Engaging Floral Designs is a Knot.com 2013 Pick for Best of Weddings!

Engaging Floral Designs wins the 2013 Best of Weddings Pick on TheKnot.com!  It's the 2nd year in a row we've won this award and are very thankful to our past clients for all the wonderful feedback you've shared with others about our services and designs to help us earn this recognition.       Happy Holidays!  - Sarah Lusardi, Owner

Rustic Containers

Wood planter boxes, birch containers and mason jars are all the rage in the latest wedding centerpiece design.  They and are perfect to tie in architectural elements of a building (such as for barn weddings, weddings at the Roundhouse at Beacon Falls ;) ... outdoor weddings, or other "rustic or vintage themed" weddings.

This is a design below created by yours truly at Engaging Floral Designs! Don't forget to stop and smell the ranunculus, dahlias, spray roses, tulips, and oh yeah, roses....

Roundhouse Wedding Flowers and Day of Coordination - 2012Sept29

It was truly a pleasure to be back at the Roundhouse on September 29th working as the floral designer and day of coordinator for a wonderful couple from NYC.  It was an iffy day with the weather but the rain held out and the ceremony took place outside on the patio area at the venue (the original ceremony plan was on the lawn but it was too damp with all the rain we had previously in Beacon). 

These stands were purchased for weddings at Roundhouse and can be used indoors or outdoors. 

These aisle markers were used again after the ceremony on the cocktail tables.  Reuse and recycle!

 

Their dj didn't provide prelude music so we used my assistant's smartphone to play some prelude music stored on there as guests were seated. Their officiant was a friend and offered a very personal ceremony having everyone laughing and smiling. 

 

 

 The cocktail hour took place upstairs in the Gallery area and outside until the rain decided to eventually fall - at least it had the decency to wait until long after the ceremony was over!

 

The large doors behind the escort table arrangement open to reveal the reception area - The Waterfall room.

 

 

There were 17 tables set up in this room making for a nice open dance floor.  We loved the dimmers on the lighting and how it illuminates the re-purposed wood beam ceiling, the retractable blind/curtain system to keep the space hidden from guests during the cocktail hour (and to open it for the reception to give an amazing view of the falls).  Many thanks to the professional, friendly and hard working team at the Roundhouse to maintain a smooth flowing event. 

The only downside to the evening was that the dj had a faulty wireless microphone (and didn't bring a backup mic) and I happened to own a corded microphone that I let him use for the rest of the evening. It was a wonderful event with great vendors looking out for this couple, a great family and a fun group of friends there to celebrate their special day! 

We look forward to sharing professional photos from their photographer, Laura Marie Duncan Photography. Stay tuned...

Roundhouse Wedding Flowers - September 22, 2012

Our first event at Roundhouse happened on September 22, 2012.  This bride wanted a very simple, classic white/cream blush look for her centerpieces designed in hobnob mason jars. These tables were not completely set yet but with the glassware, place settings, menu cards, and candles, this was a nice soft look for the space. Can't wait to see the photographer's professional photos when we get them!

 

For the bouquets, the bride requested a bouquet with anemones, lilies, roses, and...wait for it...baby's breath....(screech, hault!).  What? Yes, it seems that baby's breath is starting to be requested due to the ever so popular vintage romantic trend.  Next year we have a wedding where baby's breath is the only flower in tall glass vases with hanging votives and crystals... who knew!

 

 

We can't wait to feature the photographer's images of our flowers to show you the complete overall look...stay tuned!

Mid July Wedding at Sacred Heart Church in Suffern and The Pearl River Hilton

We had the pleasure of working with a bride that found us by witnessing our work first hand at her friend's wedding that we coordinated and designed at The Highlands Country Club.  Katie was the maid of honor at that wedding - What a wonderful way to really see our day of coordination services in action and to view the quality and value of the flowers by seeing them up close and personal!  Well, finally, Katie and Ryan's wedding day arrived and it was her turn to be the bride dressed in white (well ivory anyway).   Her ceremony was at the Sacred Heart Church and reception was at the Pearl River Hilton in Rockland County.

Bouquets:

The maid of honor bouquet with picasso calla lilies, cream roses, stock, scabiosa, and greenery.

The bride's bouquet perfect in size for the bride

Here's an up close and personal look at the bride's bouquet - very soft creams and palest of pink with scabiosa pods, calla lilies, ranunculus, lisianthus, roses, and cabbage roses.

