Love in Bloom

From classic designs to seaside bouquets, Cape wedding floral ideas come alive on a visit with Verde Floral Designs in Mashpee Commons.

Photo by Anthony Dispezio

“Elegant, romantic, and traditional—or beachy, casual, and natural. Those are the words that I hear from Cape brides,” says Jeff Sawyer, owner of Verde Floral Designs. Jeff (in this case Jeff is a woman’s name!) has a passion for flowers—and Cape Cod. After 15 years of success in the corporate world, when she enjoyed the Cape as a getaway, Jeff opened a lovely Mashpee Commons shop where she is finally able to combine both her loves. She particularly enjoys working with Cape brides. “When I ask brides what atmosphere they want at their wedding they all have their own ideas—but almost every bride wants her flowers to reflect that special Cape Cod feeling,” says Jeff.

Photo by Anthony Dispezio

“Cape brides just love hydrangeas. For a Sea Crest Beach Hotel wedding in Falmouth, we massed a lot of the hydrangeas in different colors of blue, green, and white for the table centerpieces–a simple but just beautiful look with a gorgeous Cape Cod theme. The touch of the bear grass wrapped around the stems and used as a loop accent adds a great coastal touch.”

“For weddings on the Cape, people like flowers that reflect our seaside environment like hydrangeas, roses, and beach grass. We like to wrap the stems with bear grass, which looks beachy, but also hides the stems as well as any sediment from the flowers in the water. We also sometimes wrap the stems with a large Aspidistra leaf for the same effect.”

Photo by Anthony Dispezio

“Brides often want to do something pretty for the rest rooms and these are very simple, sweet designs that can be done with a single flower like an orchid, or a rose—there are lots of choices. These designs are also good for high cocktail tables.”

“Boutonnieres are all over the place in terms of style. One groom told me he was glad he came to the meeting in the shop about the flowers because if the bride had told him that he was going to be wear a flower on his lapel, he would have said ‘No way!’ We created his simple boutonniere with beach grass, some hypericum berries and a small blossom. On the other hand, we can do boutonnieres with big, full roses—the styles are all over the place. A new thing is colored wire wrapped around the flowers. Boutonnieres are fun to do.”

Photo by Anthony Dispezio

“What I love about this hand-tied bridal bouquet are the gem tones of the flowers—amethyst, ruby, bright gold—really rich, vibrant colors. I LOVE a bride who goes outside the box and asks for something really bold. This kind of gathered, picked by hand look is a trend these days. Brides love this natural, yet full and lush look with different flowers and textures, lots of foliages and even berries. I love a lot of texture and variety in a bouquet.”

“Nowadays lots of brides and grooms own a dog together, and sometimes they want the dog to be part of the ceremony. When that happens we create a little garland of matching flowers around the dog’s neck like we did here for Daphne, our indulgent little shop dog.”

Photo by Anthony Dispezio

“For an Ocean Edge wedding in Brewster, we chose these small, glass, wired-together containers for the centerpiece flowers on a long head table that seated 25 or 30 people. All the other tables were gathered around the head table, which was great because the bride and groom are not so much ‘on stage.’ We wanted to create an organic floral look that flowed and had movement down the table with these vases, which can be shaped into a serpentine design. These are actually separate sections, with 10 vases to a section. We chose the blossoms from the wedding party and other table centerpieces to carry the floral theme through.”

“It’s important for brides to work with a floral designer who can listen and really understand the important role that flowers have in a wedding. With a floral designer, each wedding can really be beautiful and completely original. Flowers just set the overall tone and the environment for every couples’ special wedding day.”

For more information, go to www.verdeflorals.com or call Verde Floral Design in Mashpee Commons, 508-681-8169.