Katie & Nick’s Blooming Wedding: Two Floral Industry Pros Say I Do

Katie and Nick’s wedding was all about the flowers: “We’re retail and wholesale florists — that’s how we met!” Katie owns Alfa Flower & Wedding Shop in Wauwatosa, a flourishing florist boutique that creates custom designs for about 125–150 weddings each year.

For the flowers at their elegant Wisconsin City Club wedding, Katie and Nick went for a burgundy and peach color palette with a variety of foliage and touches of blue and green. The overall theme was fall romance with rich color and lots of dimension. “Because both Nick and I have a floral background, we just went with what we liked and put it all together,” Katie says.

Katie’s favorite flowers made it into the mix: “Green cymbidium orchids. I even have a tattoo of one! I also chose burgundy dahlias, hanging amaranthus, and hearts garden roses and spray roses. My favorite flower next to the green orchids are Juliet garden roses, which are peach — so amazing!” For texture, Nick and Katie worked in scabiosa pods — round, ball-like flowers. Katie’s daughters wore light blue dresses and the groomsmen wore navy blue, so touches of blue were incorporated as well.

Foliage was abundant. “The flowers were draping a bit, but not cascading,” Katie says. “My bouquet and the bouquets for my attendants were large and full, and the centerpieces lush. Each piece was made up in a different style, but all of them flowed nicely. They were all lower, since we prefer lower arrangements over tall.”

Katie’s advice to future brides about their wedding flowers: “Remember that the type of flower is what a budget can be derived from, not just the size of the bouquets. The best way to stretch your dollar when it comes to florals is to repurpose ceremony flowers at the reception. Also, focus on what’s more important for the bridal and bridesmaids bouquets and centerpieces and use less-expensive flowers elsewhere — but still tasteful and coordinating.”

Invitations~DCoLovenotes
Rehearsal Dinner~Water Street Brewery
Ceremony~Calvary Prespyterian Church
Reception & Catering~Wisconsin City Club
Desserts~Gigi’s Cupcakes for cake, Simmas Bakery for the mini pastries, Spokandy for the truffles and Yummschkes for the mini cupcakes
Flowers~Alfa Flower & Wedding Shop
Music/Entertainment~ACA Entertainment
Transportation~Wisconsin Club
Photographer~Accent Photography
Rings~Kesslers and Diamond Showcase