Guide to Hanging Floral Installations
I’m kind of known for my hanging floral installations here in Winnipeg. It seems that whenever a couple says they want hanging flowers, they get referred to me - and obviously, that’s the way I like it! I’ve done them big, small, floral heavy and greenery focused, at reception spaces over a head table or dance floor and at ceremony spaces creating an altar. Sometimes they’ve involved the addition of ribbon streamers or built on wood boards, sometimes I’ve added in string lights, once I created a floral chandelier. All of them have involved tall ladders!
I thought I’d run you through some of the things I think about while I’m designing hanging floral installations!
Designed for Planned Perfectly’s 2020 catalogue photo shoot at the Manitoba Club. Photos by Luxe Images by Jill.
Mechanics
Without a doubt, the mechanics of the HOW it’s going to hang is the most important part of planning a hanging floral installation. The first step of that is making sure there’s something that I can actually hang OFF of. Open rafters is always the best case scenario because they’re nice and sturdy! Sometimes I need to hire a lighting company to install cables for me to work off of, and for a wedding this summer, I’m planning to take a licensing test to use a scissor lift - bah!
I also need to make sure that there’s something that I can build the installation off of, some sort of base to use. At Hawthorn Estates, they have a suspended vintage wooden ladder that hangs above the head table that forms an EXCELLENT base. I’ve also used wood lattice, lots of chicken wire, rope, airline cable…lots of stuff.
Photos by Aimee de la Lande
Ingredient selections
Choosing the right floral ingredients is SO important because I don’t typically have a water source built into the installation. Foliage and flowers need to be hearty and last pretty well without water. Most foliages are pretty good - especially if they have a woody stem or waxy leaves. Many times we can water tube flowers so they have a few hours of drinking, but some things like roses or carnations don’t really need to be in water to last well. I try to use as little floral foam as possible in my work (it’s hazardous to the environment as it’s essentially a non-biodegradable single use plastic, and it’s bad for my health as it’s carcinogenic), and though I can’t always figure out a way to work without it, using foam isn’t best in hanging installations because it is very heavy and it often drips - again, reinforcing the need to choose flowers that either do well without a water source or can be watertubed.
Photos by Izabela Rachwal at The Gates on Roblin
Designing for Context
I always want to keep the vibe of the venue and the wedding’s style in mind as I plan the design. Maybe I don’t want to do something super modern and sleek in your average golf course banquet room (since they are typically not modern or sleek 🤪), for example, or design with a gorgeous berry toned colour palette in a room with orange wallpaper. This rule goes for all design, not just hanging installations, but I wanted to mention it nonetheless!
Photos by Luckygirl Creative at Whitetail Meadow
Next week I’ll be chatting about all things wedding ceremony flowers. If you have any questions, drop me a line and I’ll happily address it!
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