Belle The Magazine and Aisle Society | View on bellethemagazine.com >
…Expect to see some trendy wedding details like floral walls, neon signs, watercolor paper goods, and boxwood details. With a color palette of ivory, greenery, magenta and lush gold details the Boston Winery was transformed into a moody and modern wedding venue.
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The autumnal colors were positively breathtaking for Kevin and Kyle’s ceremony at Omni Mount Washington Resort. Overlooking the regal White Mountains, the grooms exchanged vows in a personal ceremony officiated by the close friend who introduced them and changed their lives forever.
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Kyle and Kevin’s vision for a modern fall soirée was brought to life with a deep purple and orange color palette with hints of ivory, slate and navy. The round tables in the reception space were decorated with curved white calla lilies, red and orange circus roses and white hydrangeas, which were surrounded by staggered floating candle pedestals to create a cascading waterfall effect.
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Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Costa-Saint John.
In 2008, Gregory founded Flou(‑e)r with the goals of creating one-of-a-kind floral events and providing superior customer service. His commitment in serving one client at a time allows Flou(‑e)r to personalize each client’s vision and experience.
The wealth of Gregory’s creative talent, strong production experience and commitment to excellence, is the driving force behind Flou(‑e)r. Coupled with carefully and distinctly selected team of seasoned design and production professionals, allows Flou(‑e)r to provide an incomparable experience delivering a stress-free planning process and exceptional experience one client at a time.
Developing the brand of Flou(-e)r Specialty Floral Events we always thought was going to be an easy one as our approach with clients was a hands-on approach in a studio environment which allowed a more intimate personalized feel. Although as the company grew it became difficult to offer that same level of service with a larger client base reaching out to us expecting the same experience. By instituting policies and procedures within our team we now offer every client the same personalized experience.
Flou(-e)r started almost 10 years ago by focusing in on making wedding dreams come true through our floral designs. We are not your typical cookie-cutter operation and never duplicate the same wedding. Over the years we have not only grown into designing large scale destination weddings but also social and corporate events.
Our specialty is weddings as we have learned over the years that every bride is different and wants to feel as though she is our only bride and we are able to accomplish this through our thoughtful, caring and nurturing approach. As the owner of Flou(-e)r I am most proud of the fact that no matter what the task at hand, we are always able to succeed and if faced with a challenge, as a team, we will come up with a plan and succeed without our clients knowing we ever had a challenge.
We set ourselves apart from other designers by our consultative approach from the initial phone call to the time the last centerpiece is placed, we care about our clients, there guest and making sure there vision is carried through every time.
I have been lucky and or blessed with the talent to be able to look at an empty room, hear a client’s vision and know within minutes how to transform a typical ballroom into a Garden of Eden theme gala ball if that’s what their vision is.
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1. Stick to your timeline but know when to be flexible. We pride ourselves on our super thorough, detailed timelines to ensure a smooth event. However, we always build in a little give to the timeline for those moments in the day when we see the father of the bride pull his daughter aside for a few sweet words or everyone is enjoying themselves on the dance floor — Kiersten Anderson of LB Event Planning.
2. On your wedding day, make sure to stay attached at the hip with your partner throughout cocktail hour and the reception. Often times, a couple will get separated during the party with people congratulating them, dancing, etc. This way, you’ll have plenty of photos to look back on of the two of you together on your big day vs. apart — Lindsay Jani of Simply Sunshine Events.
3. During dinner, stop for a minute and take your new husband or wife’s hand. Look around the room at all of your guests — this is the only time in your lives when all of these people will be in the same room together, and it’s all for you. Enjoy the moment — Elizabeth Quill of Elegant Aura Wedding & Event Planning.
4. Although emergency Exit signs are required by fire code, they’re not required to be in all your wedding photos! We always make sure we don’t sit the bride or groom so that any exit signs or anything of that nature will be in the background in every shot of them. Likewise don’t place your cake table in front of it either. It’s a lot of work for your photographer to photoshop those out — Annie Lee of Daughter of Design.
