A distinctive overall atmosphere was top of the clients’ wish list. Their desire was to create for their guests a feel for the “grand romance” of their wedding. They sought a consistent look from the ceremony space to the celebration space and throughout the entire venue, The Fox Theatre in Detroit, a National Historic Landmark built in 1928. The event theme tied in beautifully with the thousands of romantic plays and films enjoyed throughout the theater’s long history and gave the designers plenty of opportunities for creative expression inside and out.

Throughout the theater’s interior, the design team worked in a soft, romantic color scheme in tones of soft pink, blush, champagne, white and ivory, expressed consistently in floral, linens, custom stationery and tabletop decor.

Floral was a large budget item for this event, and the expert floral designer chose ivory hydrangeas, champagne quicksand roses, white Casablanca lilies and blush David Austin roses, offset by silvery dusty miller and lush hanging green smilax. More than 10,000 blooms were combined to create arrangements of soft, romantic color in many different sizes to highlight the venue’s innate beauty.

The couple exchanged vows in the theater proper, on stage, with their guests comfortable in the plush audience seating. The ceremony space was defined on-stage by the clever use of classic candelabra, suspended from the stage lighting trusses overhead. Onstage, the design team created a visual space for the bride and groom and their bridal party, offset by four ornamental trees of varying heights, lavishly covered with crystals and hanging tea lights and multiple-tiered, tall, liquid-filled crystal candle vessels, two large floral arrangements of hydrangeas, roses and lilies, and a scattering of white rose petals. The stage was softened with ornate plush low-pile patterned carpeting.

The Fox Theatre features sky-high ceilings, plus walls and pillars ornately detailed in a mix of Oriental, Egyptian and Indian motifs. The design team knew that scale of decor was important so that the entire event didn’t get lost in the vast space. Every gaze-capturing element should be large and impressionable, yet be balanced with intricate details that surprise and delight.

Elevated floral arrangements focused the eyes up to capture the venue’s ornate offerings – a beautiful, well-planned visual effect for guests. Smaller floral arrangements placed around the base of higher vessels connected the gaze back to the tabletops, grounding and delighting the attention with intricate decor detail. As a decor element, floral displayed the romance theme on welcome table, pastry table and snaked around the grand lions that guarded the grand staircase.

The tabletops were loaded with classically beautiful crystal stemware, including champagne flutes, wine and water glasses, bread plates, crystal chargers and custom stationery. The tall floral vessels echoed a single blush David Austin garden rosebud placed on the napkin and a single Chablis spray rose on the bread plate.

A wider view.

Close-up on tabletop floral.

Upon the mezzanine level, the groom and bride enjoyed the privacy of a sweetheart table distinctively graced with a large snaking floral arrangement of lilies, roses and hydrangeas and lush smilax, which cascaded to the floor. The couple’s chairs were draped with white fabric and secured in the back with a floral arrangement.

Classically simple and starkly beautiful, the seven-tiered bride’s cake was displayed upon a glass tabletop lavishly decorated beneath with fresh floral blooms. The groom’s cake, custom decorated on-site, was a sweet tribute to the couple’s favorite Detroit landmarks, professionally executed and intricate. An additional pastry table featured beloved macarons, adorable cake pops, and tastefully decorated sugar cookies.

What the guests didn't see: The 30 reception tables required hours of set-up before floral could be put into place, and the late summer day brought temperatures in the mid-seventies. To ensure that 10,000 floral blooms remained fresh and pert throughout the event, the design team delivered the floral only after the tabletops were in place. Each giant arrangement was then custom-built on-site for maximum beauty and freshness. Logistics and timing were critically important, and the team excelled because they planned accordingly.