Photography by Attasalina Photography
Event Design: Lisa Vorce, Oh, How Charming!
Location: Villa Amodei

The convergence of past and present in Spain’s beautiful cities, towns, cuisine and most importantly the influence of Flamenco music and dance are the inspiration for our Old California Succulence in table and event design.

Flamenco is an intimate music where the voice, the guitar and the body of a dancer moving make for a passionate fine art experience. With this inspiration, Lisa Vorce with Oh, How Charming! began the designing of this tablescape from the performance of Flamenco guitarist, Robert Boyd and dancer Cristina Villalobos of Boyd Music Services. 

The romantic and rustic setting of Villa Amodei was the perfect venue with beautiful formal gardens, water fountains, majestic peppertrees, ivy-covered trellis, wrought iron and stone, nestled in 30 acres of lemon orchards. “I wanted the table to capture the classic yet sultry vibe of a Flamenco dancer and the gorgeous elements of her dress – vibrant colors, ruffles, and sexy lace,” states Vorce.

With that in mind, lead designer Mindy Rice Floral Design introduced Black Magic and Bacara garden roses, flower plum leaves, plums, and fresh grapes attached to large stripped grape vine branches for the table centerpieces. These same centerpieces were suspended above the table for a chandelier effect, “We wanted to see the flowers suspended above to mimic the ruffliness of a Flamenco dancer’s dress,” says Vorce.  Antique, iron lanterns with detailed filigree were also incorporated to add candlelight from above.

The next element to be incorporated was the Royal Crown Derby – Old Imari china with rich tones and colorful design. In order to simplify and not compete with the ornate pattern of the china, a rustic table without linen from Classic Party Rentals—the Descanso table—was integrated as the base to build from. “The dark wood table showcases the vibrant colors of the china beautifully and provides a wonderful contradiction of rustic elegance.”

For seating, Descanso benches were utilized and accentuated.  “The benches had more linen than the table with the brown lace and merlot dupioni silk,” explains Vorce.  Tabella Linens’ merlot dupioni silk and brown lace were incorporated as the drape for the bench seating; for the table runner, the brown lace accentuated the center of the table. “The whole Descanso line from Classic is so versatile. The benches can be used for ceremonies. The legs have different heights so these benches can be turned into belly bars for the cocktail hour,” says Vorce.  Other items from Classic included the Delano glassware and Milana flatware.  

 A specialty dance floor was created by Barker Décor Service, owner Lewis Barker ,who designed a custom high-gloss golden champagne dance floor to host the Flamenco dancers as well as for the guests.

For the fine cuisine, Chef Steve Grindley of Command Performance was inspired by the venue to create a fresh menu of tapas.   His menu featured basil, capers with yellow and red tomato Bruschetta, green and black olive tapenade, artichoke tapenade, goat cheese, basil and sun-dried tomato spread and an assorted cheese platter with Gorgonzola, brie en croûte and marinated Buffalo mozzarella accompanied by fresh-baked breads. “My favorite element was the contrasting, yet complementing colors of the fine china with the red and yellow tomato Bruschetta,” says Grindley.   Sangria—made of red wine, apples, oranges, strawberries, sliced lemons and limes—was served in the Old Imari china tea cups, another opportunity to combine contrasting elements with elegance.

Solvang Bakery prepared a four-layer cake in deep-red fondant, accentuated with hand-cut Spanish lace, mocha silk ribbon, and flowers designed by Mindy Rice Floral Design. The bouquet, also designed by Mindy, featured a fan with hand-pleated chocolate silk, embellished with chocolate cosmos, flower plum leaves, deep-red spray roses and a fringe of soft feathers. Fans were also created for guests to receive at the ceremony, a perfect detail for an outdoor summer wedding; other special details where the menu cards designed by Zoe from Studio Z Mendocino and favor tags incorporated on the chocolate brown favor boxes.