OM in the Wild – a tiki party engagement

The assignment:

a colorful tiki celebration

The goal:

bright flowers and bright fruits

Tricks to pulling off the look: 

1. Avoid blues

2. Help the fruit stand out

3. The brighter the better

Avoiding blues with a touch of green

I was careful to avoid blue in the decor because I wanted it to stand out against the blue house and pool water. I knew I needed to incorporate touches of green to keep the tropical look going and accentuate the greenery of the backyard. Against the blue and green, vibrant shades of pink and orange seemed like the perfect choice to set the tiki mood.

Spotlighting the fruit

The host requested that the fruit table take center stage.  In order to achieve a show-stopping look, we needed a floral showpiece and the fruit displayed at several different levels for visual interest.  I knew that using as many different fruits as possible would make for some fun color contrast, and displaying fruit in bowls made of other fruit took it up a notch.  The real mini banana bunch in the floral arrangement is one of my favorite details of the entire table.  This look required a trip to the Hong Kong market where we found Thai guava, several varieties of coconut, dragonfruit, rambutan, and a banana flower (among other things) to create the fruit spread that we had in mind.

Keeping it bright

Tiki party decor needs to be bright and tropical, and floral arrangements are a perfect way to fulfill both of these requirements.  The florals for this party were so fun to create.  It was my first experience doing something tropical, and I had an opportunity to work with flowers and greenery that I don’t normally arrange.  Small details like the “woven” vases complemented the tiki torches in the yard, and the gold vases on the fruit tables set off the bright flowers and kept the look both tacky and elegant.  The oranges and pinks of the balloons tied in the florals with the barware and leis that were scattered about.  These details kept pops of color in sight at all times and made for a truly festive time.