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 do palm, banana and monsters leaves, pine tips and pine cones have in common? For me at least, they bespoke of the favorite haunts of the two nature lovers who were about to tie the knot. It was my happy task to work these elements into large and elegant wedding at Manursing Island Club in Rye, NY, drawing upon a palette of white and green. And because the bride’s family splits its year between Rye and Bermuda, I had the mother of the bride’s white coral collection to draw upon as well. For the ceremony at the Church of the Resurrection, I had decorated the pews and altar with a variety of white flowers, lady’s mantle, seeded eucalyptus, grevillea and galax leaves. As the bridal party proceeded down the aisle, the bridesmaids’ deep navy dresses served as brilliant backdrops for the floral confections of white and green I’d made as bouquets. Shortly thereafter, as 285 guests gathered under a glistening tent, centerpieces of roses, lisianthus, freesia, hydrangeas, hyp...

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 ...