Location: Casa Loma Toronto, ON; Planner: Leanne Menchella; Floral & Event Design: Fleurisma Events Inc.; Rentals: Detailz Couture Event Rentals and Special Event Rentals; Photography: Everlasting Moments Toronto, ON
SUMMER WEDDING FLOWERS AND TABLETOP DÉCOR
Spring and summer mark the height of wedding season. Flowers are in bloom, and seasonal favorites like cherry blossoms are easy to come by. For wedding receptions and tabletop décor, there are multiple approaches couples and their designers can take. While many love to showcase quintessential spring wedding flowers and color palettes, other couples may choose a floral-filled celebration that is classic enough to span any season. From custom tree installations to lush greenery, spring weddings are especially enchanting when filled with fragrant flowers and exquisite floral designs.
Location: The Majestic Downtown Los Angeles, CA; Planner & Event Design: Dee Lee Events Los Angeles, CA; Floral Design: Dolce Fiore Floral Design Studio Glendale, CA; Rentals: Signature Party Rentals Los Angeles, CA; Linen: Stephanie’s Linens Signal Hill, CA; Lighting: Premier Lighting and Production Los Angeles, CA; Photography: One Love Photography Los Angeles, CA;
Spring Wedding Flower Colors
Color palettes for spring weddings can vary from muted to vibrant – especially with the minimalist trend leading to many couples choosing monochromatic designs. Opting for an all-white wedding décor scheme may sound like a relatively “one note” pick; but all-white weddings are anything but basic. White florals can be elevated by a variety of other elements, like crystals, glass, reflective surfaces, acrylic chairs, and candles. Hanging crystals around the space, as demonstrated by Sky Productions in Israel, adds texture to wedding décor. It also creates a beautiful “shower” effect.
Location: Hillcrest Country Club Los Angeles, CA; Floral & Event Design: Butterfly Floral & Event Design Los Angeles, CA; Linen: Luxe Linen Beverly Hills, CA; Rentals: Palace Party Rental Los Angeles, CA; Lighting: Elon Events and The Lighter Side Santa Ana and Los Angeles, CA; Photography: John Solano Photography Beverly Hills, CA
Draping a room in black can create a dramatic contrast with white wedding tables. Luxury wedding planner, Kat Minassi, set her all-white wedding tables against a black backdrop at JW Marriot Los Angeles. This made the stark white florals by Butterfly Floral Design look even more immaculate and pristine.
Playing with light and shadow adds depth and dimension. Black and white weddings in particular give designers a way to explore the monochromatic aesthetic while keeping the look current and modern. When designing an ultra-chic outdoor wedding in California, Elite Events used white roses and tempered them with back linens and wedding menus. Love It Events and Petals LA took a similar approach by placing looming black arches above a mirrored dance floor, creating a grand focal point for a black and white wedding.
Planner & Event Design: LV Event Designs Miami, FL; Photography: Vera Franceschi
To warm up an all-white wedding, designers may also bring in gold furniture and other accents. In New York City, wedding planner Amy Katz and Tantawan Bloom used gold mirrored chairs, which complemented the massive rings of candles placed on each table. This added a warm glow to the otherwise snowy white florals.
For those who dream in color and prefer to showcase the various shades of the season, traditional spring wedding flower colors are a lovely mix of pastels. Buttery yellows, blush pinks, and vibrant greenery are all effortlessly romantic.
Location: Cipriani South Street New York, NY; Planner: Amy Katz Events New York, NY; Event Design: Tantawan Bloom New York, NY; Photography: Fred Marcus Studios, New York, NY
Spring Wedding Centerpieces
Almost anything goes for spring wedding centerpieces, as the main theme of the season is new growth. Wildflowers and spriggy mixes have a charming, “undone” appeal to them. Tulips are springtime favorites and blend in seamlessly with roses and hydrangeas for extra volume. And while it’s a relatively unsung hero, baby’s breath can be a floral designer’s best friend. Aside from its ethereal, misty appearance, baby’s breath is versatile enough to be a filler flower or the main attraction. LV Event Designs used bunches of baby’s breath to punctuate a stunning tree installation, which served as a wedding centerpiece. Paired with a ring of white roses beneath the tree, it created the feeling of an enchanted garden.
