that silk arrangements are now
actually more expensive than
fresh flowers,” she said.
Valeri Wilson, the senior
designer at LeFleur in
Washington, said florists spend
time with brides and often the
mothers of brides to make sure
they get exactly what they want
for the wedding day. “We find
out their favorite flower and
show them ways we can use
that flower as the main show
piece, for example. The real key
is finding out what they imagine
their wedding day to be and
delivering on that dream,” she
said.
Wilson, who came to
Washington within the past year
after teaching at the Chicago
School of Flowers, actually began
designing arrangements when
still a teen in a small town in
Indiana. Now 28, she said she
has gained a good grasp on the
differences between what brides
in the big city want compared
with those in small towns. In
Chicago, for example, brides
normally are willing to spend
more but go more for tighter, less
splashy arrangements.
Wilson said the trend she
is noticing is the return of
elegance when it comes to
floral arrangements, with more
bold colors and textures in the
bouquets and deep and dramatic
clusters. Such flowers providing
those facets include peonies and
Calla lilies. “A lot of brides these
days think roses are overrated,”
she said.
The return to elegance, she
added, allows the floral designer
to be more creative. “For us,
it is like a piece of art we are
creating,” she said.
Hacker said she is seeing a lot
of different color combinations in
floral designs these days. Many
brides will go with neutral colors
in their bridesmaids’ dresses and
put all the color in the flowers.
“
We often see them picking
bouquets of different flowers to
get the color they want. Some
brides also go with vibrant colors
in their shoes and use that as
their fun pop of color,” she said.
Hacker agreed not all brides
want roses, but said they are
still used in bouquets more than
any other single type of flower,
especially since roses can be
different colors.
When it comes to bouquets,
Wilson and Hacker differ in
their opinions. Wilson likes that
cascading bouquets are making
a comeback because she believes
they are elegant and stylish.
She said designers can do much
with those types of bouquets,
including adding bling if the
bride wants to have glitz while
walking down the aisle. “It’s her
day. She wants to stand out,” she
said.
Hacker said she will try and
talk brides out of cascading
bouquets. “A loose bouquet,
where the flowers aren’t tightly
bunched, is one thing. And
we are seeing more of that. A
cascading bouquet is something
else. There is so much going on
with the wedding dress already
it can be distracting and even
cumbersome,” she said.
Ennis said he doesn’t do many
weddings but added that he stills
sees tight, round bouquets being
requested more than anything
else. Some have boldness of color
and others have little, he added.
“
We will design something to
reflect what they are wearing, of
course. That is what they want
and that is what we’re here for,
to give our customers what they
want,” he said.
31
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The Present
