NICOLLE & JORDAN
Not very often, but every once in a while we overall V1 with our clients & create a whole new design direction. All along N&J planned for fluffy, romantic florals in fun tones, but as we revisited the design & came up with the new direction, the details came to life so much more. The color palette got more defined & a little bolder. We brought in lots of fun & unique local floral varieties. We ended up not only elevating our design direction but also coming up with florals that felt like they resonated so much more with N&J’s story.
I find this practice of being willing to revisit designs to be invaluable as a florist. One of our 2023 studio tagline’s was - EDIT! With floral design it can be easy to add, add, add because flowers themselves are so beautiful & who doesn’t love a little maximalism when it comes to a floral arrangement?! But just as more is more can be true, editing can also be just as crucial. This is what we did with Nicolle & Jordan, revisiting our original plans we were able to question - is this really what we want? Is this really reflective of N&J? Or is it just something pretty we found on Pinterest? Between Instagram, Pinterest, celebrity weddings & all our other daily content sources, it can be really challenging to make decisions.
To me, it’s more important to resonate with something then to simply find something beautiful. Remember - there are no rules with weddings. You do not need to follow any of the traditions or have a checklist of timeline or decor musts. In fact, it will probably be a much more authentic outcome if you don’t! So, I challenge you - as you seek design inspo, pour through Pinterest or force yourself to decide on a color palette - question your thought process! Think through why you’re drawn to something, what about the image caught your attention or what about the color palette speaks to you. I think going just one layer deeper in your design process can bring forth such a worthwhile end result.
Now back to N&J… Every single detail was so thoughtfully planned out. Everywhere you turned was another perfect little moment. From guidelines for guest attire to monogramed taper candles, no detail was missed. One of my favorite floral pieces was the ceremony arch. While so many couples getting married at the Griffin House shy away from arbors (as to not block the view), this full fluffy arch only enhanced the already gorgeous space, if we do say so ourselves! The arch also brought so much dimension to the ceremony space - bringing so much whimsy & detail. The ceremony felt garden inspired, organic & most importantly worthy of Nicolle’s ethereal dress! This classic rounded top arch has been my very favorite arbor shape for a while now! It’s the perfect mix of classic yet modern & there’s just so much you can do with it! In any outdoor setting or garden inspired ceremony, I will always be a fan of the rounded top arch.
Here we wanted to really anchor the florals in the space & thus we made the install fuller at the bottom & flowing up the arch from there. We intentionally planned a mix of scattered & clustered floral. The local hydrangea was so fluffy & inviting we knew we wanted that throughout. The blue delphinium on the other hand created more visual contrast & thus we intentionally clustered these stems in certain areas to draw your eye throughout the design while not giving the overall install a polka dotted effect. In installs like this, I am much more drawn to smaller & textural florals - giving this piece all it’s volume & shape. But we didn’t want to stop there - we intentionally brought in some clustered local garden roses to be able to bring in a bit more color & to create some more visual moments, similar to the feel of the blue delphinium. In our floral installs we like to create parts that flow allowing your eye to effortlessly take in the design & other areas that stand out. These stand out areas give viewers a moment to pause before flowing through the design again. Making for a more dynamic & captivating visual experience overall.
For ceremony, we kept the focus mainly on the backdrop & finished off the space with just two end of aisle arrangements. Personally, I am a big fan of aisle floral, though I don’t think it always needs to play a big part. Here, the natural setting is so beautiful & we really wanted to go big with the backdrop. Thus, simply ending the aisle with two full & organic arrangements was just right! These played off the backdrop to frame out the space as a whole while not adding too many elements throughout the space as to potentially distract from the front.
One of the elements I really loved about N&J’s day was all the fun in-between moments. From a floral perspective, the wedding day is so commonly broken down to personal florals (bouquets, bouts etc), ceremony & reception. Often with the somewhat minimal addition of some cocktail hour pieces. But for N&J we had all sorts of fun details throughout. Starting with florals floating in welcome champagne. The cocktail hour had dynamic floral installs on the bar. The venue had perfectly inviting lounge spaces tucked here & there - all complete with their own arrangements & candles. And a favorite was the escort card display. Monica of Details Darling perfectly sourced a fun collection of vintage furniture to display everyone’s cards & we finished off the space with arrangements growing up, around & spilling out of the various vintage pieces. It felt like every part of the venue had it’s own thoughtful elements for guests to both take part in & enjoy.
The dining tables in the reception tent were nothing short of Bridgerton- perfection. Each individual place setting was planned out with it’s own mix of modern & vintage china. Each table was unique with patterned linens & chiffon runners. The place settings were complete with handwritten menus & assorted color napkins. I’m convinced, as a guest of this wedding you could have continued to find & admire new design details all night long.
Working with N&J was so very fun - they both have the brightest smiles & warmest affects. Thus, it was only natural that their wedding had to be made up of so many special & thoughtful moments. The playful colors & details were only fitting for such a special, larger than life couple. Looking back through their photos (which I can’t stop doing by the way!) I am just so glad we replanned much of their floral. The pictures speak for themselves. This day was truly one of a kind with perfect weather to match.
Photographer: Sydney Noelle Photo
Venue: The Griffin House
Planning & Design: Monica Holub of Details Darling
Dress: The Dress Theory
