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Monique's Bridal Tea Party

Monique & Me
On October 2nd 2011 I hosted a very special tea party at my studio - bridal showers for my friend and intern (graduate student of 3 years) Monique Trottier, who just got married to her new beau (of 15 years!) this Sunday... And what better excuse to celebrate and pull out some of the most luxurious fragrant recipes and ideas than a wedding celebration?

As you can guess by her name, Monique is French Canadian, so it was not difficult to go with a mostly-French menu. I decided on a theme of Violets & Leather - because I know Monique likes both notes. And the menu was just born out of that...

I don't have photos of all the savouries (yet) but here are some dessert photos I managed to snap with my iPhone before all the guests arrived...

And the guests, by the way, were the sweetest crowd imaginable, including Gwendoline from Patent and the Pantry, whose blog I followed for a while, and with whom I enjoyed exchanging baking tips and recipes with, and the gifted artist Rachael Ashe who took proper photos of all the baking which I hope to post here later.

Violet & Orris Truffles
The cherry on the top: Viola truffles (dark chocoalte with violet leaf absolute and orris butter) and Sahleb truffles (white chocolate with orris butter, coconut milk and a hint of rose).

Violet Shortbread Cookies
Violet shortbreads - true decadence! Perfectly flaky and flavoured with orris butter and alpha ionone natural isolate, decorated with crystalized violets, of course.

Pumpkin Scones
Pumpkin scones! Monique is a pumpkin lover, not surprising for someone who is obsessed with the Harry Potter septology... I almost left them out for black current scones, but these seemed perfect especially it being autumn.

Chipotle Brownies
Something spicy and smoky was in order!

Cream Earl Gray Madeleines
And of course - we had to have some madelienes! The are flavoured with honey, and Earl Grey Cream tea leaves.
Bridal Tea Party Menu:
The menu signs - all the menu items were revolving around the delicate tea-like violet and ionone aromas, and leather-like smoky accents.

Tea Sandwiches:
Brie + Pear Mini Croissants (with cassis mustard)
Smoked Cheddar + Honeycrisp Apple Tea Sandwiches on Rye Bread
Classic Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches
Chevre + Wine Jelly Baguette Open Sandwiches

Savouries:
Mini Mushroom Quiches

Scones:
Pumpkin Scones, served with creme fraiche and local fig confiture

Sweets & Desserts:
Madeleines au The Earl Grey
Sables au Violette (violet shortbreads)
Chipotle Brownies (spicy and smoky!!!)

Chocolate Truffles:
Sahleb Truffles (white chocolate with coconut, orris and rose)
Viola Truffles (dark chocolate with violet leaf and rose)

Teas & Libations:
French Earl Grey
Osmanthus Oolong
Cream Earl Grey

Violets for my Furs
Violets for my Furs - the perfume that seemed the perfect match for this party, as it has both of the notes (violet and leather) that were the theme; and served as an example for various violet-like and leather-like notes, but most importantly - the aphrodisiac properties of perfume, which is what Monique wanted to be featured in the presentation part of the event. The ingredients in this perfume were what the presentation revolved around: the story of Napoleon and Josephine (she liked violets above all scents, and before his exile, Napoleon picked some of the violets on her grave, and kept them with him until his own death); violets' seductiveness with its ionones, which seduce and tease the nostrils by fading in and out of the olfactory bulb's perception... The connections were drawn between ionone-rich essences (violet, iris, boronia, cassie, osmanthus...) and leathery notes. Interestingly, ionone is present in teas. And so are tannins, which are important in curing leather (and are what give leather its "leathery" aroma in the curing process). Cassie, for example, is one of the plants that is used for curing leather and also has a very violet-like scent. Osmanthus, another ionone-rich absolute, has a scent reminiscent of apricots and... you guessed it! Leather!

Monique is a famous book worm, so it was only natural to end the presentation with spraying black lambskin leather bookmarks (courtesy of Jola V. Designs) with the Violets For My Furs perfume.

The intricate connections between botanicals and essences, their healing powers, folkloric and symbolic meanings are all fascinating and add another layer of understanding and appreciation of perfume that none of the guests would have expected. Not even the aunt who never wears perfume and never thought she would be in the least interested in it :-)

Monique, Ayala, Jolanta & Anita
From left to right: Monique, Ayala, Jolanta, Anita (who graduated with Monique as well) and in the very background - Tamya.


Perfume Making Bridal Stagette

Bride-to-be

"Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?"
(Song of Solomon, 3:6)

This Saturday, Natalie will be walking down the isle wafting a sexy-gourmand perfume that she concocted herself with her cousins and close friends at my studio. Although she will not be smelling like myrrh and incense, spices were definitely among her choices.

The perfume making bridal stagette was a total surprise for Natalie, organized for her by close family and friends as the first part of a day that embraced all the 5 senses. The ladies gathered at noon at Ayala Moriel Parfums studio, nibbled on snacks, fruit, homemade lemonade and local white wine, while exploring the interesting connection between perfume and personalities, and learning about how perfume is constructed - from top, heart and base notes.

