Mexico with Jose Villa

To be clear: I like cold weather, dark days, misery, butter, lonely nights, etc. However, an invitation to flower for one of Jose Villa's infamous photography workshops in Mexico had me reconsidering my ability to embrace warm weather retreat and suddenly I was digging around in my closet for sandals in November.

photo by Jose Villa


I had never been to Mexico before! I was given fair warning that the flower market in Mexico is not what we're used to in NY. Fortunately I had eyes on the ground -- my friend Gabriella, who recently returned back to her home town of Mexico City to build her flower business there, was willing to be my accomplice and use her flower hunting prowess for the cause...

Mexico does not allow ANY imported flowers across their borders so everything we used on this shoot was Mexican grown. They seem to really love roses, and some of the more typical pedestrian types of flowers -- but also Mums! There are big gorgeous healthy mums all over the markets and I enjoyed them immensely.

Photos by Jose Villa

As soon as I was off the plane I was on the lookout for material to forage -- this is the key to remote location events; using what the landscape offers to elevate the staple roses, lisianthus and ranunculus that you can find almost anywhere.


This Bougainvillea is the stuff dreams are made of -- commonly found in hot fuchsia -- the soft peach colored ones are rare. People ask me about this holding up as a cut, truth is it rarely does, but photo shoots are the perfect showcase it. Admittedly, I also use it in real wedding bouquets -- cutting it at the very last minute, and using the thicker stemmed pieces.

Photos by Jose Villa


There was a village of creative collaborators at work for these workshops; those who worked closest with me on decor were Laurie Arons who executed the over all design for the workshop (and who introduced me to Creative Candles makers of extraordinarily tall taper candles -- 36" - sometimes size does matter)...and Diana, the inspiring owner of Casa de Perrin, the country's leading high end table top rental company.

Photos by Jose Villa

Photoshoots, you know -- NOT REAL. Could any bride ever make a table like this across an entire wedding? Maybe; but it would cost a fortune. I would never actually cut brugmansia and put it in real centerpieces (as it was, it barely lasted for the shoot). But its our job in these scenarios to make inspiration, and what a luxurious creative exercise to be tasked with making just one perfect table...and how better prepared we are to bring that pursuit of perfection to our next real wedding...

Jose spares no expense with these workshops; every single detail is thought through and dusted with gold - the welcome dinner photos below show that. Intended to set the tone of the workshop week - the first dinner with all the attendees was pretty spectacular. We worked with brighter colors here; more mums, foraged foliage I can't identify and lots of fruit -- something we didn't all agree on, but ending up staying put on the table...

Photos by Jose Villa


We also cut large pieces of agave and layered them down the center of the table to pull the ancillary arrangements together and make a sort of backdrop for the fruit. Thorny suckers, I had lots of infected little cuts on my hands after that.





Photos by Jose Villa


 I don't drink tequila. Would I be more fun if I did? Probably.






Photos by Jose Villa


One of the stars here was Mock Orange which Gabriella brought from Mexico City. I did not understand how Mock Orange could be blooming in November in the Northern Hemisphere, but Gabriella insisted over and over again -- in Mexico, it's always spring somewhere.
That's enough to make me want to go back. [If you're getting married in Mexico, please call me.]

Thanks to Jose and Joel for making the week such a great experience.