Flower Crush: Tropical Foliage

Flower Crush: Tropical Foliage

Eclectic mix of palm, philodendron and monstera in narrow tall vases

Imperial silhouettes and exotic textures

What do you mean “tropical foliage”!?? With wedding trends bearing words like “lacey”, “garden-y”, or “vintage” abound, it is easy to lose sense of the scope of possibilities beyond the milk glass bud vases or antique silver bowls dripping with garden roses, ranunculus, and pastel hydrangea. While the no-fuss, down-played concept of garden-in-a-vase looseness can oftentimes be the pinnacle of natural and uncontrived, the loose look can also come across as being frenetic or busy, which, for someone presumably turned off by fussiness, isn’t actually a good option. What to do you ask? Why not go au tropicale with bouquets and arrangements centered specifically on tropical foliage, that lush, vibrant, exotic greenery?

While it may seem a little strange to some to have your wedding florist create arrangements with no actual flowers, the result can actually be incredibly bold and striking. With palms, ferns, and fronds of every different shape and size, the possibilities for tropical foliage to create volume, depth, and texture are endless! And who doesn’t love to throw words off the tongue like monstera, colocasia, areca and more. Tropical foliage trills with excitement! Wide, broad leaves can be left whole to create massive tall centerpieces, lined inside a vase, or folded and manipulated in to a bridal bouquet. Grasses can be looped or woven for a more modern, architectural edge. Greenery is ultra-versatile, and as a bonus, can do right by just about any color scheme!

Exotic Foliage Facts

Season: Year-round

Colors: Vibrant greens of every shade, with possibilities of white, pink, or purple variegations

Favorite Varieties: Monstera, aspidistra, croton, colocasia, flax, lycopodium, aralia, anthurium leaves, and Bo Derek hair, to name a very select few

For more tropical foliage fantastic-ness, tropical vibes at St. Francis Hall or our Hawaiian-inspired wedding at District Winery. Better yet, check out our Pinterest board.

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Alexa, please play Christmas music. 

Too early? I confess. I’m a Thanksgiving purist. It’s literally my favorite holiday. But as a floral designer, I’m often living a season ahead. Thinking of spring when it’s winter, or fall in the heat of summer. And yes, plotting winter holiday decor when it’s Halloween (if not the 4th of July!)

But something about the quiet in the air today and news of snow in places nearby is all it took to awaken my holiday spirit and launch holiday planning mode! If it takes you more to get you in the mood, maybe Sonja & Mike’s Christmas wedding from a few years ago will do the trick!

📍 @dupontcirclehotel 
📷 @minicrop
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The season for sparkle begins. ✨ From Thanksgiving dinners to New Year’s soirées, November is when party plans come to life — and our design calendar shifts from bouquets to ballrooms.

Our installation at the Watergate Hotel mixed metallics and white roses in sculptural form - proof that holiday design can be both organic and glamorous. Because at its core, festivity is about transformation: turning a space into a feeling, a table into a gathering, and light into warmth.
Let’s talk about the “just a few extra blooms” request. Spoiler: there’s no such thing as extra in the world of flowers. Every stem you see, from delicate sweet peas and perfect ranunculus to lush roses, was bought with intention because flowers are literally our business. 🌸

The blooms for a single flat lay? Retail price any where from $20 to $75 and up. And. Up. Why the mark up? Because selling flowers is how we make our living. It pays the team, the rent, the cooler, transportation costs, and more. (It’s not just petals and poetry over here). Multiply that by 50 - 70 weddings a season and you’re looking at over $3k in gift blooms. That doesn’t include the myriad of other free blooms we get asked for: cake flowers, passing tray flowers, sample arrangements and more. That’s not generosity. That’s payroll.

Here’s how we handle it: We offer all our couples the option to include flat lay florals. If yes, we build it into the proposal so everyone wins. The couple gets their dreamy detail shots, the photographer gets beautiful product to work with, and we stay in business. Fairness (and beauty) for all.

No shade to photographers and other wedding vendors here. But boundaries are healthy. Everyone’s work deserves compensation. Be kind. Ask questions. Respect the craft. Love the results.
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