03-10-2024 Capital Style - Flipbook - Page 26
This winter, D’Onofrio, who was born in
Bolivia and said an entrepreneurial spirit
runs in her family, received a request from
a bride who wanted black flowers in her
wedding bouquet; a deep burgundy “Black
Baccara” rose was the answer. She’s also
received a request from a groom for a black
boutonniere.
It’s a departure from the pampas grass
floral arrangements that she said have been
popular in past years and more traditional
wedding flowers, which she described as
centering white and soft blush hues and
varying depending on the season — coppers
for fall or pines and reds around Christmas,
for example.
But more couples want to incorporate
color into their weddings, said Stephanie
Sadowski, an Annapolis resident whose
wedding planning company, SRS Events,
caters to brides and grooms in Maryland and
Washington, D.C.
Whereas more traditional wedding
bouquets might use white roses, peonies,
hydrangeas or lily of the valley, she said less
expected options can include some of those
same flowers, but in bolder hues like fuschia,
blue, purple, orange and yellow.
For one wedding in April, Sadowski said
she was working on a “color block effect”
bouquet entirely devoid of white for the
bride, and a different color monochromatic
bouquet for each of the bridesmaids, who
will be wearing black dresses.
The couple will be married in D.C.’s
Renwick Gallery, a branch of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum with
a colorful ceiling installation that Sadowski
described as kaleidoscope-like.
“Color makes people happy,” she said.
“And if a couple loves color, then they
absolutely should embrace it.”
WildFlower Stem + Sundry, with locations
in Arnold and Glen Burnie, is also working
with couples interested in “infusing more of
their actual selves into their wedding,” said
Lindsay Sadtler, WildFlower’s wedding and
events coordinator.
Sometimes, that looks like mixing light
blue, green, dark coral and yellow flowers for
a union blending coastal style with African
influence, or even Harry Potter-inspired
florals — lots of greenery and darker, muted
colors, Sadtler said — for a summer wedding
at Historic London Town and Gardens.
“Let’s not do tradition just for tradition’s
sake,” said Christine Guenther, who owns
WildFlower. “Let’s do what matters to you,
individually.”
South of Anne Arundel County, in
Charlotte Hall, beloved books like those
that form the Harry Potter series have been
transformed into flowers more literally
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| CAPITAL STYLE | Spring 2024
A red and white bouquet of paper
flowers is made from the pages
of Jane Austen novels. PHOTO
COURTESY OF MELTING PROSE.
Martha D’Onofrio, who owns the
Anne Arundel County flower shops
Little House of Flowers and Always
Blooming Florist & Boutique, has
fielded requests for darker flowers
in bridal bouquets. She sometimes
uses deep-hued“Odessa”calla lilies
and dark purple orchids. PHOTO
COURTESY OF LITTLE HOUSE OF
FLOWERS
by Judie Evans, who collaborates with her
mother and sister to stock the Etsy store
Melting Prose, opened in 2022, with paper
bouquets, wax melts and candles.
Each of the shop’s handmade blooms
are made from the pages of damaged and
heavily used books, she said, shaped in a way
that resembles roses and finished off with
artificial stems and leaves.
It’s an idea Evans, who works as an editor
at D.C.’s National Museum of American
History, said she got from perusing the web,
and it can take three hours to craft a single
bouquet. One key to her success: finding
books that brides-to-be have a personal
connection with.
“Books, especially books that you really
love, become a part of who you are. So that’s
a really cool, different way to inject little bits
of yourself into your wedding,” Evans, 40,
said. “You’ll have a beautiful souvenir of your
wedding forever.”
