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Flowers, Favors and Decorations

Secrets of a Floral Designer

A peek inside the world of an expert in his field

Today I’m following a dear friend, one of my favorite people, and unquestionably one of the most talented designers doing wedding décor today: Preston Bailey.

Preston is known for the theatrical. “I love taking a space and changing it into something else,” he says in his soft Panamanian accent. “I am inspired by the movies of the ’30s and ’40s: the drama, the energy—I want guests to feel as if they have wandered onto an MGM lot.” So how could I resist the chance to ghost Preston and his team as they pulled together a wedding at the famous Ritz in London? The work started long before the autumn affair, since his popularity usually dictates that his events be booked eight months to a year ahead.

Tip #1

If you are interested in a particular floral designer, meet with—and book—him as early as possible to insure his availability.

The initial meeting with this couple includes Preston, company manager Regina Evans, and the couple’s party planner, Judy Paulen of Judy Paulen Designs in London. Over the years, Preston has learned to ask the right questions to suss out his clients, many of whom start out with no idea what they want. He learns as much from this couple’s dislikes as their likes, asking them to describe weddings where the décor left them cold as well as what style their home is décorated in. Preston also watches for the smallest reaction to photos in his portfolio to glean hints for design direction.

Tip #2

Don’t think it’s impolite to react honestly to a florist’s book. This is part of the learning curve—it’s about your personal taste and your dollars. Being up front early on is essential to the process.

He then shows them an array of fabrics—organza, velvet, damasks, beaded swatches—as well as the requisite variety of flowers. Even his clients’ clothes give him clues. The bride points out that she loves wisteria, a garden feel and candlelight. All the while, Regina observes and takes copious, detailed notes. In the end, this couple realizes that they want the ballroom to appear less overwhelming—more than enough for Preston to start imagining.

At the second meeting, Preston shows sample centerpieces, photographing for later replication the ones that are approved. He also tweaks the sketches for the chuppah and wall décorations. Then all agree on a budget—one that will hopefully leave the couple with carfare.

Tip #3

Request that the samples all be photographed—it puts everyone on the same page.

Tip #4

“If the tables are beautiful, the rest of even an ugly room disappears,” he says. “High centerpieces are unquestionably the most dramatic. That, and tall candles.” Preston advises, however, that something interesting—nosegays, votives, picture frames, more flowers—also be arranged at the bottom of the centerpiece. “Otherwise, there is nothing of interest at eye level when guests are seated.”

Bringing in the equipment
Preston has to deal with a particular design problem: the Ritz ballroom has a second-tier balcony that can make a less than humongous wedding look dwarfed in the space. His solution is ingenious. Months before the wedding, he and his team search flea markets for oversized antique frames (some worth several thousand dollars), and then build others to match.

Tip #5

The cost of buying props does not fall with a loud thud on your bottom line. Many designers maintain warehouses filled with inventory and will amortize the purchase cost by renting items to their clients. If you have a specific vase in mind, ask for it—they might consider making the investment.

Next, photographs of ornate ro-coco urns are enlarged and silk-screened onto thin fabric to create ”paintings” for each of the frames. Then Preston makes plans to ”fill” the urns with masses of real flowers, creating a living trompe l’oeil to line the balcony.

The team is set into motion
Each event handled by Preston Bailey Designs has a production manager—in this case, Sanow Ledrod—to take care of logistics and keep things moving, as well as a transportation/inventory manager. (Even the mystical Mr. B cannot be in twelve places at once.) Both work closely with Preston and Regina.

Tip #6

Ask early in the planning who will be your on-site contact and request to meet them in advance.

Sanow begins both the arduous task of scheduling a cast of dozens and the endless duty of receiving—flowers, custom-made table linens, pieces stored in the warehouse, candles. Karen Speir, who with Preston has developed an innovative line of wedding favors, begins the painstaking job of gluing tiny posies of delicate dried flowers on the small glass boxes that will hold votive candles and be given to each guest as wedding favors.

Three days before the event, the flowers are delivered to Preston’s studio, and a crew of 12 starts a full day’s work at 6 a.m. Using razor-sharp floral knives, they angle-cut the stem of each flower to create more drinking surface and put all the flowers in buckets of clean, tepid water. (Preston is not a big fan of floral conditioner, which some designers use to prolong a flower’s life.) When you consider that close to 20,000 blooms have to be prepared for this event, it’s easy to see where the money goes.

Tip #7

Loose flowers in vases cost significantly less than carefully arranged and planned centerpieces such as these. If you need to cut corners, think simply.

The next morning, the crew changes the water and strips each flower of greens that would otherwise get soggy and rot. They put the most delicate flowers—such as the more than 600 burgundy, white and apricot orchids—in water-filled floral tubes. The crew also prepares the 30 bare centerpiece bases—tall, custom-welded gold metal stands, also out of the warehouse—using green floral tape to secure the floral foam that will anchor (and water) the flowers.

Creating a scene
That decked-put ballroom you see in those glossy magazines doesn’t just get out of bed like that in the morning. It takes as much primping and powdering as it took Norma Desmond to get ready for her close-up. The day of the wedding is a wild whirlwind involving dozens of people that gets set into motion early in the morning, as 16 skilled freelance floral designers join the regulars at the studio at 6 a.m. (again!).

Tip #8

If you are planning full-on décor, be sure that you have your site booked for the entire day, and that another event isn’t scheduled before it—this kind of transformation takes a whole day to install.

The studio is filled with white-plastic buckets bursting with blooms and hums with the sound of blasting Walkmen. The centerpieces, a dozen auxiliary pieces and the ten frames are finished, with every designer working according to a slightly different floral ”recipe” that dictates the number of each flower per arrangement—250 stems total. A centerpiece takes a designer about two hours to finish, as they carefully place hydrangea, roses, stock, orchids and eucalyptus berries. (The result, a unique take on the common design, is one of the reasons a good designer’s work doesn’t have that predictable produced-in-a-factory look.) Then the giant frames are fitted with their real flowers, creating exquisite living tableaux.

The frames are hauled into every other balcony niche and lit. The living tableaux alternate with frames lined in black velvet and crammed to the edges and beyond with winding wisteria and vibrant blooms, turning the cold, vaulted room into a cozy gallery. The total effect is staggering.


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