A wedding at the lodge

The epitome of a destination wedding, this featured event by Liz is situated at the Biltmore forest Country Club in Asheville, North Carolina.

The Groom is a Hollywood producer claiming many projects of note including the biographies of famous people.

The location is lush and green. The venue has a country lodge feel and since it was in the fall months, flowers chosed were of that color theme.

The large fireplace in the main dinning room had to be decorated with ladders and

installing done on site. Tall johnson grass harvested in the fields add a whimsicle "fresh from the field" air to the design

The beautiful hunting lodge decor of the dinning room with the imposing fireplace. (below)

A lush display of flowers in a footed compote. Swirls of bittersweet add a forested autumnal feel for this entry guest book table. (Below)

A dramatic cascade of flowers flows onto an ocean of blossoms. Accent swirls are created by individual insertions of hypericum berries.

Elizabeth Seiji AIFD

and Edelweiss Flower Boutique

Success through Innovation, Internet and Involvement

Elizabeth Seiji AIFD can point to a handful of professional practices that she firmly believes have boosted the success of her shop in Santa Monica. The amazing thing is that her practices and philosophies are incredibly basic tricks of many trades and professions. To succeed, it sometimes seems, one needs to step outside the shop.

Take Liz’s belief that “industry networking” is crucial to the success of the entrepreneurial florist-designer. Operating in a vacuum and ignoring industry opportunities tHer participation at a competitive level demonstrates another of her business success philosophies: Competition is good for the floral soul:

Elizabeth believes her broad network of florist friends, cultivated over 22 years of entering design contests and volunteering on floral event planning committees, has taught her, through the experiences of colleagues and herself, how to manage her floral business more efficiently. Being involved is a big key to continuous learning.

“Competition is what made me a better florist,” she says. “It’s valuable experience; it’s fun and it doesn’t matter if you win or lose.”

Although she has never won the top spot in a CSFA “Top Ten” contest, she did win Top Ten’s second place, the 1998 Carik Cup and several 

FTD competitions.

But perhaps the biggest competition Elizabeth experienced was when she dedicated herself to become a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers.It was a huge achievement for this former Hawaiian who majored in Bio-Chemistry and Plant Morphology at UCLA.