StyleSchool

This week, Kate Holt, owner and lead designer of Flowerwild (flowerwild.com) in Los Angeles is sharing her flower know-how. This west coast florist, who grew up in a family of gardeners, also has a photography background which gives her arrangements stunning, artistic edge.

What is your design philosophy? My design philosophy is simple: let the flowers show off their natural beauty. Let them breath! Don’t try to enforce your will on them too much and the results will be stunning.

What inspires your designs? My materials often inspire my designs. I usually don’t have to go further than that, which is why it is so important to shop personally for your own materials rather than hire a shopper or have flowers shipped to you. Everything we use in our design is hand-picked by me. Once I have built my palette, the arrangements tend to make themselves.

How can brides make sure they get the most for their money when ordering flowers? Truth be told, you get what you pay for. That being said, make sure you have a good rapport with your florist. Ask them to show you an inspiration board and request a samples meeting to ensure everyone is on the same page. I am always fair with brides when bidding a job, but must maintain the integrity of our work. If I think we won’t be able to achieve the look a client is after within a certain budget, I will say so upfront. Find a vendor you trust and be honest about your budget constraints. A good vendor will be able to guide you through this and let you know when budget constraints begin to affect the look.

What is your favorite flower for weddings? I do not have one favorite flower as they all balance one another. Some of my favorite materials aren’t even flowers, they could be greens, vines or berries. Texture is a really an underestimated ingredient in design, so I like to find accents that add this dimension. A few things I like right now for their shapes are clematis vines, honeysuckle vine, flowering pieris, Abraham darby roses, hellebores, frittilaria, dahlias, sweet peas and lilac.

What should every bride know about flowers? She must know what she likes and what she doesn’t like. Nothing more. She should look at the flower portion of her wedding as something for pure enjoyment. If it becomes too stressful, she is probably over thinking it. Have fun!

What do you foresee as the next big trend in wedding flowers? “Green” or organic seems to be the key phrase right now, but trends come and go and flowers will be beautiful forever. If a bride is true to herself and her own sense of style, I hope her children will look back at her photos 20 years from now and just be impressed, rather than put off by the trendiness of the designs. I always say, “Indulge in beauty. That’s something that never goes out of style.”

-Randy Miller, Editorial Assistant