ximena and cem, july 17,2010
Posted by admin | Filed under Weddings
I’m thrilled to be sharing these images with you of Ximena and Cem’s July wedding at Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI. I just loved working with Ximena and her mom throughout the planning process, and seeing it all come together on wedding day.
Ximena wanted festive colors for her wedding flowers, so we used magentas, hot pinks, peaches and yellow. It was a beautiful combination against the maid’s magenta dresses and the neutral backdrop of the OH ballroom.
Their ceremony took place at the charming Watch Hill chapel, where a mariachi band played after the ceremony as popsicles were being handed out to guests!
The cake was by the one and only, Ana Parzych, with gorgeous sugar coral peonies. Just beautiful.
The fabulous ladies from Snap! photography took these amazing photos. Be sure to check out their blog for more images of this beautiful wedding!!! Thank you so much for sharing your work!
Ximena’s gorgeous Oscar de la Renta dress.
Ximena and Cem~ Congratulations again! Wishing you a wonderful life together!!!
Tags: ana parzych custom cakes, Hana Floral Design, Ocean House, Snap! Photography, watch hill chapel
susanne and dan, july 31, 2010
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Ah, another lovely summer wedding at one of our amazing local vineyards! This time at Saltwater Farm, which I just adore.
Susanne and Dan were a great, easy going couple. Susanne was so easy to work with when it came to flowers! It was Dan who had the opinion on flowers, on account of his family owning and operating a flower shop in Fairfield county for 30 years!
They wanted fun colors so we used bright pink hydrangeas, dahlias, hot pink garden roses, and accents of lime green cymbidium orchids.
A good friend of theirs, Mr. Robert Norman, was there to capture the day! Thanks Robert for sending these along so quickly! Check out so many more gorgeous shots of this wedding on Robert’s blog here!


Just love this image of Susanne’s bouquet on the vintage garden chair!

Gorgeous dresses were from our fab friends at The White Dress by the Shore and make up by Ms. Jennie Fresa!



Cute green kermit mum pomanders hung for the ceremony and were later re-used for the head table.


Congratulations Susanne and Dan! Wishing you all the best!!!
Tags: Hana Floral Design, Jennie Fresa, robert norman photography, saltwater farm, The White Dress by the Shore
christine and tim, june 12th,2010
Posted by admin | Filed under Weddings
Christine was one of those brides who knew the types of flowers she wanted, and she just loved interesting, textural flowers and foliage. We loved her color scheme of grey and yellow!
Her maids wore a beautiful grey dress and Christine chose grey linens for her tables, so all the flowers were these pops of bright yellow.
We used flowers such as orchids, protea, mini callas, lilies with accents of fern curls and dusty miller throughout. Craspedia was used for boutonnieres, which even the guys loved!
Christine and Tim were married at the charming Watch Hill chapel and their reception took place at the beautiful Jonathan Edwards winery.
A Thyme to Cook catered the affair and Erica Coppell from Adeline and Grace was on hand to document the evening.
Just take a look at these AMAZING pics! Thanks Erica for sharing! And be sure to check out their blog for more!



Loving the detail shots!





We wrapped the maid’s bouquets with leaves and twine.

check out all of this yummy food!

I loved her modern mix of peonies, callas, orchids and dusty miller!

Congratulations to an awesome couple! Wishing you two much happiness!
Tags: a thyme to cook, adeline and grace photography, Hana Floral Design, jonathan edwards winery, watch hill chapel
meg and tyler, may 29th 2010
Posted by admin | Filed under Weddings
My apologies for the delay in posting a real wedding, but this one is sure to please!!! Meg and Tyler were married at the lovely Jonathan Edwards winery the last weekend of May.
First of all, Ms. Meg was so detail oriented~ she purchased all of these amazing lanterns, pitchers and all sorts of treasures for her table. We just filled them in with flowers! Meg chose cream, yellow and blue as her colors, and we emphasized our use of herbs and flowers of textural interest, like the fern curls, and thistle.
This was such a fun wedding for us. We loved that Meg’s bridesmaids each wore a different dress from Anthropologie, and they carried a different bouquet as well. And Meg was absolutely stunning in her lace dress while she carried a simple bouquet made up of baby’s breath and astilbe.
A Thyme to Cook was on hand to cater the event, and Ms. Maggie Conley was there to capture the magic. Just take a look!










