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Three inspired designers bring Provence to your wedding table, with their innovations in French cuisine, wedding cake design, floral arrangements and decor. Vive la France!
by Savanna Justin
Photographs by Cheryl Mac, Pure Image Photography
Event Design by Camilla Svensson Burns Floral Design
Catering by Trumpet Vine Catering
Cake Design by You Take the Cake
Location: Beautiful private Stanier Estate, San Luis Obispo County
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| A fusion of simple to elaborate French china; an heirloom tomato as guest of honor for each setting; sunny yellow, Delft blue, leafy green and deep coral pink napkins; eclectic assortment of European sterling silver; miniature urns with bees wax candles surrounded by Bees Blue Delphinium blossoms; aged terra cotta pot to display farm fresh-eggs; for comfort and style, a French daybed is added with Perdeaux pillows of golden yellow, red & blue; for the final touches, tightly clustered carnations adorn the Birch tree branches. Camilla Svensson Burns Floral Design |
Through the valleys of Haute Provence, each village encourages a relaxed lifestyle in which there is no greater pleasure than enjoying a delicious meal with friends and family. This has inspired our three designers to create an unforgettable French country wedding.
Incorporating her passion for eclectic creativity, Camilla Svensson Burns explores the French country setting effortlessly. “Finding my inspiration for a French provincial setting,” Camilla said, “I wanted to do something different from the traditional sunflowers or blue-and-yellow theme and the rooster. I always like to give it a new twist, so I just did the one rooster with the flowers. I wanted people to enjoy the whimsical rooster, but also to enjoy the palette, the texture and color.”
Another of Camilla’s inspirations came from a type of heirloom tomato. “They’re different-looking, but so great looking that I selected the napkins based on the tomato. In Europe, especially in France, eclectic collections of silverware, plates and napkins are used to convey a diversity of beauty; a creative palette where variety simply adds more elegance.” |
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| For the traditional French country dishes, Jill Ogorsolka of Trumpet Vine Catering , was inspired by the combination of colorful and rustic elements of French Cuisine. “I used terra cotta dishes and rustic-style tiers to display hors d’ oeuvres,” she said. “These, and other pieces I had on hand, helped inspire the food selection.” |
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Because cheese is an important factor in the preparation of a French meal, Jill chose several cheeses from Di Raimondo’s in Paso Robles to represent the different regions throughout France, including L’Edel de Cleron and Fleur Verte, both goat’s milk cheeses, and a Morbier. They accompanied hors d’oeuvres like her Prosciutto and Blue Cheese tartlets crostini with crème fraîche, Smoked salmon, Black caviar, and Pissaladière with anchovies and marinated olives, all presented on tiers.
For the French country dessert, Deborah Sigler of You Take the Cake, wanted something traditional yet unusual. She selected the French croquembouche, a rustic-looking cone-shaped cake consisting of dozens of stacked creampuffs filled with Grand Marnier-flavored mascarpone, all dipped in caramelized sugar. Deborah explained that the inside of the small creampuffs may be filled with a variety of ingredients so that the cake can be adapted to almost any wedding theme. For this croquembouche, Deborah created small marzipan fruits to be sprinkled throughout the pastry.
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Menu by
Trumpet Vine Catering
Cauliflower Gratin with Gruyère
and Parmesan cheese
Vegetable Tian with Onions, Potatoes, Zucchini, Tomatoes, Fresh Thyme and Gruyère Cheese
Crostini with Crème Fraîche and Smoked Salmon and Black Caviar
Prosciutto and Blue Cheese Tartlets
Pissaladière with Anchovies
and Marinated Olives
Sautéed Haricot Verts
Olive Oil and Rosemary Roasted
Cornish Game Hens
Croquembouche Cream Puffs filled with Grand Marnier-flavored Mascarpone, dipped in Caramelized Sugar by You Take the Cake
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| White bone china with a band of aged silver compliment old crystal goblets and a collection of mismatched sterling silver; table draped in Pear/Wasabi Paillette with Wasabi iridescent taffeta and taffeta napkins; Anjou pears are perched in the aged silver egg cups; a tall vase of grandeur displays White Phalaenopsis Orchids spilling over the edge with hanging Amaranth, whilst Lotus Pods, Succulents and Helleborus reiterate the restrained elegance of the scheme. Camilla Svensson Burns Floral Design |
For Camilla Svensson Burns, a Parisian formal reception setting is a creative occasion. With her exquisite collection of wedding resources, beautiful linens were a phone call away. “My outlet for amazing linens is Resource One,” she said. “Their palette is wonderful. Their names for the colors of linens are mouthwatering! I selected ‘Pear and Kiwi Parfait’ for the French formal setting.” Camilla added that she loved the creativity involved in tying the French-themed tableware including the antique crystal, the worn silverware, and the unpolished silver goblet to hold the pears. “More and more brides are asking for the complete look for their wedding, from flatware, linens, crystal to flowers.”
Her French formal floral designs are just as innovative. “It would have been easy to just do a white floral arrangement,” she said. “But instead, I used succulents and orchids to create fabulous complementary textures.” She added, “You can do something formal while still having fun with the composition.”
Jill Ogorsolka found her inspiration by scanning through her favorite French cookbooks for recipes of colorful and flavorful foods.
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“For their formal cuisine,” Jill explained, “the French acquire platters of fresh seafood from their corner restaurant to serve for their events.” In keeping with this tradition, she selected fresh lobster tail, mussels, clams, oysters and shrimp, and incorporated local fresh seasonal produce into her recipes.
Jill explains that the key to good French cuisine is using fresh herbs and ingredients. She incorporated fresh rosemary and basil from her garden, freshly-cracked pepper, and French sea salt. “Using great local seasonal ingredients is all that is necessary to enhance the flavors of the cuisine,” she said. The meal was complemented by Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin champagne.
When asked about her inspiration for her formal French Impressionist cake, Deborah Sigler said her design was influenced by an ancient story. “I started thinking about the very romantic love story of Daphnis and Chloe, a Greek story about two orphaned children who were adopted and eventually met and fell in love.” From this concept, Deborah scanned lithographs from Russian-French Impressionist painter Marc Chagall and, using a new technique, transferred the design onto sheets of frosting, along with scrolls inscribed with quotations from the story of Daphnis and Chloe. |
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Menu by
Trumpet Vine Catering
Fresh Seafood includes lobster tail
Steamed mussels
Clams and oysters on the half-shell
Shrimp with fresh rosemary and basil, freshly-cracked pepper,
and French sea salt.
Frosting with French Whipped Cream
White Chocolate Cake filled with Vanilla Mousse
Fresh Blackberries by You Take the Cake.
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