The Garrison & Brides Magazine

We love Friday weddings! We get the whole weekend off which we have not had in months. When you have a Friday wedding, you keep thinking it is Saturday the entire day and then you are pleasantly surprise once you figure it out. This wedding was at The Garrison http://thegarrison.rtrk.com/?scid=1548911&kw=7144121&pub_cr_id=4359558190


You have heard me rave about this place before and have seen all the gorgeous work and the view.


The ceremony took place at a church in Stony Point so I didn’t get to take photos of the bridal party. I set up my usual staged photos of the bouquets. Except I never got a photo of the brides bouquet because she chose to have it build on branch and it was too hard to photograph. Those types of bouquets look better when held.


It is interesting, we have done cascading style bouquets for many years but this year it is really catching on. This particular bride saw our staged bouquet in Brides magazine. See article and earlier entry

http://www.stevenbrucedesign.com/images/pr/SBD_ChicagoBrides (This was a national article therefore you will see it in all the Brides spring issues.) for more articles please visit our press section on our website.

In the article below there were some comments about the long bouquets being distracting.
http://www.brides.com/blogs/aisle-say/2010/07/the-new-shape-of-bouquets.html
http://www.brides.com/wedding-ideas/wedding-flowers/2010/05/BLM_SS10_Bouquet_Shapes#slide=1

That the guests would be looking at the flowers and not the bride. We do not agree, we think a gorgeous bouquet of any shape will only enhance the experience and the Wow factor of the bride walking down the aisle. It’s always a moving experience. Even if the long cascading bouquet is not your style it is still a beautiful and bold choice.


In Europe and many other countries, this has been the traditional look of bouquets for a long time. You may feel a large and cascading bouquet may over power a bride of smaller stature it will work for a medium or tall Bride. If you are a smaller person than you can modify the bouquet with a shorter cascading one. I will post a few examples of past wedding at the end of this Blog entry.
Funny, I was looking to link one of our photos, featured in Brides NY spring/ summer issue and found another one of our bouquets from the same photo shoot. What a delightful surprise. How cool is that? See above link.


For the bridal party bouquets, we made the hand held kind. In the Maid of Honor and Brides maids bouquet we used lady’s mantle, peach Stock, baby blue Bella Donna Delphinium, white Scabiosa flowers, pink Godetia, pink Mokara Orchids and Cherry Brandy Roses.

For the Mom’s Posey, we added more Cherry Brandy Roses tying the bouquet with silver ribbon.
 There was a one and a half year old Flower Girl who got a little headpiece and this Button Mum Pomander tied with Rope Vine. So cute but who knows if she ever held it.

 The Boutonnieres were really pretty. We used white Ranunculus, Mokara Orchids, Ivy and Nigella Pods.

The grandmother Corsage had a pink Cymbidium Orchid, Mokara Orchid, Ivy, and Nigella Pods and flowers.

You have seen these really nice glass river rock containers before. We use them for Cocktails.These had alternating colored clusters of Roses. We used Cherry Brandy and Amnesia Roses with Ivy. I especially love the color of the Amnesia rose. We have used it quite often this season. I believe it is a new breed. It’s soft antique, dusty lavender.

We cannot believe that many of our brides say they don’t like Roses. Do not fear the Rose. They come in so many amazing colors. There are close to 3000 varieties. I am surprised when I hear anyone say they don’t like a particular flower, I love them all. Many brides seem to like Garden Roses for their fullness. I like them a lot too. They can be more expensive though.

For the tables we alternated, don’t we always?
We love doing this so that the tables look different. This time only the containers were different but the flowers were pretty much the same on all the tables.


Each table got three small bubble bowls with river stones and floating candles. One set of centerpieces had floral rings around a low dish with floating candles, river stones and Orchids. The other centerpieces had a floral ring and a pillar candles with hurricane glass and the last ones were square glass with river stones.

The flowers we used were green Hydrangea, pale orange Roses, Amnesia Roses, pink Dahlias, pink Godetia, pink spotted Mokara Orchids, ivory Stock, Ivy and red James story Orchids- that were important to the Bride.

The look we created for the guest gift table was that of a French flower market display. Male guests got a bottle of wine while the women got a small bouquet of flowers. We would have liked to have filled the whole area with flowers. We brought an old metal chair and many buckets. In Paris, you would see chairs and tables filled with buckets of flowers. We even had a tall bundle of Curly Willow leaning against the wall. One trend we saw there were flower buckets with floral prints.

