Ginny Au Workshop - Part 2 of my March'15.

Ginny Au Workshop. Those three words together are the prettiest 3 words I focused on the end of this past week. If you are involved in the wedding, event or styling world at all, you might have come across that name at some point. If not, well, you should look her up, like yesterday. She is an incredibly talented stylist and I was honored to be taught for a few hours under her!

Check out this beautiful personalized Shinola journal, with our names written by Script Merchant Calligraphy that we were each given to take notes in. My pencil was dull by the end!

Here's how my bright and sunny Friday went:

Friday morning I headed to The Nest, in Birmingham, a great little venue I had heard fun things about! It was the perfect place for something around 13 of us gals, from all over, gathered around Ginny Au and listened intently as she brought her own styling world to life right in front of us. She taught on unique ways for finding inspiration and creating style boards. One main point she made that really stuck with me was, how would you find new ideas if you're only looking at what other people have already used? She encouraged us to be inspired by things in life that will lead us to fresh ideas. We looked at beautiful art work, paintings, unusual photography and even listened to some classical music. It really opened my eyes to think about how to style something, starting with all of that, rather than starting with photos someone else has already shared a million times.

A little background- Ginny Au is British, but lives here in Birmingham (where her husband is from). After meeting her, I soon realized she is one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. She was so sweet to each and every one of us, treating us as though we are friends of hers and fellow stylists. When she taught and discussed, she was open, honest and just plain adorable. It made the day just THAT much more enjoyable. And I thank her for that.

The photos below are just glimpses of beautiful decor that Ginny brought and charming florals and greenery by Rosegolden Flowers!

After her powerpoint presentation, and our dedicated note taking was finished, Ginny showed us how she likes to style a table, then a bride/model, and then an invitation suite. We watched her, in all her styling glory, eager to get our own hands on the pieces.

But before we got to, we broke for lunch. It consisted of the best chicken salad {sandwich} I have ever tasted, (apparently made by Ginny's own mother!) wrapped in paper and tied with string and accompanied with chocolates wrapped in cheese cloth, grapes and a cute little bottle of rose lemonade! I mean seriously. I wish I had gotten a better photo of this lunch, it was THAT cute. However, I can blame it, in a good way, on having a fun conversation with my table mate. It was great to meet and connect with the other gals there! They are fellow stylists, photographers, artists, bloggers and even moms. (What a fun career I chose!)

Then it was our turn to play! We broke into three groups and each rotated to the three sections to style. My group's first was the invitation suites. Each of us played with a couple of different suites, styling them to our own desires. Here are a couple iPhone snaps of mine: (I used my Canon Rebel for all other photos.)

Then we moved onto the model/bride (who happens to be Ginny's assistant, Kaela Rawson. She said she "get's married a lot.." due to the mount of times she puts on a wedding dress, holds a bouquet and lets strangers position her body how they want.)

Then we got to move onto the table designs! We each took a half table and did what we want. But by this point, as the class was nearing an end, the decor and flowers were scattered all over the room. So I decided to keep it simple, and natural looking, rather than try to do a big fancy look. Between the greenery and the rocks, I felt as though it gave a stream/river ambiance. :)

I can't tell you how much fun I had. It was a magical day for me, as it was also the first styling and design workshop I've ever attended. It gave me insight, inspiration, ambition, an event styling high, and a perfect reminder of WHY I got into this, WHY I love it and WHY I am SO GRATEFUL to God for allowing this to be my "work!" I am blessed to be able to do what I love!

I ended my day sitting down around my table with my husband and a couple/friends of ours for a Mexican dinner, margaritas, and good conversation. It was a great way to relax after a wonderful day!

Hope y'all enjoyed reading about this! Ginny truly was and is an inspiration to me, and her kind words to me personally about my new adventure I'm embarking on (that I have yet to announce to you all ;) was the breathtaking flower on top of the icing on top of the cake!
Happy Spring~
t.