 One accent the bride added onto the handle onsite was her grandfather's pin - very sentimental piece that brought up warm memories of her late grandpa and a symbol that he was there in spirit walking with her down the aisle.

The highlight for us is to see the flowers the day of and how they accent the bridesmaid dresses! A great pair!

 The Ceremony itself along with the decor, had many personal touches.  The godparents were also the readers, additional family helped present the gifts for the offering, and other younger family members helped to pass out programs and the "streamers" to wave at the bride and groom for guests to welcome the newly weds outside of the church!  What a fun idea! 

The aisle markers were made by the bride's relative out of silk hydrangea and tassel roping and were re-used after the ceremony when our team brought them to the reception site.

Traditional church ceremony arrangements in the color scheme.  Most wedding flowers are considered a donation to the church so just double check if you are thinking of re-purposing your ceremony arrangements at your reception.

 The Reception Decor:

The cake topper waiting to crown the cake! Every now and then we see the figurines appear and they have a new twist...

Re-purposed aisle markers around the lantern card box

Beautiful low centerpieces designed by Sarah and team using purple imported hydrangea, stock, roses, scabiosas, queen anne's lace, alstromeria, and some greenery - a great size for the 10 person round tables!  They also used "door numbers" as their table numbers.

Wisteria table linens gives a nice sophisticated color to the room without going over the top with the purple them and is much more interesting than just opting for the standard white linens.

At each place setting, the menu card is tucked into the pocket fold of a lavender napkin with a key favor

The team at the Pearl River Hilton (Derek, Barbara, and Paulette) were all top notch and were absolutely wonderful to work with.  Our clients were in great hands and we look forward to another opportunity to see them again at future weddings!

Katie and Ryan had a great team of wedding professionals so right off the bat, they had the optimal setup for a top class wedding!  Katie's hair and make up team did a wonderful job and had all the girls done with plenty of time to spare so that the photographer Jose Reyes of Jose Reyes Photography could stay on top of the photo schedule and get everyone to the church on time!  Our bridal attendant, Adina, kept Katie calm prior to taking off in the limo for the church. At the reception, the band rocked the guests and kept them dancing all night.  They were great musicians and singers and the band leader keeping the flow going nicely...

Snafu:
Onsite during setup, the band leader brought to my attention that they didn't have a copy onsite of the "blessing recording" by the bride's grandfather who had passed - it was to be played after guests were seated for grace.  I had a back up copy of the recording on my laptop and was able to transfer it to the sound guy onsite.  One snafu diverted! 

The band leader also may have gotten booed by two very significant people in the wedding if he had not changed the wording of "matron of honor" to "best lady" during the bridal party introduction.  The best lady strongly disliked the term "matron" and the bride was listening out to make sure the band leader said it correctly while she was waiting to be called for her introduction.  We always review all the details with the band leader and the maitre'd together prior to the event starting onsite to make sure that the details reviewed previously weren't just brushed aside. The bride, after hearing the band leader announce her friend into the room as "best lady",  said, "YES! He said it!" She had the biggest smile on her face and it set the mood for a fantastic start to her reception. As a team, we did it!

Mason Jar Arrangement

This is our latest design - a standard mason jar with a loose garden style arrangement of blush cream roses, lilies, stock, ranunculus, bupleurum and varigated greens. This similar design will be featured at a wedding we're doing at the Roundhouse at Beacon Falls in September - stay tuned for photos of that wedding!

A Floral Look for the Classic Romantic

For the classic bride wanting a romantic, soft feel for her floral concept- Try this: A tall clear glass vase with lush hydrangea, delicate roses, fluffy stock, hanging orchids and draping crystals.  Nothing says romance like lots of candles on the table (high and low). 

A June Wedding at Thayer Hotel (Ceremony at The Cadet Chapel)

The bridesmaids wore beautiful raspberry colored dresses and held very pale pink peony bouquets.  The bride's bouquet was the color of the bridesmaid dresses (not shown). The ceremony was held at the Cadet Chapel and the reception was at Thayer Hotel.  The color scheme throughout was whites, greens and pinks/raspberry tones.

Ceremony arrangements at The Cadet Chapel at West Point

Half  of the tables had low centerpieces with peonies, roses, hydrangea, godetia, and stock in them.

The other half of the tables displayed a trio of submerged floating orchids in pink tones atop a beveled mirror

This is the outside of the Cadet Chapel

In the cocktail room, the escort cards surrounded our rental manzanita tree with hanging votives and a couple of fluffy peonies.

At the sweetheart table, some additional flowers used throughout the room were used here.