5. Give your guests a number to call in case they have questions or emergencies on the wedding day, just make sure it’s not yours! Your planner would be a good choice, but a family member or friend works too. Let them handle the “Can you give me directions?,” “I missed the shuttle!,” and “I didn’t RSVP, but I’m here and I brought a date — that OK?” calls — Stephanie Martin of One Fine Day.
Featured Photographer: Allegro Photography, Featured Planner: Elegant Aura Events, Featured Floral Design: Flou(-e)r
One of the biggest takeaways from our Botanical Couture Workshop with Françoise Weeks was the endless design inspirations for wearable floral art. This new trend has become a big element in the wedding and fashion industries and one that we are excited to be continuing here in Boston.
Everything from floral wreaths and necklaces to earrings and rings are what we had an opportunity to design under Françoise’s skillful tutelage during our time out in Portland. The textures, the colors and the uniqueness of each piece, was inspiring us to dig deep as the many intricate techniques that we were exposed to had us believing that anything is possible.
Wearable floral art has seen a big comeback of late with the floral crown being a big trend we started seeing coming on strong last year. The techniques and designs we were exposed to with Françoise have a much bolder design. Texture plays a big role and each design is a statement piece. Pairing a simple modern wedding dress style with a big bold necklace is an exciting trend as is an elegant up-do with brilliant floral earrings that creates a look that is nothing short of cutting edge.
Wearable floral art is innovative, elegant and memorable. We are thrilled to be working with clients that are looking to do something different and unique for their wedding and designers showcasing their work in a style that is exciting and modern.
To read more about our experience with Francois Weeks at the Wedding Design Workshop see our blog post: Botanical Couture: Francoise Weeks Wedding Design Workshop.
Credit: Gwendolyn Severson – Workshop Documentation
Gregory!
I don’t exactly know where to begin. I am blown away, beyond speechless. June 4th at the Fairmont Copley Plaza was a page right out of Pinterest. The aisle votives, mirrored vessels, centerpieces, and bouquets were exquisite. The colors and textures were perfectly complimentary to the lighting and all details of the evening. You truly brought my vision to life. You and your team are magicians. It was so wonderful working with you, talking almost daily, and creating a spectacular event. I’m not exactly sure how life goes on after something like this. THANK YOU FOR BEING MY SECOND HUSBAND.
Love always, the girl who dreams of centerpieces.
At the beginning of the year we decided that it was time we push the envelope on New England’s current floral trends and educate ourselves on what else the world has to offer. As an avid follower on social media of Françoise Weeks, a Belgium born designer who currently resides in Portland, Oregon, the decision on where to go for this experience was quite obvious. Not only is Françoise an incredible designer, but she is well ahead of the current trends in botanical couture and wearable floral art. While her knowledge of the mechanics of design is extraordinary, the material sourcing is really the springboard for her stunningly creative designs.
We traveled to Portland to attend Françoise’s three-day “Wedding Design Workshop”. From day one, we were captivated by her passion & exuberance for floral design. We were overjoyed by the materials offered; succulents, fresh florals, bark, twigs, pods and house plants. This created the perfect environment for each individual to expand their creative mind with the help of Françoise’s instruction to create something truly unique.
Françoise shared her love of this craft and many intricate techniques, not just to varying design concepts but also by utilizing different materials and applying them to innovative design mechanics. We knew going into this workshop, that her attention to detail as a designer was unparalleled, but what was unexpected was a kind hearted teacher that had a wonderful sense of how to explain and demonstrate complex concepts. She generously invested her time equally with all students and gave us both positive reinforcement and constructive criticism on all of our designs.
Attending this workshop has given us a new appreciation for all that nature has to offer. We look at the materials we have been working with for years in a whole new and exciting way. Françoise’s passion shines through when sharing her knowledge and immediately inspires your creative mind.
A few weeks ago we were again given the great gift of Françoise’s talent when she arrived here in Boston to assist on the production of a spectacular event design installation. We are so very grateful to you Françoise for sharing your passion, your talent and now your friendship.
For more on Françoise Weeks, click HERE.
And to learn more about upcoming classes & workshops, click HERE.
