Honor Your Loved Ones
The Ceremony Space
Based on their conversations, Claudia knew the couple wanted to keep the ceremony space simple. “The bride often said, ‘We don’t want our wedding to be over the top.’ I spent hours talking to her to understand precisely what ‘over the top’ meant for them.”
In keeping with the spring garden party theme, Claudia suggested the ceremony space have an arch formed by two eight-foot high trees adorned with more of the bride’s floral picks, in yellow, burgundy, and white.
She located a company that makes custom aisle runners resembling real grass. “Rather than placing it down the aisle, however, I suggested putting it under the tree arch to create the couple’s own garden, and it was under that arch, standing on that grass aisle runner, that the couple recited their wedding vows.”
To add even more color, Claudia suggested scattering yellow rose petals down the aisle instead of having a traditional cloth aisle runner. Additional elements, such as a frog-shaped topiary adorning the cake table, “the bride had a penchant for frogs,” and a wedding cake decorated with cherry blossoms, brought the couple’s spring-themed wedding vision to life.
Honoring Her Dad
“I was profoundly moved when the bride expressed how important it was for her to honor her deceased father on her wedding day. When she talked about him not being there to walk her down the aisle, I knew I had to incorporate her father into the ceremony in a memorable way.”
The bride’s father was an avid birdwatcher whose favorite pastime had been building birdhouses. Claudia suggested using mini birdhouses as pew markers down the aisle, and also on the placecard table, to represent her father’s presence. “I will always remember the silence on the telephone after I made the suggestion. I was politely waiting for the bride to say something when I heard her gently sobbing. And then, with a cracking voice she said, ‘Yes. That would be nice. That would be perfect.’ ”
The birdhouses became Claudia’s special project, “because that one conversation said it all. This couple was about sharing the day with the people they loved most. That was what my bride meant when she was saying they did not want an over-the-top wedding. They wanted the simplicity of a beautiful spring day with family and friends.” Claudia hand-painted 12 birdhouses. On top of each was a crown of white and burgundy flowers and each was suspended by actual vines.
“When the bride saw the ceremony space, she exclaimed, ‘You brought together all my jumbled ideas and made them all work!’ She threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug.”
In Memoriam
The couple requested an “In Memoriam” table for the reception area. Claudia had a flowering four-foot Manzanita tree placed in the center of the table, surrounding it with photographs of the special people in the couple’s lives who had passed away, including the bride’s beloved father.
“It was truly moving to see the bride’s mother standing at the table, looking at photographs of her departed husband. Those visual reminders of him made the day even more special.”
Claudia and the team at Floré Events are proud they met the couple’s expectations. “We did it by carefully listening to their vision and by paying attention to every detail,” says Claudia.
“We believe there is no limit to creativity once you take the time to learn the couple’s wants and needs,“ says Michelle Flores, the founder of Floré Events. “We help our couples realize the full potential of their vision. By listening to what was important to this couple, we were able to help them bring to life a magical springtime garden wedding on a cold and snowy winter’s day.”
Flore Events, 212.920.9534
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www.floreevents.com