Wonderful event planner Emilva from Sante Weddings approached me at the beginning of spring with the idea of creating a spring event decoration in a beautiful location in Amsterdam, Baxter Building, located near the Synagogue and the famous flea market on Waterlooplein. The location is truly beautiful and the interior is monumental with luxurious large spaces, lots of natural light, lots of greenery, and plants adorning the interior. I fell in love with the place at first sight.
Floral Decorations With Plants & Cut Flowers for Events
"Why did you, Spring, your coming so delay, If, now here, you cannot stay? You win my love and then unloving pass away."
I came up with the idea of mixing plants and spring flowers for the table seating and making more green and wildflower decorations for the bar. At the beginning of the season, there were many beautiful plants in pots and spring flowers on the market. I have selected beautiful elegant Fritillaria meleagris, cheerful yellow daffodils, different types of ferns, beautiful acacia or mimosa, gorgeous French tulips, some Japanese ranunculus, and other various small plants. All these beauties already looked so nice together. It was natural and easy to arrange them in different decorative pots and glass vases at different levels - voilà! - the magic of the spring garden flourishes on your table.
"Then with a smile thus answered me the Spring: To my voice and flight you cling, For I, before I perch, again am on the wing.
Love cannot live save upon love beyond. Leaving you, I keep you fond, Not letting you despair, but making you respond."
I learned about using plants for table decorations from my Japanese teacher Atsushi Taniguchi, who loves Adiantum capillus veneris or Venus hair ferns. I have used them for this design as well and they add a certain richness and beauty to this style.
"Farewell, and love me still, my lover dear, Love me till another year, And you, if you be true, again will find me here."
Emilva's table seating was truly beautiful and Baxter Building provided great catering with the most delicious dishes and drinks. It was an experiment for me to create such a wild and sumptuous table arrangement and I wondered, “How does it feel? Do guests enjoy being surrounded by an almost real garden during the dinner?” People seemed to like the idea and said that it appealed to them to have their dinner amid greenery and nature.
"Forlorn, forsaken, shall I be until Primrose peep and throstle shrill, And in the orchard gleam the outriding daffodil."
Aside from the aesthetic aspect, this type of event decor is as sustainable as it gets. The plants in beautiful decorative pots can be given as gifts to the guests and remain a feast for their eyes and a reminder of the special occasion. I have to say that this solution is also cost-effective. In combination with some fresh cut flowers, floral decors made with plants are much cheaper than flower arrangements that are made entirely of cut flowers. You can create endless combinations using different seasonal plants and flowers, color schemes, and building different shapes - as we all know - human creativity is limitless.
"Then shall I know that Spring among the trees Hiding is, and that the breeze Anew will fling abroad odours and melodies."
It has been an exciting experiment and I am really looking forward to receiving new requests from customers who appreciate ideas like this. We florists and floral designers ultimately work for people. There are so many special event venues, such as botanical gardens, private gardens, very modern spaces, or even castles, where this natural plant-based style would work really well. I have already had a number of clients who would specifically request this natural style, ask to include plants in my designs. With all this said and the wonderful poetry of Alfred Austin coming to an end, I would like to say goodbye to the beautiful spring of 2021, see your next year! And please don't be jealous, because I enthusiastically say "Hello!" to the coming summer, to the new adventures.
Credits Floral Design: Katya Hutter @katyahutterfloraldesign Production & Styling: Emilva Tervoort @sante_weddings, Katya Hutter @katyahutterfloraldesign Photography team: Thijs Huizer @thijs.huizer, Cher van Pelt @cheryourspace & Katya Hutter @katyahutterfloraldesign Model: MeikeHannah @_meikehannah_ Make-up and hair: Olga Stasevich @olgastasevich Venue: Baxter Building Amsterdam @baxterbuildingamsterdam Natural dyed textiles: Pomegranate Colours @pomegranatecolours
