where we've been

We took some time away from the heat last week and weekend to work, play and celebrate on the East coast. Two of our very special clients and friends tied the knot in Newport, RI, and we were both honored to be a part of the weekend. On Tuesday, Matt and I parted ways - he went straight to Newport to help regulate and coordinate design for the after rehearsal dinner, and I visited my old home in New York before heading over to Newport. It was inspiring to be in the city and wonderful to catch up with old friends.

The after rehearsal dinner, on the other hand, took lots of very hard work from many design teams. Matt's talent was the glue that pulled the details of the event together, and it would not have been the same without his creativity and determination to show Newport how Alabama throws a party! From the lighting (special ordered by MCD, pictured above) to the table settings to the copy on the menu, the event was a creative director's dream.

Now, back to reality.

Image by Pam Poellnitz

LOV for the MOB

Last weekend's wedding (a few images here) was a sweet celebration and we were honored to work with such lovely clients and friends. Though the reception site - the childhood home of the bride - had little structural damage from the tornado, the landscaping was a bit disheveled and debris was piled up and down the roads leading to the home. With the help of some talented folks, everything was cleared and re-scaped beautifully, just in time.

When we started planning the event a year ago, the MOB (mother of the bride) kept mentioning Lily of the Valley. It's not often that we work with the tiny, delicate, fragrant blooms, but we were able to sneak it into our flower order for the weekend and nestled it around the reception as a surprise for her. A quick google search brings up the storied history of the flower with some references reading that it symbolizes a return to happiness. Undoubtedly, the wedding weekend brought a new found joy and we think we'll try to use Lily of the Valley every chance we get.

be bop

We've been be-bopping all over the place the past week and haven't had a chance to share our latest! Last weekend, we put on an amazing wedding and reception at Smith Hall. You may have seen our pictures on facebook. This week has been jam packed with meetings for new projects and planning florals for various UA-related events this weekend (rush, A-Day, meetings, graduation party planning) and more engagement showers (and future weddings...!).

We also had a major breakthrough in the shop: baby's breath. Call us flower snobs, but we cringed at thought of having it in our shop. We needed it for the wedding last weekend to make a sweet halo for the flower girl. It turned out beautifully and we decided to let down our guards (and elitist flower-designing values) and try it in an arrangement or two. We're not ashamed to say that a chic container filled with a big baby's breath bouquet is just lovely.

image via Real Simple.

in case you were wondering...

A refresher course on basic table setting. image via eventmuse.biz

marvelous berries

A terrific idea! So Wonderful So Marvelous shared a delightful recipe for a delicious treat: cheescake-filled strawberries. They suggest using pre-made filling, but we'd opt for a homemade version with mascarpone (or maybe stilton for a savory kick?). We're willing to bet these will disapear as fast as Madeline Passerini's bon bons and we will undoubtedly serve them at Matt Clinton Designs' next champagne and dessert party!

Image compliments of So Wonderful So Marvelous

let me take you to the mardi gras

Just about every party-loving Alabamian knows that Mardi Gras began in Mobile, and without a doubt, there have been some amazing events and parades over the past few days down in Mob town. We've also had a fair share of parties here in T-town that traditionally celebrate during the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras. However, we wanted to reflect on a recent trip to New Orleans where I stumbled into a little jewel box of a shop called Masquerade. A snap shot of one of the walls lined with intricate handmade masks is above. The sequins, feathers and fine details make us want to throw our own masked-ball next year.

pink ice protea

We received some awesome Pink Ice protea today. It's not the first bloom that pops in mind for wedding florals, but we'll be using them for a gorgeous arrangement at the reception this weekend. Given their extra long life span, we'll try to scoop them back up for the shop after the party. Aren't they cool?!

weekend showers

Flamingo pink and Robin's Egg blue were our inspiration for the celebration of a mom-to-be and her growing nest. Check out the buffet table, above - who can resist the flamingos?

Many thanks to Mary Keeley McAllister for making our dreams of a photo booth come true.

toasting

We haven't quite made it to Christmas, but are already getting excited about New Years, because the Tuscaloosa Magazine New Year's Eve photos were just posted online. We haven't seen the magazine yet, but are thrilled with these images. Many thanks to Kyle Office, Spirits Wine Cellar, Letters Hops and Vine, Mary's Cakes, Madeline Passerini, Donna, Janet, Robert, Holly, Debbie, Caroline, and the MCD team for pulling this together! Here's to ringing in the New Year with lots of sweets, bubbly, friends and family!

a glam fete

Today, the Matt Clinton Designs team spent the morning staging a New Year's Eve fete for Tuscaloosa Magazine. Inspired by the Black and White Ball, we accented our palette with gilded accessories, bubbly libations and sugary confections. Many thanks to everyone that helped us pull the "event" together...keep an eye out for the piece in Tuscaloosa Magazine's Holiday issue!