The cake flowers awaiting to crown the top of the cake once it arrived onsite

Purple Theme Wedding at The Garrison, Garrison, NY on May 25, 2012

The ceremony space at The Garrison has SPECTACULAR views! Our company, Engaging Floral Designs, provided all the flower arrangements.  We decorated the bittersweet arbor in greenery with a center arrangement of lilies, mums, snapdragons, stock, and other greens and accented the structure with curly willow in bloom.

 
The aisle markers were very sweet - we designed little bud vases with purple and white toned flowers such as mums, lisianthus, stock, and roses with an anemone accent. After the ceremony, the bud vases were used on the cocktail tables!

The bouquets did double duty as personal flowers and then afterward as adornments for the guest book table once the bridal party no longer needed their bouquets!  The bride's bouquet had roses, calla lilies, stock and peonies in it.  The bridesmaid bouquets had lisianthus, roses and stock.

The walk down the aisle is just amazing... our client opted to have the aisle lined with lavender rose petals to complete the look:

On to the reception, all the tables in the room featured low centerpieces so that guests could enjoy the amazing views that The Garrison offers.  The arrangements were all purple and dark purple tones with flowers such as anemones, roses, stock, purple and white hydrangea, and greenery:

What a lovely wedding for such a sweet couple - so wonderful to work with you both!

Doral Arrowwood Wedding Flowers in Rye Brook, NY on May 27, 2012

In the ballroom, while the ceremony was about to start, the pin spots were turned on to illuminate the tall centerpieces.  The curly willow was forced to bloom some greenery to accent the structure.  Gladiolus in full bloom provided added height and volume.

On alternating tables, to save money, the client opted for low arrangements in bubble bowls in the color scheme.

Just prior to guests arriving, the ceremony arrangements were placed outside - lucky for the bride and groom today was a beautiful day and the rain never made a presence!

Orchids and Curly Willow Arrangements

Here's a simple look for those that are not big flower fans but want to still have pieces that make a statement in a room with very high ceilings.  Trumpet vases with white dendrobium orchids, oncidium yellow orchids and tall curly willow branches.

"Planning Pretty" Bridal Event February 24 in Yorktown Heights, NY at 7:30pm

If any bride is interested in attending, there may be a space or two left at this Friday's "Planning Pretty Event" at 7:30pm.  It is being held at the wedding makeup studio of Meredith Hayman. 

It's going to be a fun night out with some A-list wedding professionals and the chance to get some great insider tips on having a knockout wedding.  This catered event will include raffles by Etsy vendors, hints on hair and makeup, and a DJ spinning tunes, as well as snacks, pastries and champagne. We'll be featuring one of our floral designs and Sarah Lusardi will be presenting insider planning tips on preventing wedding day snafoos that could arise. This is a wonderful chance to interact with wedding professionals face-to-face to see if their styles match yours.

To view the official blog post for this event, visit http://meredithhayman.blogspot.com/ 

 
Hope to see you there.  Check back soon for pictures and post event information!

The Knot Best of Weddings 2012 Pick

We are proud to announce that Engaging Floral Designs has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2012 Pick. Thank you to our current and past brides for recognizing us for our exceptional designs and service.  It is an honor to be providing unique floral designs to make our clients' weddings one of a kind.  If you are a bride to be in search of a designer to create beautiful pieces for your wedding day, please give us a call to set up a complimentary consultation to get to know your personal designer!  We're located in Beacon, NY and serve the Mid-Hudson Valley region, Westchester and beyond!

Engaging Floral Designs

Our booth at the Villa Barone Hilltop Manor Bosco Bridal Show January 11, 2012

If you missed us at the Villa Barone Hilltop Manor Bosco Bridal Show yesterday, here's what our booth space looked like.  We featured a number of different floral styles, color combinations, and sizes.

It was so nice to meet all the beautiful brides to be! Have fun with the wedding plans and keep us in mind for your wedding flower decor and day of coordination needs.

Come See Us at the Bosco Bridal Show - Villa Barone Hilltop Manor, Mahopac, NY

It's bridal show season! Our first stop is the Bosco Bridal Show at Villa Barone Hilltop Manor, 466 Rt 6, Mahopac, NY on Wednesday 1/11/2012 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm. Come see beautiful new designs being offered for 2012 by Engaging Floral Designs and learn about new planning packages offered through NY Engagements, LLC!

Photo is our booth at last January's Bosco Bridal Show.

Get your tickets at the door!