When the bride is the florist
Photos and text by Kathy Hagood

           Floral designer Stephanie Enriquez has helped hundreds of brides choose their wedding-day flowers and décor over the years.

            Enriquez consults with brides at her shop, Stephanie’s Flower Haus in Melbourne, Fla., each week to balance their wildest dreams with the reality of a budget. She makes a point of encouraging brides to show their personality in their wedding choices.

            “But I’ve noticed that many brides let their family and friends sway them away from choosing what they like best toward what’s more typical,” Enriquez says.

            While traditional flowers and décor can be breath taking they don’t make the wedding as unique and symbolic as it can be, she believes.

            So when it came to creating the look of her own wedding, January 12, Enriquez set out to follow her own vision in every aspect from flowers to apparel.

            “I’m 34 and have a bold personality, there was no way I was going to come in wearing a white dress. Mark and I are not a traditional couple by any definition,” she said.

            She and her husband, Mark, 41, a software-engineering consultant and musician, have been together nine years and have a 5-year-old daughter, Mercedes. His encouragement and hands-on assistance led her to open her own shop in 2002. Their wedding was the first for both of them.

            “After eight years together he proposed to me out of the blue saying it was about time we got married,” she says.

            Instantly she formed a picture in her mind of him dressed in chocolate and her in a leopard print dress. Soon after she had her heart set on creating a Moroccan mood with richly colored flowers and décor.

            “So much of what I chose was based on my gut feelings,” she says.

            Occasionally during the planning process she felt herself wavering from following her own instincts because how some of her ideas were greeted by a few of those she confided in. Ultimately she decided to follow her heart.

            “Now I understand why it’s so difficult for brides to follow their own preferences. There’s so much pressure to conform,” she says.

            The backdrop for the wedding and reception was the home of Mark Enriquez’ mother. Because the ultra-contemporary riverfront home is linear and vertical the floral designer decided to make her arrangements circular as a contrast.

            “I too was on a budget so I chose to have a moderate amount of flowers. Drapings and other décor items provided additional color and made it look like I had more flowers than I actually did,” she says.

            Her color theme of eggplant, fushia, crimson, tangerine and chartreuse was vibrant against the white exterior of her mother-in-law’s home and the cool blues of its pools and fountains. Mark Enrique built a platform cover for the hottub, which lined with crimson cloth became the stage for the wedding vows.

            She used floating carnation balls in the pool, an idea she picked up from a magazine. Although the carnation is typically used as a filler flower, it can be lovely alone in the right arrangement, she believes.

            “It took about 400 carnations to make each ball, so it wasn’t an inexpensive choice,” she says.

            Her bouquet was a nosegay of pink and green orchids, a complicated flower that is hardier than commonly believed. She paired the flowers with peacock feathers. Her groom’s boutonnière also featured a pink orchid and a peacock feather.

            For her table arrangement stands, she used plant frames sprayed-painted gold and draped with jewel-colored pendants.

            “I was just about to throw those frames out months ago and then I thought, wait a minute,” she says.

            A multitude of candles, tiki torches and hanging fushia lamps provided a romantic glow for the reception as the day faded. Stephanie Enrique creatively used decorative Christmas cones to make the lamps.

            While she got a bargain on the cones, she invested heavily in the gold Chivari chairs at her reception.

            “They just look so rich and sophisticated,” she says.

            Sophistication was one of the aspects of herself and her groom she definitely wanted to display. Guests were greeted with peach martinis in the home’s courtyard entryway as they arrived for the wedding.

            Her flowing leopard-print dress was ordered from the Tadashi Collection. His pastel-purple designer shirt cost almost as much as her dress.

            “People usually see me in my work clothes, but Mark and I like to dress up and go out on the town,” she said. “I feel like I finally had the opportunity to show my family and friends the real me.”

            While Stephanie designed the flowers for her wedding she relied on her staff to put the arrangements together so she could finalize details and greet out of town guests before the wedding.

            “I just couldn’t do it all by myself,” she said.

            Having a wedding planner, especially for the day of the wedding, was salvation, Stephanie Enriquez says. Laurie Hartwell, owner of A Wedding to Remember, and her associate, Lauren Murphy, coordinated the day.

            “Stephanie is an artist and a perfectionist but when it came to the wedding she just let go and let it happen. That’s the smartest thing for any bride to do,” Laurie Hartwell said.