They then began exploring the different notes from a carefully curated organ of about 100 natural botanical essences. Each lady picked one top, one heart and one middle note and began playing with scent-strips to see how they might smell if blended together, and to this focal point of three favourite note, each one added more notes until they were all happy with their personal perfume.

Bridal Stagette Perfume Making Party
Interestingly, even though there were 5 ladies attending, only 3 perfumes were created:
Joanna's perfume was a fresh, vivacious melange of basil, jasmine and citrus.
Laura's perfume was with mimosa, sambac jasmine, cacao and rosemary absolute.
Natalie, Heather and Amy all loved the gourmand notes, and decided to concoct their perfume together and a team! And so they will be sharing Natalie's very special wedding-day perfume!
And what would that smell like, you may ask? Sweet cinnamon bark and nutmeg absolute, over a base of cacao and tonka bean - deliciously reminiscent of custard and seductive desserts. This is going to be a very sweet start for this young couple!

Bridal Stagette Perfume Making Party


Wedding Perfumes


Not only princes and princesses are getting married this spring and summer. And there is no reason why you shouldn't feel like a royal couple on your wedding day!

A friend of mine wore sandalwood on his wedding day. To this day, every time he want to surprise his wife, he will dab a bit of Indian sandalwood oil on his wrists, sneak behind her to hug her and whisper on her ears “this is our wedding day…”. That’s all it takes for this couple to feel like newlyweds all over again!

Your first kiss – do you remember what it smelled like? Maybe it smelled like the delicate fragrance of cherry blossoms and mock orange flowers by your front door? More likely – the smell of a couple’s first kiss would be a completely random array of scents that happened to unite when their lips did: cherry blossoms in the air, strawberry flavoured lip gloss on her lips, and the crisp scent of laundry dryer sheets from his clean shirt…

Much can be said about the connection between scent and memory. It takes only the tiniest whiff of a certain scent has the power to transport you back in time to a special moment. The effect is mysterious, but it has a scientific explanation: Our olfactory bulb (which is the smelling organ that reaches out to sample the surrounding air from inside our nose) is, in fact, part of the lymbic system. This is the part of the brain where we also process and experience emotion and desire. Therefore, the particular scents that take place while we experience a powerful emotion (either positive or negative) will always be connected, by way of psychological conditioning.

When something emotionally powerful happens, we will always associate the scents that surrounded us that moment with the sensations and feelings of the moment – creating a memory that is impossible to erase.

We can’t (and honestly, probably don’t want to) change the random scent memories of our first kiss. However, marking our wedding day with a special scent unique only to that day, will not only transform the experience into something intimate and unique, but also give you the key to unlock this memory for years to come – simply by opening a bottle of perfume and sharing it between you two.

Creating a custom scent for your wedding day will create a deep olfactory connection to your emotions that day. And even better than that – rather than a random array of your scents (how about this: your mother-in-law’s and auntie’s perfumes combined, along with the surrounding scents of flowers and catering) – have a scent that is designed for you two to share and enjoy. It can be designed as to match the bride’s floral bouquet; or better yet - it can smell like your very first kiss did!

By creating a custom scent for their wedding day, the couple will have a fragrant memory that is intimate and all theirs. A flacon of perfume that can be uncorked and shared on your honeymoon, wedding anniversaries, and whenever you want to feel like newlyweds again…!

You can even create your own private (or public...) ritual involving exchange of scents, rather than rings, similar to what my friends, filmmaker Mark Achbar and writer Siobhan Flannagan, have done with the custom perfumes I’ve created for their wedding. Both had completely different taste in perfume, so creating one scent for both was out of the question: Mark wanted a simple musky-vanilla scent, and Siobhan wanted a green floral with a base of oudh. Her favourite perfume, by the way, was l’Eau d’Issey, which she had to give up wearing around Mark because of his allergy. Scent wise, the only thing they had in common was peppermint: they both love it, but we all agreed it was not the best fit for a wedding perfume. And so, I decided to create two signature scents, one for each, and also a peppermint and green tea massage and bath oil that they can both share and enjoy together. I created a musky-vanilla scent for Mark, based on vegetal musks and a few different types of vanilla. For Siobhan I created an elegant green bouquet, with a few types of rose, galbanum for greenness, and a base of vetiver and precious oudh. To my pleasant surprise, not only did they like their own scents - they have also worn each other’s perfumes after their wedding, which they spontaneously felt was the most appropriate thing to do after their reunion!

For more information about our wedding perfume services, click here.

* Photo: Noam Dehan

Real Weddings Magazine Feature

Real Weddings Magazine is the first wedding magazine to cover my bespoke services for brides and grooms.
These include both choosing scents from the existing line to wear on the wedding day and to take on a honeymoon, gifts for bridesmaids, and last but not least - creating a custom scent especially for the couple for the occasion, that can be even made into scented candles to burn during the event.
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