Drawn

When we were planning for Joannah's Filipiniana wedding, we looked at photos from different florists on how they interpreted the theme. There were a couple of nice arrangements, but then I thought: "if you've seen it in photos, that means it's been done." My creative instinct didn't want a rehashed arrangement on my friend's wedding, so I did something that I haven't done in a while.

I drew something.

Admittedly, my drawing skills are - pardon the pun - sketchy. But one has to be intrepid in a situation like Jo's wedding. After all, she's the last wedding in her family, and I organized both her siblings' weddings. This had to be the proverbial coup de grace, the pinnacle of creation, the big bang, yadda yadda. So I quickly grabbed my Pilot Hi Techpoint V5 and sketched away.

Since the wedding was Filipiniana, I was inspired by some of the indigenous local materials that we often take for granted. Some of the guests are from Singapore, India, the US, and some other part of the globe, so it would be nice to introduce these materials to them. Instead of one centerpiece, I decided we should have 4: abaca, bamboo, banig and capiz. Each arrangment would have a touch of the chosen material, as well as flowers.

After sketching, and throwing the sketch away, to sketching again, I made 4 sketches that made me stop and smile. It definitely wasn't a Degas, Van Gogh or Gauguin, but if the florist understood what I was trying to express, heck, that's fine by me. And after showing it to my favorite florist in Dangwa, she said those magic words: "Kayang-kaya 'yan."

Today, I saw the final product, and it was everything I imagined it to be. While they were fixing the tables and the ballroom, I felt all happy and giddy seeing my vision turning into reality. Even the florist told me that this is probably the best arrangement she's done in years. This inspired me to drag the photographer up to the ballroom and have the arrangements photographed before the guests come in and start bringing them home.

During the reception, one of our friends remarked at how beautiful the centerpieces are. And she also noticed that each table had a different centerpiece. She even went as far as asking the waiter to enumerate how many centerpieces there are, and she'd sneak around to see how each one looked. Of course, I was silently smiling at the knowledge that my work was appreciated.

The fact that the florist understood my drawing and was able to execute it the way I envisioned it must mean that my drawing skills aren't that bad. This, of course, has inspired me to draw some more. Now all I need to do is find another friend who's planning to get married.