Congratulations Meg and Tyler! We wish you all the best!!!
Tags: a thyme to cook, Hana Floral Design, jonathan edwards winery, Maggie Conley Photography
arts alive event, june 25th 2010
Posted by admin | Filed under Current Events, Parties
While I was away enjoying a vacay on the west coast (more on that later), the gals worked on a cool art event at Foxwoods Casino.
David, our event guru at Foxwoods, brought artwork to life in the room, with over sized images of The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, Starry Night by Van Gogh among others!
Carol was all over this ~ coming up with each concept and along with our newbie, Angela, creating 30 of these funky floral displays for the three day event.
Here are a few of the fantastic creations! Great job gals!!!

Tags: arts alive event, foxwoods casino, Hana Floral Design
flower magazine feature!
Posted by admin | Filed under Current Events
We were delighted that Flower magazine contacted us to feature one of our weddings! You will recognize this one from our website~ the classic coastal wedding of Deirdre and Jason located on the exclusive Elihu Island, Stonington, CT.
Here are some of the pages featured with incredible images by Erica of Adeline and Grace photography.
Flower magazine can be found at local book stores and newsstands. Thank you Flower magazine for the lovely feature and thanks especially to Deirdre and Jason for sharing their wedding day with us.








Tags: adeline and grace photography, chocolate creative design, coastal gourmet, Elihu Island, flower magazine, Hana Floral Design, Jennie Fresa
athena and john, june 12, 2010
Posted by admin | Filed under Weddings
What could be more “quintessential coastal New England”, than a nautical inspired wedding in charming Essex?
I had the pleasure of meeting Athena through our friend, Talia, of Sixpence for your Shoe. Athena had to be one of the most laid back brides! Provided we stayed within the color scheme, she was open to flowers and style. We opted for deep blue hydrangeas, scarlet red peonies, and vibrant yellow roses and spray roses.
These 3 colors were the base for all of Athena and John’s decor~ from the navy striped linens to the nantucket red pants!
The rain lifted just in time for Athena and John to have their vows by the water, followed by their tented reception at the Essex Yacht club.
We were thrilled that Iris Photography was on hand to shoot the wedding~ enjoy these images as we approach the first official day of Summer!







Congratulations Athena and John!!! Have a great summer!
Tags: Essex Yacht club, Hana Floral Design, iris photography, nautical wedding, Sixpence for your shoe, sperry tent
wedding row recap
Posted by admin | Filed under Current Events
Last week we had the pleasure of creating floral pieces for the Open House at Wedding Row,with special guest, Karen Bussen. Karen was in town to promote her new book, Simple Stunning Bride. Many of the images were shot by some of our photographer friends, and shot at The White Dress by the Shore!
In addition to Karen signing books, Callie Tein of Modern Trousseau was on hand to showcase her gorgeous dresses from the Fall collection!
Despite the weather, it was a great evening of brides and industry friends gathering together to see the latest trends in fashion, make up by Jennie Fresa, sip on sangria and delicious hors d’oeuvres from Foe, sample delicious cake from Ana Parzych ,enjoy fabulous music from Elan Artists and much more!
The always charming Bruce Plotkin was there to document the evening. Thanks Bruce!

the fab ladies of Wedding Row along with Karen Bussen







Tags: ana parzych custom cakes, bruce plotkin photography, elan artists, Foe, Hana Floral Design, Jennie Fresa, Stonington Design and Paperie, The White Dress by the Shore, True Event, wedding row
christine and josh, may 22, 2010
Posted by admin | Filed under Weddings
We are smack in the middle of one crazy week! Last night vendor friends and brides all gathered at Wedding Row in Clinton, to meet/greet with Ms. fabulous Karen Bussen, as well as see the amazing Fall collection of Modern Trousseau bridal gowns!
We have 3 beautiful weddings to create for this weekend, but I wanted to share some incredible images from Christine and Josh’s simple and elegant affair at Jonathan Edwards winery.
I’m loving the pewter linens with the crisp white and green flowers. Christine wanted low centerpieces and candlelight, so we made square wreaths full of peonies, hydrangeas, lisianthus, tulips, and sweet peas. We even tucked in the last of the white lilacs for the season! They were filled to the brim with flowers!
The always delightful, Robert Norman, shot this lovely wedding. Thanks so much Robert for sending these my way!!! I’m just in love with this first image~ it’s so dreamy!