Credit: Gwendolyn Severson – Workshop Documentation
There are a multitude of little details that go into planning a wedding; one detail that may go unnoticed is cake florals! When in the middle of planning your wedding, you want to make sure you work closely with your floral designer so you have the freshest flowers and making sure they won’t wilt. Your wedding floral designer will also be able to help make sure the floral colors and textures are consistent throughout your wedding.
When you incorporate fresh flowers onto your wedding cake, they can add a beautiful and vibrant addition to your special day. There are different ways to add fresh flowers to your wedding cake:
Another tip when using fresh florals on your wedding cake is to avoid any strongly scented flowers that might be a bit too overpowering on the cake. Using real flowers on your cake can help reduce the cost of your wedding as well! If you are questioning whether to use real flowers on your cake it might help if you consult with your floral designer to help work out the special details!
In one of our most recent blog, we discussed upcoming floral wedding trends for the 2016 wedding season. One of those floral trends was incorporating a lot of greenery throughout weddings. We have been seeing a variety of accent greens in many floral designs for bouquets, centerpieces, and suspended florals.
There are several different ways brides have used greens as accents to integrate into their special day. Adding green garland as table runners or on their chairs can create a natural environment for your guest. By adding some more texture to your wedding venue, you could drape some lavish garlands of greenery around to create an overgrown natural look. If you are using a tent for your outside wedding, you could use different types of green florals to outline the tent ceiling to create a soft edge.
For the bridal bouquet or bridesmaid’s flowers, while still using simple flowers you can use some greenery like eucalyptus, olive, and ferns into a beautiful wild bouquet.
Flowers play a large part in any special event, and they can help bring to life your wedding day! In the midst of planning your wedding, you want to make sure you don’t miss anything. Making a checklist with your florist will be helpful to figure out who will be a part of your wedding and how you want to recognize them on your special day!
Most couples usually use attendant florals to distinguish their parents and stepparents, grandparents, any immediate family members who are not in the wedding party, like ushers and the ceremony readers.
If you’re having little ones as a part of your wedding, you want to make sure that you have the right size florals, a few options could be a traditional flower basket, a floral head crown, a pomander which is a styrofoam ball covered in fabric and florals or even a floral wand for that fairy princess flower girl.
Having your loved ones wear or carry flowers will make them feel honored and special to be a part of your wedding. It’s important to ask them if they have a preference, perhaps certain people rather have a corsage, wristlet or handheld posy. Another popular choice to give your attendants is a single long-stemmed flower.
One of our favorite weddings venues that Flou(-e)r has the pleasure of designing at is Willowdale Estate in Topsfield, Massachusetts. Willowdale Estate is about 4 acres located in the 720-acre Bradley Palmer State Park and has a lot of great history behind it which makes designing there such a thrill, every time!
The original construction on the estate began in 1901 with the owner, Bradley Palmer, and architect Cummings. In 1944 when Palmer passed, the mansion and the estate were turned into a park because Palmer was devoted to nature and conservation.
During the late 1990’s a Boston architect, Gerald Fandetti and his wife Charlotte Forsythe won the lease of the estate through an open bid proposal process and they began to rehabilitate the mansion and land. In 1999 when the family was given the 50-year lease, they began to completely renovate the estate and finally opened up the mansion in 2007 offering it as a full-service event venue. Today the beautiful estate is run by their daughter, Briar Forsythe, who has gained years of experience in hospitality with her family’s successful businesses. The team at Willowdale is beyond reproach with their attention to every detail with clients up to and including full-service event planning. Not to mention there amazing chef that always delights with his masterpieces. OOOh and their cookies, don’t even get us started on those……
We have been honored to be on the preferred vendor list for many years and therefore have worked as the floral designer of choice on many weddings and events hosted at Willowdale, and every event whether it be in the mansion itself or in the lush gardens under the Sperry Tent it is always an honor and exciting to design for our clients. The venue is available for a variety of events throughout the year and offers weddings inside the mansion and tented weddings May through October! We are excited yet again this year to be chosen as the designer for multiple weddings and events!!
