Photo by Nikki Dedekian
Background photo by Kelley DeBettencourt
Picking Flowers
Story by Jeanne Campbell
I have a garden in New Jersey that blooms profusely in spring and late fall; my Vineyard garden is a delight in summer and early fall.
But my roses and peonies and hydrangeas do not have the extraordinary range of colors, nor can I produce the varieties,
that the floral designers on the Vineyard procure for weddings and other events.
It takes an artist with imagination and training to envision what colors and textures can be put together.
They are true artists, separate from garden-variety amateurs.
What every bride should know before choosing a floral designer:
- The floral designers I talked to (and there are more than are listed here) want at least six months to a year to translate your dreams into reality on your wedding day.
- Flowers are a big part of the event, so consider everything from the rehearsal dinner to the Sunday brunch.
- Make a list of your favorite flowers.
- Book early for weddings in September - an especially busy month.
| Dandeneau Flowers |
Donaroma’s | Flowers on the Vineyard |
|---|---|---|
| Brides select Lynda Dandeneau for bouquets of “refined elegance, a unique blend of city and country.” In the summer, she uses Island-grown flowers, but also orders blooms from California, Holland, and Ecuador. Adding shells brings a special Vineyard touch to bouquets and table arrangements. | Senior designer Mariko Kawaguchi scans the world for cut flowers and containers. A large nursery in Edgartown, Donaroma’s also offers foliage plants, seasonal flowers, and greenhouse choices. Mariko and her staff of talented designers create traditional or contemporary decorations for weddings - and any event where beautiful flowers are called for. | Owner Louise Sweet says that many of her brides have been referred by friends and friends of friends. Couples who come to Martha’s Vineyard want a wedding that is unique to the Island, and Louise knows the special qualities of different Island locations and can include touches that are very Vineyard. |
| Signature style: As I looked through Lynda’s album of wedding flowers, I was awed by the artistry, the variety of flowers, and the subtle and vivid colors she puts together for Island weddings. I loved the idea of her topiaries with fruit, orchids, and hydrangeas at the base. | Signature style: Mariko found it difficult to describe a particular style, since among the designers are some specializing in perfect symmetrical arrangements, while others use unusual grasses and twigs. Each arrangement is designed after a discussion with the bride. | Signature style: An antique wooden wheelbarrow brimming with flowers is a focal point at weddings she designs. Louise’s style is based on knowing what goes with what: An “up-Island” look can translate into simpler bouquets, while an Edgartown wedding could be more formal. She often uses ribbon and tulle. |
| Seasonal picks: To name just a few of her favorite flowers, she mixes orchids, dahlias, zinnias, calla lilies, pitcher plants, peonies, and a favorite of Island brides, hydrangeas. In the fall, Lynda likes deep bronze-colored flowers with hosta leaves. | Seasonal picks: In the spring, roses and lilies of the valley. For less formal bouquets, sunflowers tied with raffia, and favorite garden flowers tied with a satin ribbon. Hydrangeas, and chrysanthemums in autumn colors for the fall. Orchids are always popular, no matter what season. | Seasonal picks: In the spring, Louise likes to use tulips and peonies. In the summer, hydrangeas in various colors and sizes, and in late autumn, she showed me a marvelous mango-colored calla lily destined for one bride’s bouquet. For winter weddings, evergreens, red berries, white roses, and white tulips. |
| Trends in color: Lynda sees vivid colors such as hot pinks, reds, yellows, and oranges. Bouquets combining blue and white flowers are always popular; pastels are not as popular currently. | Trends in color: Beiges and platinum are popular year-round. More recently, both burgundy and chartreuse have become favorites. Five or six years ago, it was pink and periwinkle blue. | Trends in color: Louise sees monochromatic colors and says white flowers are always popular. |
| Advice to brides: Relax and trust the people who are working for you. | Advice to brides: You don’t need to limit which colors you envision having. With overnight delivery, Mariko says, “Our color palate is greatly expanded and we can create in almost any color or hue.” | Advice to brides: Advice to brides: “Flowers in season make a smaller dent on the budget,” says Louise. |
