A Few Days with American Grown Flowers and the First Lady's Luncheon

I must say the past five days have been gratifying for me! I had the privilege of designing with a team for the First Ladies Luncheon. Now, you may be asking, "What is the First Ladies Luncheon"? So I'll share about that first.

Started by the Congressional Club in 1912, the event was initially a breakfast and later morphed into a luncheon honoring the First Lady of the United States. The Congressional Club is the official club of Congressional spouses and prides itself on being bi-partisan.  Guests come from around the country and the world to attend the event. Every year the luncheon has a different theme, and everything from the tablecloths to the favors (always some type of bag filled to the brim with goodies) to the centerpieces revolves around this theme. Generally, the idea is inspired by the state from whence the chairman of the luncheon committee hails.

The last three years, Certified American Grown Flowers has provided the floral decor for the Luncheon. This year and last were headed up by co-chair and florist, Kelly Shore of Petals by the Shore in Washington DC area. Her co-chair this year was Mary Kate of The Local Bouquet in Rhode Island. Tackling the job of hosting a "flower shop" out of a hotel and getting volunteers to make up a design and support teams of over 30 people is a huge task and one that they succeeded in beautifully!

I was proud to be a part of this year's design team and especially fond of working with the fresh flowers and foliage that our great country has to offer. Designers from all over the country came to help along with several flower farmers. A team that was cohesive and hard-working, to say the least. Seeing old friends and making new ones is always such a pleasure!

A welcoming flower wall, over 170 centerpieces/floral accents, podium designs, promenade florals decorating the runway, and over 800 boutonnieres were just a sampling of what was done. An event to remember for sure and I'm looking forward to supporting them again in the future.

Photos by Kirstin Smith Photography