Reception: JW Marriot Los Angeles L.A. LIVE Los Angeles, CA; Planner: Kat Minassi Events & Design Los Angeles, CA; Floral Design: Butterfly Floral & Event Design Los Angeles, CA; Photography: Rene Zadori Photography Pasadena, CA
Trees, which are often customized with specific blooms, have become increasingly popular for spring wedding centerpieces. This often includes building custom wedding tables, so there’s enough space for the centerpiece and lavish table settings. Tantawan Bloom specializes in customizing every detail, so clients have a one-of-a-kind wedding. Even if they’re not used for centerpieces, flowering trees are a gorgeous addition to the lounge area or dance floor décor. At Casa Loma in Toronto, Leanne Menchella and Fleurisma Events designed a fairytale wedding complete with baby pink blossoms via freestanding trees and a floral chandelier. And cherry blossoms – the spring wedding flower favorite – took center state at Bel-Air Bay Club with a wedding that showcased cherry trees interspersed throughout the reception space.
Left: Location: Hummingbird Nest Ranch Santa Susana, CA; Planner & Event Design: Edgar Hay Events Los Angeles, CA; Floral & Event Design: Butterfly Floral & Event Design Los Angeles, CA; Photography: Moosho Khachikyan Photography Los Angeles, CA
Right: Planner & Event Design: Elite Events Seattle, WA; Floral & Event Design: Butterfly Floral & Event Design Los Angeles, CA; Linen: La Tavola Fine Linen Los Angeles, CA; Photography: Duke Images Pasadena, CA
Alternatively, wedding centerpieces may include a mix of spring wedding flowers and colors. For a wedding at Hillcrest Country Club, Butterfly Floral designed some showstopping centerpieces using white orchids, white roses, and pink roses. The two-tone effect was subtle and modern, while orchids and roses maintained an air of tradition and timelessness. Below the centerpieces, there is also a low scattering of individual flowers in smaller vases for a “high-low” display of spring wedding flowers.
Location: Bel-Air Bay Club Pacific Palisades, CA; Photography: The Big Affair Pasadena, CA
The use of greenery is often what takes a wedding reception to the next level. For a subtler take, designers can wind the pedestals of their wedding centerpieces in leaves and vines, or simply fill the space between flowers with sprigs of green. However, for the most transformative effect, couples may want to think in terms of large-scale designs, like using greenery to cover the ceiling in an entire canopy. In Puerto Rico, Emilio Olabarrieta used rows of greenery and floral-covered structures to place over banquet tables for an Italian villa-inspired wedding reception. To balance everything out, the tables were decorated with low floral centerpieces, with a bit of height coming from crystal candelabras.
Planner & Event Design: Lisa Shaw Event Planning & Design Glendale, CA; Floral Design: Petals LA Glendale, CA; Photography: Rene Zadori Photography Pasadena, CA
Wedding Flowers and Their Meanings
Seasonality plays an important role when it comes to the selection of flowers available, and how accessible they are. However, couples may also consider wedding flowers and their meanings when choosing what to incorporate into their décor. Roses symbolize love and passion, so it’s fitting that they’re the most common flowers used for weddings. Peonies are also popular wedding flowers, and their meaning is similar to roses: love, happiness, romance, and beauty. May is peak peony season, so those who want an abundance of peonies in their wedding décor will definitely want to schedule a spring wedding date.
Event Design: Colin Cowie; Photography: Jean-Pierre Uys Photography
Orchids are favorite wedding flowers amongst couples worldwide, offering an entire kaleidoscope of stunning colors and shapes from which to choose. Most often, floral designers use white phalaenopsis orchids for wedding flowers, as they are the epitome of luxury. Phalaenopsis also symbolize femininity, elegance, and refinement.
Some other spring wedding flowers and their meanings include daffodils, which symbolize new beginnings and good fortune; tulips, which symbolize perfect love; lilacs, which are the symbol for renewal; and lily of the valley, which symbolizes good luck and happiness. Lily of the valley is a favorite for royal weddings, and many brides choose to walk down the aisle with a simple bouquet of these delicate green stems and white blooms.
Location: The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort Rio Grande, Puerto Rico; Planner: Events Viviane Fortuño San Juan, Puerto Rico; Event Design: Emilio Olabarrieta Event Atelier San Juan, Puerto Rico; Dress: Harry Robles San Juan, Puerto Rico; Photography: Jose Ruiz Photography San Juan, Puerto Rico
With so many different wedding flowers and meanings to choose from, couples can customize their wedding and tabletop décor to be the perfect reflection of their personal taste, while also giving a subtle nod to the mood and message they’d like to convey for their special day.