| Most memorable bouquet: Only a creative designer with a flair for the unique could come up with what ended up being her most memorable bouquet, one made up of clematis, peonies, beads from Beadniks in Vineyard Haven, and aqua-colored rocks. | Most memorable bouquet: “This bride had asked twelve or fifteen special friends to stand near the aisle. As she walked slowly down the aisle each one handed her one white flower,” Mariko says. “When she reached the altar, her maid of honor tied them all together into her bouquet.” | Most memorable bouquet: A flower muff for a bride from Texas was put together with white orchids and stephanotis. |
| Morris Florist | Nochi | North Tabor Farms |
| Sharon Capen, head of the team of floral designers at Morrice, says the retail shop offers containers of fresh seasonal flowers and a greenhouse with a wide choice of plants. “We’d like six months to work with a bride, but we’ve accepted the challenge of a day’s and even an hour’s notice for an elopement.” | Sofya Nadelstein and Molly Finkelstein, partners in Nochi, the sophisticated design shop in Vineyard Haven, take on about twelve weddings a year. Many are out of doors, on beaches, or under tents, and others are in churches or homes. | Owner Rebecca Miller says, “We grow over 80 percent of the flowers we use in weddings on the Vineyard. From early spring to late fall, the list includes thirty to forty different varieties. We often work with caterer Jan Buhrman who specializes in local produce. Most of the weddings we do are out of doors.” |
| Signature style: Flowers that are shipped in from all over include many international imports such as roses, tulips, and freesias. | Signature style: Simple, but elegant. They are known for monochromatic bouquets in whites, creams, grays, but they also love working with seasonal colors. They emphasize texture rather than color. | Signature style: Rebecca caters to a more casual, up-Island look. “We mix dried and fresh flowers, using seed pods, twisted willow, grasses, and hazelnut foliage.” |
| Seasonal picks: In summer, Sharon and her staff like blue hydrangeas with lots of lavender stock and white roses. In the fall, gerbera daisies with Asiatic lilies in orange, red, and burgundy. | Seasonal picks: In June, Sofya says, “peonies, tulips, anemones are popular. In September, fall colors, two-tone roses, Celosia are special and elegant. And in the winter, juniper, calla lilies, and Ranunculus are used.” | Seasonal picks: Her spring choices can include larkspur, sweet William, tulips, blossoming fruit trees. In the summer, lilies, snapdragons, Rudbeckia, asters, zinnias, and Celosia. In late summer and into the autumn, dahlias and clematis. If she does a winter wedding, she purchases flowers. |
| Trends in color: Vivid oranges, bright red gerbera, Hypericum berries - brighter colors in general are favorites now. | Trends in color: They’ll use white hydrangeas with white lisianthus and freesias, and green Hypericum berries, tied with a white or green satin ribbon. For autumn colors, they suggest copper and orange. | Trends in color: “Brides want vibrant colors, especially in the fall, and most of the weddings I do are in the spring and fall.” |
| Advice to brides: “When you’ve decided on the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses, come in,” Sharon says. “Bring in pictures of bouquets you like, and we’ll put in the individual touches.” | Advice to brides: “Know what you want before we get together.” For a first meeting, Sofya suggests the bride invite someone else - mother, friend, or groom - to bounce ideas off of. | Advice to brides: Rebecca says: “We have a list of flowers blooming at each time of year, but we ask each bride to visit us before the day, and to recognize that they have to be flexible, as Mother Nature can make changes necessary.” |
| Most memorable bouquet: Sharon recalls a striking all-green bouquet of green orchids, green roses, with green Hypericum berries. | Most memorable bouquet: For an Irish-Japanese couple who wanted to recognize both traditions, the bride carried green velvety bells of Ireland tied with a white satin ribbon from her dress, and Sofya created stunning ikebana for the tables, comprised of small red orchids and tropical green leaves in black bowls. | Most memorable bouquet: “A large bouquet carried by an early summer bride was made up of roses, calla lilies, peonies, lilies of the valley, and rosemary - flowers beloved by her late grandmother.” |