The Registration/Escort card table was simple with wine crates and three tall pieces of glass. We put rocks at the bottom and used James Story Orchids, the brides’ favorite.

The Sweetheart table was really nice. I was going to leave because I needed to get back to our two-year-old daughter but I am glad I waited. Steve likes to do the Sweetheart tables when he is there and without thinking about it first. I love how he tied the Orchids to rope vines. We first saw the rope technique in Europe. You can see other examples from previous weddings in our cylinder table arrangements.

For the bar, we used a low metal dish with stones, Roses and Orchids.

On the gift table, we used Millet, Grass and Delphinium.

The sign the couple placed on the gift table marking their wedding day was great. They took a photo of each number. A great idea for table numbers as well.

finally some cascading bouquets. I will post them all after I find them. I will have more from this season after I get copies from the photographers.

Samples Wild Flowers

I love summer and being able to pick wild flowers and Herbs and then make beautiful bouquets and arrangements to post on our Blog. I enjoy being inspired by my surroundings and dreaming up fun and creative ideas and then implementing them.



For this bouquet and companion centerpieces the yellow and pale pink/lavender Allium flowers first inspired me. I have not really seen Allium like these. You know that Allium is an onion right?

Anyway, most of the time, the Allium you see are a pom pom shape. The large type is called Gigantum and the smaller are called drumstick. I am not sure what other colors they come in. I must find out.


I think the flowers are adorable and enhance the “wild flower look” I was trying to achieve. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to get some of the other wild flowers I love and have used in some of the other photos.

I wanted to use Cosmos, Scabiosa flowers; Scabiosa Pods would also be nice.

For this bouquet and the matching centerpieces, I wanted to use dainty delicate flowers rather then something like Zinnia. Another nice flower that would work but are not wild flowers would be Garden Roses. A soft color like an ivory or pale peach.

 Regardless, I love this bouquet for its simplicity and natural look. Here we used yellow and lavender Allium senescens ssp. glaucum small, late flowering rhizomatous onion, Sage, Queen Anne’s Lace, Dusty Miller, black Scabiosa flowers, Thyme, Tarragon, Dill ,Scented Geranium, flowering Mint, Variegated Ivy, flowering Oregano, flowering Verbena (little purple flowers) and Euphorbia –the green and white stripped leaves, also known as Snow on the Mountain. See detailed photo

For the centerpieces, I really wanted to highlight some of our interesting containers. For this first photo, I found a modern thick green tinted square glass.

The second photo is in a concrete square for those “green” conscious people and the last photo is in a “bulb” or “garden box”. It comes in a few sizes. I love this container too because many styles work.

About Us

I don't usually post just text on my Blog but I feel that it is important to post "About Us" to give you more information on who we are, our philosophy and our experience. You can also find this information on our web site www.stevenbrucedesign.com . I am not sure if people really read all this information especially on our web site but I think it is insightful when looking for floral designers or floral artists. That is what we like to be called rather then florists. To us, a florist is the person working at your neighborhood flower shop.


First I am posting an abbreviated client list and a little about SBD. Then I will post about us. Later today I will be posting some new samples photos.

our Motto is:

“A Little Uptown, A Little Downtown, A Little All Around”

Steven Bruce Design (SBD) is a floral design company that believes in moving the floral standard forward by creating unique, elegant and one-of-a-kind designs. SBD has served a wide range of clients, including restaurants, museums, department stores, caterers, event planners, corporations, businesses, individuals, weddings, and historic sites.



SBD has recently been picked as “Editors Choice” for Hudson Valley Magazine as “Best Floral Designers in the Hudson Valley”. The company has also been featured in Well Wed New York Magazine, Modern Bride New York, The New York Daily News, Esquire Magazine, The Los Angeles Sunday Times, Vogue Magazine, among others.

SBD believes that every wedding or special event is unique, and the centerpieces and bouquets they design are part of an interactive process between them and their clients. Therefore, only Steve & Melissa Bruce, the principals and chief designers, work personally with every client to achieve the most striking floral designs to enhance their wedding or special event to make sure they are handled with the highest professional standards.
A Little Uptown – Vera Wang (in-store floral designers), Bloomberg LLP (in-house events), Morgan Stanley, Jo Malone and Issey Miyake (Madison Avenue boutiques), San Domenico restaurant, New Leaf Café, The Guggenheim Museum, and Lincoln Center (opening night dinners for the New York Film Festival Premieres: Good Night and Good Luck, The Queen, The Darjeeling Limited and The Class). The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s spring Galas 2006 honoring Jessica Lange and 2008 honoring Meryl Streep.

