By Elizabeth Wulfhorst
Flowers play an important role in many holidays and events, from birthdays to Mother’s Day and funerals to, of course, weddings.
While according to ProFlowers, Valentine’s Day – which is just around the corner – accounts for around 78 percent of fresh flower sales, weddings are a close second.
When choosing flowers to carry down the aisle, couples may have a general idea of what they want, but need the expertise of a florist to help make their bridal bouquets picture-perfect.
“Some come with many ideas and it’s a case of fine-tuning,” explained Craig Kiley of Craig Kiley Designs in Red Bank.
“They bring in pictures and ideas that may not be seasonal, so you have to make sure it’s something that’s seasonal. And also, what works in their budget,” he said.
Kiley finds most brides aren’t “fixated on the type of flower” but rather the flowers’ overall hues to ensure coordination with the wedding color scheme.
“It seems like everyone is wanting either Pampas grass or white and blush” right now, Kiley said. White and blush are easy to accommodate throughout the year with different flowers – hydrangeas, roses, spray roses, anemone, ranunculus, hellebores, tulips and more, he said.
Pampas grass, a flowering plant native to South America with big plumes, is, like most flowers, seasonal, one reason he encourages brides not to get stuck on a certain bud. Pampas grass “comes into season in California in early summer and goes right through the fall,” Kiley explained.
Choosing out-of-season flowers can mean sacrificing freshness and a big chunk of your budget.
“I think the biggest thing when it comes to the financial end,” Kiley said, “is the brides and grooms are paying for more of it them- selves, and they’re budget- ing much earlier than what I used to see. You know, they’re wanting to know what things are going to (cost) which is totally understandable.”
Tiscia Bonanno, the owner of Flower Spot NJ, which operates part time out of Party Land in Shrewsbury and at pop-ups around the county, is seeing trends like “industrial chic” with monochromatic colors. She also said “pastel is huge right now.”
Flower Spot NJ offers floral services and rentals, like arches, pedestals and more, in addition to a flower cart popular for events like bridal showers, luncheons and bachelorette parties. Bonanno and a “florista” – what she calls her talented employees – bring a few different choices of flowers to the party so guests can create their own bouquet. “Then we just add greens to it, we wrap it up (with) some eco-friendly wrap on the bottom to keep the flowers nice and moist,” she explained and everyone goes home with a beautiful reminder of the day.
Bonanno’s goal with Flower Spot NJ is to recreate the feel of the 28th Street flower marts in New York City. She limits her hours at Party Land because to her, the freshness of the flowers is key.
“I really try hard to get really beautiful flowers that last a long time,” she said. To do that, she goes to JFK airport to pick up freshly cut flowers and brings them directly to her location, wherever that may be for the day. Flower Spot NJ had a pop-up at The Grove in Shrewsbury this fall through the new year and often works with shops, bakeries and outdoor spaces to do one-off events. This Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 12 and 13, Bonanno will be at The Baker’s Grove bakery in The Grove West with roses for Valentine’s Day. They are looking forward to returning to The Grove outside when the temperatures rise.
For now, she plans to continue preparing beautiful wedding bouquets when requested, especially with that Pampas grass, which Bonanno said is very pretty and lasts a long time. She suggests adding it to a stone jug for home décor after the wedding as a reminder of the big day.
Whatever kinds of flowers you chose for the wedding, both Bonanno and Kiley said 2022 is going to be packed with weddings.
“It’s going to be a very busy year,” said Kiley. “Last year there were so many weekday weddings” and, even though many of those were due to cancelations from 2020 that forced couples into days other than the traditional Friday night, Saturday or Sunday, Kiley said he thinks weekday weddings may continue.
“I can see it happening for a while at least until things get caught up,” he said, which is “fine” because it means he can spread the work out and accommodate more couples. He feels weddings haven’t really emerged from the effects of COVID-19 yet, which is still affecting the size of events.
“People are still uncertain as to what is going to happen,” he said.
“They’re wanting big weddings, they’re just afraid to pull the trigger.”
Size limits aren’t being placed on bridal bouquets, though. “Two years ago, really big (bouquets) were in,” Kiley said, noting that “looser and larger” are still key when designing something for the bride to carry, with “informal” being a clear instruction.
“They don’t want the tight ball anymore,” he said. “They don’t like it very structured.”
In addition to that Pampas grass “there’s a lot of eucalyptus. A whole lot of eucalyptus,” Kiley said.
This article originally appeared in the Feb. 10-16, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
