Louisville Bride

SPR-SUM 2018

Louisville Bride magazine is Louisville, Kentucky's premier bridal publication, featuring photos of wedding gowns and listings for Louisville reception halls, caterers, wedding planners, photographers, and other wedding service providers.

Issue link: http://louisvillebride.epubxp.com/i/917097

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1 2 S p r i n g / S u m m e r B R I D E 2 0 1 8 Ask the Expert FLOWERS PETAL PERFECT When did you first become interested in flowers? "I lived down the street from a Greek church as a kid, Holy Trinity Ortho- dox Cathedral in Chicago. When they would have a wedding, I would sit out there with my bike because I'd see the limos pull up. Of course, this was back in the '70s, so every bride to me looked like Priscilla Presley and all the guys looked like Elvis because they all were Greek. Those doors would fly open and I'm like, 'Oh, my God, I want to get in that church one day.' And I did. I wound up years later doing weddings there." How has the business changed since you first started working? "There's so much more floral available now. You can go to the grocery. You can go to Whole Foods. You have a lot of DIY brides. You have a lot of people that have taken a class at a farmers' market and, all of a sudden, they're a florist. It's like, well, there's a little bit more to it than that." What's your creative process like? "Before we meet with the bride, we have them fill out a questionnaire: What are your details? What are your colors? Do you have a Pinterest board? What does the dress look like? If they mention places that they like to eat, what's the vibe of that restaurant? I try to really listen deeper than just what they're saying. Then hopefully what they're requesting is going to be complemen- tary to what I envision. A lot of girls are like, 'I know what I like but I don't even know how to tell you what I want.' The blessing of Pinterest is it really shows people the potential of what a really good professional florist can do for them. It gives them a good idea of what we're capable of. The bad part of it is: You may get your heart set on this look and it's like, yeah, but that's not your season or you have no idea what the cost is. That's where you need to be working with a good professional florist that really knows how to source product, what will work, what's a great substitute and how to get the vision without maybe the detail being so specific. Another thing is understanding different cultural aspects in people's weddings, whether it's a Hin- du wedding or a Greek Orthodox wed- ding or a Christian wedding or a Wiccan wedding or a gay wedding. Everybody's got something different that's important to them, but there might also be some rules that have to be followed." If a couple is on a budget, what things do you recommend they prioritize? "What's your overall goal for the space? Do you need something for your cer- emony location or is your priority the reception? Some girls will say, 'I don't want to focus as much on the ceremony because we're spending more time at the reception.' Other girls are like, 'The cere- mony is really important to me, so I want to make sure it's beautiful.' Maybe we'll double the girls' bouquets as centerpiec- es on the tables and go heavy candles. It's really their call on that. "Instead of these big, beautiful peonies, let's go for a garden rose. At a glance people will think it's a peony, but actually you saved a little bit of money. We also decorate a lot of pergolas, a lot of arches, and you don't necessarily have to have full-blown fresh flowers on all that. We did one at Yew Dell Gardens where everything was fresh except the arch. We knew it was going to be incredibly hot, so we did a base with silk permanent botan- icals and then we added fresh (flowers) to it right before we knew they were ready to start the photos. Everything held up and it was amazing. You wouldn't know what was fresh and what was silk." What looks and flowers have been popular? "This past year it seems like everybody's been doing blush and burgundy. Now a lot of girls are going toward a lot of unusual greenery bouquets with floral as the accent. We've done everything from simple to massive, blown-out weddings. Floral chandeliers — whatever they want." Carolyn Minutillo, owner of Lavender Hill Florals (359 Spring St., Jeffersonville, Ind.), is a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers and recently completed a European Master Certification program in Bruges, Belgium. Having designed floral arrangements and other decor elements for countless weddings both locally and nationally for more than 30 years, she shares her expertise on dream-day bouquets and more.

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