Congratulations Christine and Josh! Wishing you all the best!
Tags: a thyme to cook, Hana Floral Design, jonathan edwards winery, robert norman photography
q&a with special guest, Karen Bussen!
Posted by admin | Filed under Current Events
We are thrilled to have event planner extraordinaire, Karen Bussen, answer a few questions for us. In case you don’t already know, Karen is one of New York’s best entertainment experts and celebrated author of the Simple Stunning series.
Karen will be the special guest this Wednesday night at Wedding Row, signing her latest book, Simple Stunning Bride.
We have Simple Stunning Flowers in the studio, which is a fantastic resource for brides when choosing your wedding flowers.
Karen was kind enough to answer a few questions for us, so without further adieu~
1) Many brides are on a budget these days. We would love some ideas you can share with us on how to create fabulous centerpieces without breaking the bank?
Think creatively and design “double-duty” centerpieces. Fill simple cylinder vases with seasonal flowers such as dahlias, and attach your escort cards to them. Guests take the vases to the tables and they become both place cards and centerpieces. Then, each guest takes her vase home—wait, that’s quadruple duty! I love it. Living centerpieces of plants such as azaleas or daffodils are also very affordable and can be taken home and enjoyed after the party.


photos courtesy of William Geddes
2) Many brides these days are planning a destination wedding. Do you have any advice for them?
If you’re planning remotely, you’ll want to make sure to be very organized. I suggest at least two trips to the area before the celebration—one to secure your venue and key vendors, and one for detail follow up and a walkthrough of the spaces. My SIMPLE STUNNING WEDDING ORGANIZER has lots of tips for planning a destination wedding, plus worksheets and questions to ask your potential vendors. Most important: get great recommendations for top local vendors and make sure you have a great relationship with your venue and/or catering contacts, especially if you don’t have a planner, as they can be very helpful with all aspects of the celebration.
3) Can you share with our readers your favorite color combinations for 2010 and do you have some predictions for hot color trends for 2011?
Black and white is SO HOT right now, especially when accented with metallics and hot colors like fuchsia and deep magenta. For rehearsal dinners, sunny yellow and sage green are really hot for summer. I predict mirrored accents are making a huge return, with a modern twist—mirrored tabletops for dinner, accent tables with mirror finishes for lounge areas, even mirrored trays for hors d’oeuvres. They reflect candle light, are chic, and I like to mix them in with more traditional tables covered in fabric for interesting texture throughout a large space. For linens, toile is making a romantic appearance, as is lace. Vintage looks are really in right now and I think that trend will continue…

photo courtesy of William Geddes
4) What are your fave wedding flowers to use for your clients?
I never do the same thing twice, and for me, the design process begins with the architecture of the spaces and the style personality of the couple, along with the mood they want to create. I ask my couples to list adjectives that suggest how they want the party to feel, and those words inspire me. I love trying to use local, seasonal flowers whenever possible, and right now I’m really loving a mix of romantic blooms, such as peonies and garden roses with lesser-known botanical specimens, such as echeveria, lotus, and fiddlehead ferns.
5) Can you share with us some of the details of your most memorable wedding?
Robert Downey Jr’s wedding was amazing—intimate and very personal, with a modern, almost Japanese-inspired asthetic. Long tables featured modular centerpieces and lots of natural hues. But for me, every wedding is memorable, because what I really love is creating a personal party suited just to the bride and groom, a one-of-a-kind celebration that they and their guests will never forget. For me, it’s about getting to know the couple really well, and helping them express their style and vision. That’s what brings me joy!


photos courtesy of Julie Skarratt
A huge thank you to Karen, for taking time out to chat with us!!!! If you are still interested in attending the Open House this Wednesday, rsvp to Sarah: sarah@trueevent.com
See you there!









