Picking The Flowers
Amy Hendrickson takes her inspiration from nature itself, which is
appropriate, considering her profession is flowers.
But it’s not the standard wedding flower arrangements when it comes to
Hendrickson’s designs.
“What I love about my weddings is that the brides give me the freedom to
do different things,” said Hendrickson, who owns and operates Amy Kate
Designs, based in Cheboygan and handling weddings around the north.
One particular wedding stood out in her memory from last year.
Hendrickson used green crab apples and “teeny tiny” red crab apples in
displays with flora in chartreuse and greens, with blue lavender and
pink flowers. The centerpieces also had stems of blueberries mixed in
with “a lot of natural foliage and flowers.”
“People were in awe,” Hendrickson said. “And people were eating the
centerpieces — it was so cool!”
And if she can find a place for “lots and lots of big stock candles,”
she will. Or pears and lemons and “big fat Ecuadorian roses and herbs.”
“I’m a color gal,” she said, “I just love color.”
She also loves adding the extra touch, like monogramming napkins for the
bridal table with the bride’s new last name initial, so she’ll have the
new linens to take and use at home.
“I find most of my brides are very organized and I will suggest things,
but I want to get to know them first,” Hendrickson said. “What colors do
they like? I show them a slew of magazines and gardening books and let
them page through and I can tell by their reactions to things, what they
like.”
She prefers a year’s notice for planning detailed weddings, and many in
the region already know of her designs as owner of the former Thru the
Grapevine location in Bay Harbor.
Hendrickson works with a team of professionals, including rental
businesses, cake makers, wedding coordinators and caterers, for
instance. She also has a landscape artist to help create one-of-a-kind
wedding settings.
Many of her more elegant and expensive flowers are ordered from
overseas, including on the Dutch auction. She describes her style as
“free form” and “I tend to tell people I work with nature’s building
codes. It’s wide open.”
Michigan offers its own beauty in terms of wedding flowers and natural
items for decorating, she said, noting pine and birch trees make for
unique accents.
Locally she buys hybrid delphinium and luscious dahlias from area farm
markets. When it comes to the wedding staple — roses — she prefers “big
fat open roses, and I love garden roses and only roses that have
wonderful fragrances.”
Hendrickson also likes to use fresh herbs in her designs, plus lilacs,
lily of the valley and forget-me-nots. Potted plants and flowers and
foliage also find a place in her creations.
Dramatic reception table pieces and centerpieces are her favorite to
create, Hendrickson said, “something that’s just ‘wow’ and something
that stops people in their tracks, so they have to touch it and smell it
and even taste it. It gives the guests something to talk about.”
Creating stunning bouquets for the bride and attendants also receives
special care. She prefers the hand-tied, Martha Stewart-style of
bouquet, but she doesn’t always use ribbon. Sometimes a brooch or
heirloom hanky can be used for a special touch that has meaning to the
bride.
“Brides really love that special touch,” said Hendrickson, who attended
the American Floral Arts School in Chicago, where she learned many of
her unique techniques.
She also creates custom gifts for the bridal party, such as her line of
soaps and lotions that can be labeled especially for the couple.
“There are so many things you can do,” she said, “you just need a very
creative person to bring that out, and that’s what I do.”
Reach Hendrickson at (231) 883-6170 or ttgrapevine@aol.com.
Don’t forget about other floral needs:
• Toss bouquet
• Hair accessories
• Attendants’ bouquets
• Junior bridesmaids or flower girls
• Boutonnieres
• Corsages
• Church and pews or ceremony site
• Garland for tents or doors
• Arch
• Petals down the aisle runner
• Head table
• Guest table arrangements
• Flowers for the cake
10. Gardenia
9. Sweet peas
8. Stephanotis
7. Ranunculus
6. The peony
5. Hydrangea
4. Lily of the Valley
3. Calla Lily
2. Tulip
1. Drumroll, please … The rose
Source: www.theknot.com
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