There’s nothing more romantic than flowers. Except if you add chocolate, champagne, and poetry to the mix.
This is what we promised when we invited a few special friends to the beautiful boutique of Te Amo Floristeria, who was to be our co-host for a pre-Valentine gathering. Te Amo, after all, is the first luxury floral boutique in Manila.
This event by Grace Home was designed as an intimate affair bringing together a small group of romantics. Called Petals and Poetry, the afternoon agenda centered on a bespoke floral workshop, where Te Amo’s lovely owner, Amy Peng, would share her pointers in the practice of selecting blooms and the creative ways of putting them together.
This event complements our current collaboration, the Grace Home x Te Amo Dream Collection. I loved seeing the packages on display in that beautiful store!
Everything turned out beautifully that day. We began the event with a little cocktail reception. We toasted to love with Gosset Champagne, the world’s oldest champagne house, provided for us by Artisan Cellar, which carries highly awarded wine brands and fine foods from all over the world.
The menu also featured canapés prepared by Lily & Rose. The spread was a composed of dainty bites: Strawberry Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches, Caramelized Onions with Brie on Croute, Mini Caviar Bites, and Salmon Tartare in Shot Glasses.
Of course, The Spoiled Mummy’s trademark (and favorite) chocolate-covered strawberries were provided as treats as well!
For the main event, everyone took their seats at the long table, each finding their places indicated by cards with their names written in calligraphy on them.
To set the mood, everyone received her own set of romantic lines, taken from the world’s renowned poets, on poetry cards with handpainted flowers by watercolor artist, Aencille Santos. She did her painting on-the-spot, much to the delight of our guests!
But poetry is meant to be heard… so I decided to start the ball rolling by having an impromptu poetry reading session, where one was to be chosen as the “best reader” in the end. Guests read from their poetry cards, with performances exhibiting both passion and humor!
We then crowned all five readers who gave their all during their portrayals as romantic poets!
After that fun ice breaker, it was time for the bespoke floral workshop. After a few pointers from Te Amo, the ladies were welcomed to a bounty of beautiful fresh flowers!
I must say, Te Amo really has the most gorgeous and lush fresh blooms!
Each lady had a box to work with, guided by their own taste and imagination.
The guests selected, cut, assembled, and fashioned their own floral boxes. All the seriousness of the activity was dotted by giggles and chitchat, the way we ladies do when we see old friends again or make new ones!
In the end, everyone, even the self-proclaimed newbie in floral arranging stood over their proudly created box of blooms. It was such a lovely sight to see everyone happy with their own creation!
Not only did our guests get to take home their flower arrangements, we completed the romantic experience with a gift of chocolate in the form of the Grace Home Chocolate Decadence Cake, a swoon-worthy creation made of dark chocolate cake filled with a layer of roasted strawberries and rich chocolate mousse, covered in dark chocolate ganache, decorated with a huge chocolate dipped strawberry, chocolate balls and what else, a fresh rose! Big thanks to The Flour Girl for creating this delightful dessert specifically for Grace Home.
What a wonderful way to feel loved and spoiled this Valentine season! And take it from us: a creative afternoon with the special women in your life is a great way to celebrate too. My gratitude to these very busy ladies for making the time for our little romantic afternoon!
