Loretta Stagen Floral Designs

A bride’s gown seemingly spun from gossamer thread.   Linen dresses dipped in natural dyes for the attendants in the subtle rainbow of colors one encounters in the forest. A homemade carrot wedding cake and cupcakes and a Ceremony at Lemonade Lake. Talk about a storybook wedding. Because the bride’s favorite flower is ranunculus, I took varieties of them as my starting point, adding lisianthus, eucalyptus, and spring green Western ferns for an understated, but glorious, mix. These were ingredients that could be playfully repeated in the bridal bouquet, the bridesmaids’ bouquets and in the boutonnieres. For the centerpieces, I included an abundance of grey-green eucalyptus and forest green Italian Ruscus.   Using these same materials, I also created a 30-foot garland for the bridge railing that led guests to the Ceremonial area at water’s edge. The couple was married under a rustic arbor that looked as if it had been gathered from the nearby ...

What makes a wedding special? Sometimes it’s as simple as using flowers from the mother of the bride’s cutting garden. I thought of this recently as I filled buckets with flowers for a bridal bouquet for a summer wedding at Great Hollow Preserve in New Fairfield. Photo by Anna Beeke As it turned out, zinnias of many varieties and colors, dahlias, phlox, daisies, Queen Anne’s lace and peegee hydrangeas – made for a sumptuous summer mélange that worked wonderfully in many combinations. I loved the way the Queen’s Anne Lace mirrored the lace in the bride’s lovely gown; and that simple birch branches, topped with a spray of delphinium, hydrangeas and snapdragons, was transformed into a ceremonial arch. Photo by Anna Beeke Photo by Anna Beeke Photo by Anna Beeke The bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnières, 108 centerpieces and large stand-alone arrangements drew similarly from this charming floral palette. Antiqued metal containers and long wooden farm tables completed...

August is the ideal time to enjoy life on Candlewood Lake. Last weekend hosts Greg and Laura invited their friends to a very special summer party. Laura had selected periwinkle blue and shades of white as the color palette. She loves hydrangeas, so I ordered periwinkle hydrangeas (imported from Holland) as the favorite flower to be included in all of the designs. Cocktails were enjoyed under the blue skies around the cocktail tables which were decorated with small centerpieces (similar to the ones on the dining tables). The guests then moved under the tent to savor the dishes prepared by Bonni Manning Catering while viewing the lush centerpieces which included hydrangeas, roses, mini calla lilies and scabiosa. The colors were set off by the shimmering pewter tablecloths.  Tall dramatic arrangements with similar flowers (and including periwinkle blue hybrid delpheniums) decorated the buffet table. The guests were very impressed with the location of the private ...