Thursday, October 23, 2008

Today, Rhonda of Rhonda Patton Weddings shares a Zen themed wedding. So be a bit knowlegdable on the whole matter, so I wouldn’t come off as a total novice, I did some real, in-depth research on Zen (aka consulted wikipedia - my fave resource for random stuff).

Here’s what I learned. According to the wikipedia entry on Zen:

The origins of Zen Buddhism are ascribed to the Flower Sermon, the earliest source for which comes from the 14th century.^[3] It is said that Gautama Buddha gathered his disciples one day for a dharma talk. When they gathered together, the Buddha was completely silent and some speculated that perhaps the Buddha was tired or ill. The Buddha silently held up a flower and several of his disciples tried to interpret what this meant, though none of them were correct. One of the Buddha’s disciples, Mahākāśyapa, silently gazed at the flower and is said to have gained a special insight directly from the Buddha’s mind, beyond words. Mahākāśyapa somehow understood the true inexpressible meaning of the flower…

Wow, wow, wow! Wonder if Rhonda knew all of this? (I am sure she did:). I think it’s interesting that Zen centers around the indescribable nature of a flower…which is Rhonda’s specialty. She gets flowers, in all of their indescribability:) She has a gift for using florals to bring to create the ambiance a bride desires for her special day.

With that Zen 101 intro, enjoy this memorable Zen wedding. I really love the altar picture with the lanterns! This bride/mom team had vision.

Guest Post: Rhonda Patton Weddings is a Nashville-based, event floral designer.

I met with Tisha and her mother back in August of 2007 and they booked me immediately. Tisha, an interior design enthusiast had a modern zen inspiration for her wedding.

Tisha’s wedding was not your typical fall wedding. No pumpkins, no leaves or fancy fall foliage. Instead, she envisioned a contemporary twist to a minamalist zen motif. The color palette combined slate grey and accents of bold jewel tones.

Modern Zen is peace, simple and tranquil; perhaps a link with nature, for some it might conjure up images of a minimalist Japanese style. For others, it may excude an exotic but elegant design. In this case, I simply reinvented modern zen with vibrant colors infused with tropical flowers and decor.

Here’s a quick snap shot! Photo credits: Hamlett Photography

The bride’s modern zen inspired bouquet was comprised of dahlias, callas, ginger, kangaroo paw, oncidium orchids and ginger leaves.

The groom’s buttonhole

Modern Zen Centerpieces

Groomsman Buttonhole

Usher’s Buttonhole

Modern Zen Aisle of Style dressed with parasols…

Rotunda floral design dressed with a parasol…

A modern zen horsetail te-pee design for the bar… my little sister designed this…isn’t it fabulous!

A special thanks to Hamlett Photography for these images. Stay tuned for more details regarding this modern zen inspired wedding!!!
Thanks for reading

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 12:41 am and is filed under Real Nashville Weddings, Event Decor / Flowers, Daily Scoop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.