Wine at Nine

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The casual yet elegant get together is an earmark of the 90's as young professionals moved towards a later evening "happy hour" at their homes and the homes of friends. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase your style and sophistication through your choice of wines and flowers.

Floral Decorating Ideas

To make an elegant presentation for wines, decorate your wine cooler with flowers to hold each bottle of chilled wine.

Ask your florist to design flowers in a champagne bucket or in a cluster of wine bottles.

Decorate passing trays with flowers.

When serving champagne, pierce a flower blossom and several berries with a cocktail pick and lay it across the top of the champagne glass.

Ceramic, marble or fabric-covered wine coolers also make decorative flower vases. (If using terra-cotta, line the inside with a plastic bag to hold the water.)

Floating candles and fragrant blooms in a crystal bowl make a simple yet elegant centrepiece.

Decorate food serving trays with mini grape wreaths (lying flat) as "holders" for serving bowls or plates on a larger table.

Special Touches

Create an interesting and elegant effect for mingling guests by placing groups of flowers and candles around the room. For each "group", try using varied heights of clear or colored glass in several shapes and sizes and use a different variety of flowers in each one (bowls, mini vases, tall vases, etc.). Taper, votive or pillar candles can be mixed in the group, preferably on levels to enhance the reflection.

Suggested Flowers

A few interesting conversation starters might include cosmos, roses, lilies, anthuriums, orchids, freesia, lisianthus, calla lilies, ranunculus, tulips, iris and gerbera daisies.