A Little Downtown- Mercer Kitchen, Chanterelle, Cipriani, June Kelly Gallery, Dean & Deluca, NBC/Bravo and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Weddings at: The Puck Building, Tribeca Rooftop, Sky Studios, X-Change, and Penthouse 15

A Little All Around- The Pump Room (Chicago), Museum of Contemporary Art ( Los Angeles), Saks Fifth Avenue (Los Angeles, Chicago),Woodstock Film Festival, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the Vanderbilt and Wilderstein Mansions ( Hudson Valley NY), Mile Marker 88 (Islamorada Florida Key).

SBD styles weddings and events in the New York Metro area, Hudson Valley and the Hamptons. We are available for destination weddings and events, rehearsal dinners, showers, Bar/Bat Mitvahs,unique gifts, private homes, instruction in floral design, installations, green and alternative weddings and more…

Our Story

Steve and Melissa met in 1988, when he was working as a stand– in for actor Robert Downey Jr. and she was represented by the same acting agent. The two started dating shortly, broke up, but kept in touch as friends for years, as Steve’s work took him to Los Angeles and Chicago. A life threatening illness caused him to tell his mother, “If I live through this, I’m going to ask Melissa to marry me.”

Meanwhile, according to Melissa, “Yes, Steve and I were very good friends, however, I had no idea that he had deeper feelings about me. If he would have told me how much he cared, it would have saved me from a lot of miserable relationships!”

“I decided if I could laugh this much for the rest of my life, Melissa said, this is the man I want to be with.”
Steve and Melissa were married in June 2004 and have a daughter Scarlett Lily, who was born on the fourth of July, 2008. In the middle of a wedding of course.

Steve and Melissa decided to meet at Melissa’s family weekend home in Stone Ridge, New York and spent the time having fun and getting to know each other again. Later after a trip to his family home in Chicago, Steve proposed.

Our Philosophy
When it comes to creating their unique floral art, Steve & Melissa have a definite philosophy which includes the idea of creating harmony by letting the flowers tell them where they want to go. Steve & Melissa say they have never met a “Bridezilla” and believe that each of their clients come to them for a reason and that they learn something new about themselves with every wedding and event they design.

Explaining their creative approach, Steve & Melissa say, “everything has logic to it: the water, and sky, the earth. We don’t dictate what the flowers do; the flowers dictate to us how to do it.”



Steve and Melissa will tell you that incorporated in their philosophy, are the idea of Wabi- Sabi, a 17th century Japanese aesthetic based on the acceptance of transience and an appreciation of beauty that is impermanent.

*Excerpted from an article in the Blue Stone Press, by Elaine Lee

Bios
Steve, partner and co-designer, attended American Conservatory of Music studied drumming and was inspired throughout his life by rock and jazz music as well as abstract art. 

In his own words he got into the floral design business in the following manner, “I was acting and needed a part time job, and there was an ad in the Village Voice that said “Crew”.
I thought it was for a Rock band! So I called and it ended up being Robert Isabell, who was called “The King of Flowers” and a huge event designer at that time!”.
Steve trained under him, honed his creativity and found out he had a knack for floral design.  for more on Robert Isabell, please read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Isabell
 and http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/nyregion/11isabell.html.
After working for Isabell, Steve ran his own successful business, first in New York City, then in Los Angeles and Chicago and finally back in New York.
Melissa is a partner and co- designer. Formerly, she worked as a consultant for CSI, a public relations firm specializing in arts, entertainment and special events. In addition, as a manager for Tony and Tina Cosmetics at Bloomingdale’s New York, she supervised a full staff and handled retail promotions and special events. She was also assistant manager for Fresh at Bergdorf Goodman, New York.
She also worked in the public relations and film departments at The Museum of Modern Art and in the public education program for the New York Public Library. Former actor and model, Melissa received her BA degree in Liberal Arts at the New School University and attended the Art Students League in New York.

Steve and Melissa on a photo shoot for a New York Daily News article

(see web site under Press)