The mix of travel, flowers, food & people, who could ask for more?! All the things I love to photograph and all in the same place! Last year I traveled all over the country to photograph Field To Vase Dinners for The California Cut Flower Commission & what an awesome experience it was! I know this is a little late getting to my blog, but better late than never!
We went from a New York City rooftop, to Colorado during monsoon season, to Seattle Washington while surrounded by fields of dahlias, to many locations in California like Monterey, Fallbrook, Carpinteria & in Carlsbad, we sat in the middle of a ranunculus field! And I have to say that Virginia was my absolute FAVORITE! Maybe it was the fact that we were sitting adjacent to the field that The Battle of Bull Run (I think that's the battle) took place during the Civil War! Or maybe it was because there was a super cool barn? (I have a fetish for barns & all things rustic!) Again, we were amidst more dahlia flowers & some of the coolest people I have ever met :)
The 1st dinner started in Carpinteria, California & has taken off to become a tour now, all over the country! It is such an amazing experience for the guests and it starts with a tour of the farm, then a brief floral arrangement demonstration, and then we sit down at the most beautiful table, designed by a local floral designer, like Christina Stembel owner of Farmgirl Flowers, and served a tasty meal by a local chef like Marissa Gerlach! Each one is more appealing than the last! Yet, the last one was the best! Every dinner came from fresh local farms, picked that day! The wines were local & the flowers too! If you are thinking you missed the boat on this fantastic experience, it's not too late! Go to: http://www.americangrownflowers.org/fieldtovase/
The whole concept came from wondering how do we get the word out on getting Americans to buy American Grown flowers again? Well, this is certainly one way! We have gotten press from The Wall Street Journal to Sunset Magazine! Telling the country to come to this magnificent dinner, all the while being educated on why to buy our flowers from our local farmers right here in the USA! And it's working :) I only buy the flowers that have the CA Grown sticker on them now, do you?
I had a really hard time trying to pare down all the photos I took throughout the tour! It's my job to not only capture the essence of the dinner, but also the food, the people, and of course the flowers! It took days for me to get it down to this many & I know I know, it's still too many! LOL! By the end of these photographs you might be sick of flowers, food & happy people, but my hope is that I leave you wanting more!!!!!!
Virginia...
