and creativity. Falling in love with Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, they decided to make their second home a permanent location and My Little Flower Shop quickly rose to prominence as the premiere full service floral and event design studio in Palm Springs, CA.

Our Community Commitment: We care deeply about our customers and our community so a charity of each bride’s choosing receives a percentage of their event total, as our way to give back.  We are constantly working with local charities through participation and donations, some of which include: The Palm Springs Art Museum, The Desert AIDS Project, FIND Foodbank, and Martha’s Village.

A creation for The Palm Springs Art Museum's "Art In Bloom" exhibition

 

Our Commitment to You, our Clients: At My Little Flower Shop, we focus on customer service. You are a unique individual, and your celebration or floral gift needs to reflect who you are, and the message you want to send. We’re here to listen – and to work with you, and to make your vision a reality.

We have a passion for perfect parties, beautiful brides and wonderful weddings. Let us get to know you, and help you celebrate in style!

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You want even more wedding centerpieces? Now this is getting personal..

The stats don’t lie, centerpieces are all the rage. And why not?  They do make a good starting point.  So now we get personal. Here’s the scoop (and the photos) of the centerpieces from my October 2010 wedding expertly planned, designed and coordinated by My Little Flower Shop, soup to nuts.

My now husband and I told Greg the colors we liked, and that we wanted the wedding to be on the contemporary side.  From there, Greg came up with the idea that instead of one big design in the center of the table, he would do three smaller ones – more of a tablescape than a centerpiece.  The outcome was elegant and modern, and suited us perfectly.

This low, rectangular centerpiece element is green cymbidium orchids and seeded eucalyptus in a natural fiber container

 

This centerpiece element consists of tightly clustered green button poms in a modern glass container lined with a ti leaf
This centerpiece element added height to the trio with white dendrobium orchids in a bed of moss in a neutral ceramic container
Pin-spot lights focused on each table highlight and unify the three pieces and make the glassware sparkle
The tables varied: there were also low arrangements made of green roses.

 

For more photos of our wedding, click here.

Thanks to Cheryl Mac for her beautiful photographs, and to Greg and Al and Mary for my beautiful wedding.

Be well, and love well!

-Dinah

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