black and white ball

We love this shot of Candice Bergen at Truman Capote's Black and White Ball in 1966. These images from the evening (compliments of Habitually Chic) have inspired a glamorous entertaining concept we're designing for a Tuscaloosa Mag shoot tomorrow. Details to follow!

fall flowers

Yesterday's autumnal equinox marked the first official day of Fall! We're using a beautiful fall palette for Matt Clinton Designs' Friday deliveries (one arrangement pictured above). The colors were inspired by changing leaves...just a few more weeks until Tuscaloosa's trees start turning. Check out our facebook album featuring a Fall cocktail party where we used branches and foliage from the home owner's yard. Just gorgeous!

seedy fashion

Matt Clinton Designs is always on the look out for inspiring floral designs and our most recent obsession hails from the most fashionable city in the world. Paris celebrated nature's finest designs last week when John Galliano debuted Christian Dior's floral-inspired line during the Haute Couture fashion shows. His elegant, thoughtful, drop-dead gorgeous creations gave a whole new meaning to floral design. In addition to watching flowers day and night, through every stage of bloom, Galliano also studied up on Irving Penn's and Nick Knight's photography. Couture is all in the hand-sewn details and we couldn't be more impressed with the fabric to petal transformation. And the shoes!!!

We pulled the image from Style.com – check out a fab article and the rest of the show here.

Beautiful clothing aside, we're wondering what the French fashion house did with the gigantic Parrot Tulips used as runway décor after the show...

bright brides

Weddings may be the most stressful of all the events we do, but hands down, they are our favorite. A garden-inspired wedding ceremony and reception we recently designed at North River Yacht Club had several extraordinary homemade touches added by the bride and her family. Pictured above is her creative spin on the traditional bride's bouquet. Heirloom and vintage pins on delicate lace were a nice way to accent elements important to the theme of the wedding. The altar and buffet florals we designed were inspired by the lush colors – rich purples, creamy whites and all shades of garden green – in the fabric the family brought in for the table linens. Take a peek at more images from the wedding from photographer Kelly Cummings of Spindle Photography.

without a hitch: stitch witchery

After A long jaunt on the coast for a wedding and photo shoot, were back in the studio. There's much to share about our adventures in destination wedding world, but for now, we wanted to take a break from plugging our floral designs and give a little DIY lesson on how to make your own table runners.

We used these for a Bridesmaid Luncheon at Cosmo's restaurant in Orange Beach, AL. Check out an this article on the establishment from Tuscaloosa Mag. We came across the fabric at Old Time Pottery (the infamous craft/home accessory store on steroids – it can be a little overwhelming, but you never leave without a good find). You'll need about four yards of fabric, Stitch Witchery, an iron and a pair of scissors.

Start by cutting the length of fabric in half to give yourself two two-yard pieces. Then, cut the width of each piece of fabric in half. Following the directions on the Stitch Witchery package, create a two inch seam along the underside of the fabric edge and fuse it together by ironing over a length of fabric tape in the fold of the seam. Repeat along the two long lengths and one short width of the fabric. Along the other short width, create an even-angled point. To do this, fold the corners of the width down over the back of the fabric to meet each other. Seal the seam with Stitch Witchery. Voila!

Props to the Bride for this lovely image.

it's electric

One more post on fabulous floral hues. The roses above are called Star 2000 and they are the most intensely color-saturated roses we've ever seen. They are making quite an impression on our weekly deliveries – yesterday's administrative professionals raved at the sight of them in their arrangements!

We used them for a fall engagement party last year and are loving them for spring and summer. We bet that if we paired them with the perfect shade of citron green and a few other reds, they would be refreshing in holiday arrangements, too. An impressive rose for all seasons!

milva rose and antique blue

This past weekend, one of the four events we juggled was an intimate cocktail party at a lovely historic home in Tuscaloosa. Though the home's interiors have an air of fresh glamor, we decided to take it to the next level of modernity with tablescapes and arrangements inspired by renowned floral designer Jeff Leatham. We used a simple color palette of salmony orangish pink and muted blue-green sea tones, then layered in lots of glass, water and floating candles. It was gorgeous and the roses smelled amazing.

We carried this color palette into some of our weekend deliveries (pictured above) and look forward to more experimentation with these summery hues in the forthcoming months.

softly spring

This image (compliments of Dabbs Anderson, our artiste friend) is from a few weeks ago. That's Dabbs carrying a lovely arrangement we used at Kozy's restaurant for our friend Caroline's birthday. It was mid-March and the Japanese Magnolias had just burst into bloom at Caroline's house. We foraged those from her yard and along with a few other stems and some pretty greenery, we made a lovely table scape for dinner.