By Robin Jovanovich
For recent weddings, Nancy Ladd and Emmy Klarberg of Stems have filled club ballrooms with birch trees and hundreds of tiny lanterns. At one local wedding, in honor of the bride’s grandfather who was a keen hunter, they used lots of pheasant feathers. If the groom is of Greek or Italian descent, they often suggest renting olive trees, and they’re keeping distributors busy.
“We never do a room filled with the same
They duo, who are longtime friends and Rye Garden Club members, have brought the place card holder table to new heights too. “Weddings are serious business,” said Ms. Ladd.
For a “green” wedding, Greene Willow owner Michael Falkowski and floral designer Claudia Gasparini did just plants. For a spring wedding, they created a bulb garden. “When asked to do an old-fashioned backyard wedding, there’s nothing better than a mixture of pink and white roses, astilbe, phlox, and dahlias — and a bouquet of garden roses,” said Mr. Falkowski.
The self-taught designer’s creations are in Martha Stewart’s “Weddings” book. Ms. Swain’s bouquets are always hand-tied with ribbon and many of her arrangements are leaf-wrapped, “so you don’t see the stems.”
A mantle arrangement she did for a wedding at Crawford Park resembles an Old Master’s still life. She’s created magical bridal bouquets out of poppy pods, jasmine, celosia, and hypericum.
Yoli LaGuerre’s career as a floral designer began when she was a
Deciding that she’d like to pursue a career in floral design, she started handing out business cards at the 28th Street markets in the city. One day an owner asked, “Can you help us out right now with Fashion Week?”
In her spare hours, she’d read every book she could get her hands on from the public library and buy arrangements and “dissect” them.
For weddings, the bride is her inspiration. “It’s their fairy tale day, and even modern women still want that.”
Ms. LaGuerre encourages every bride to bring her anything they love — vases, pictures of flowers and tree branches. “If I can get dress swatches I’ll incorporate them in the floral design.”
Tulips are her personal favorite, but she will always find a place for flowering dogwood, orchids, peonies, and hydrangeas at a wedding.
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