Lady Cockburn and her Three Eldest Sons painting
Wild Blooms
Summer Bravo
2023 installation
2nd Floor - English Drawing Room
The Inspiration
Lady Cockburn and her Three Eldest Sons painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1773
The Flowers
Florist’s inspiration: In the words of my own mother, "A mama is everything to everybody!" This two tiered arrangement is symbolic of the constant balancing act mothers and parents play everyday. Parents, especially mothers, wear many hats and juggle a lot of responsibilities. The colorful and whimsical style of the roses and ranunculus show the playful fun attitudes a guardian displays with their children while the hardy greens and lush vines represent a mother's ability to organize the constant craziness of childhood and protect the weakest in their households.
Recipe: Garden Roses, Ranunculus Alabama Smilax, Hydrangea, and additional seasonal blooms
THE DESIGNER
Summer Bravo
Wild Blooms
Alabama native Summer Bravo started Wild Blooms in 2021. A self-taught florist, Summer gained her love of floral design from her mother, a wedding florist in her home state. She is a self-taught florist who gained her love of floral design and inspiration from her mother who shares her passion for flowers and is a wedding floral designer in her home state. Summer traded in a career on Capitol Hill as a lobbyist to devote her time to her two passions, family—her husband, Matt, and two daughters, Sloane and Briar—and growing her floral business, sharing her creativity and love of flowers across the DMV. Since WILD BLOOMS exploded onto the DMV scene, Summer has flowered everything from events in the Library of Congress and major election night receptions to intimate dinners and showers. Her designs are wild and whimsical and feature premium and unique blooms.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY
Sarandon Smith Photography
Sarandon Smith is a fine artist and photographer in Maryland serving the Washington, DC, Maryland and NOVA areas. Her background includes a formal art education as well as hands on experience working under talented photographers, artists, and designers. Her first love in art was painting and that affection has carried over into her approach to photography. The same principles of design that are used when you put a brush to canvas are the principles that make a photo into a piece of art.
Sarandon's degree in fine arts gave her a framework that is an important part of how she approaches the visual aspect of her work. Using dynamic light to enhance an image, or composition to emphasize the power of an emotional moment helps create wedding galleries for her clients that are strikingly beautiful and honest at the same time.
