Boca Raton, Florida – Reported by Elite Traveler, the Private Jet Lifestyle Magazine
Brides seeking spectacular destination wedding backdrops of glorious flowers need look no further than Carlos Marquez, master floral designer at Boca By Design, the in-house weddings company at Boca Raton Resort & Club. He draws on his creative floral and set design expertise to weave his magic with flowers, fruit, fabric, custom props and more to make brides’ dream wedding settings a reality.
From the first moment of the welcome party and the rehearsal dinner through the wedding ceremony and wedding reception to the final toast at the post-wedding brunch, Marquez and his team transform the Resort’s already stunning venues to bring the brides’ vision and theme to life. No detail is too small and a yen for dramatic moments is easily managed. Boca By Design’s wedding team can arrange everything from floating gondoliers to serenade the wedding party or a photogenic departure of the newlyweds by hot air balloon to romantic dove and butterfly releases.
Flowers remain the heart and soul of each custom wedding celebration, be it indoor or outdoor, tropical or classic, elegant or contemporary. Marquez sources flowers and other botanical materials from around the world, including Holland, Hawaii, Bangkok and South America, acquiring only the finest and freshest blooms to create evocative bouquets, boutonnieres, kissing balls, centerpieces, backdrops, arches and topiary animals.
Setting the Stage
Marquez works with each bride to create a custom look for her wedding events. Some brides arrive with definite ideas of specific flowers and colors, while others describe a dream theme for him to interpret. Among his many exciting designs are these thought-starting examples:
-For the first wedding at the Boca Beach Club after its $120 million renovation in 2009, Marquez created the bride’s vision from bougainvillea, a brilliant floral vine that he had never before used for a wedding. He crafted a custom pergola of curly willow and grape vines, hot pink bougainvillea, roses and orchids to stand poolside in the sand. In the adjacent Dunes Ballroom, arrangements of fragrant lilac, roses and orchids in three different heights adorned the tables, which also featured scattered loose flowers to resemble a garden in bloom
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-For a casual outdoor beach wedding, Marquez created a white lounge area with an abundance of draped white chiffon to showcase striking flower arrangements of white calla lilies and white phalaenopsis orchids in oversized clear glass containers that also featured live fish, decorative seashells and starfish. Additional décor included decorative coral and conch shells “planted” with live orchid plants
-For a dramatic Yacht Club wedding dinner, Marquez spun thousands of fragrant flowers into airy balls that hung from the ceiling, suspended over round tables dressed with three-level centerpieces filled with floating candles and gardenias
-For a formal wedding in the Resort’s Cathedral room, Marquez used a palette of deep burgundy and gold to set an elegant tone. Rich burgundy brocade linen wrapped floor-standing antique gold wrought iron flower stands filled with burgundy roses, antique hydrangeas, orchids and dahlias in high and low arrangements to create movement and contrast, while hundreds of lit votive candles flickered along the aisles
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-For an intimate eco-chic rehearsal dinner on the Sea Grille terrace, Marquez lit a large clear acrylic dining table from inside with tiny white lights, and then featured clear acrylic containers filled with miniature pineapples, river rocks and orchids
-For an Asian-inspired theme wedding reception, Marquez installed a large sculpture of a Buddha and floated hundreds of red orchids in sleek black lacquer containers against a backdrop of random height bamboo and filtered light from hanging lanterns
-For an animal-loving (and safari-bound) bride, Marquez crafted six-foot high frames depicting shapes of lions, tigers, giraffes and more that he covered with ivy, vines and leaves, with smaller topiary animals as table centerpieces ringed with orchids
-For a tropical-themed wedding, Marquez worked primarily with tropical fruits, including pineapple, mango and guava, and even created a six-foot-tall pineapple centerpiece of palm trees with a “body” of roses
-For a Chris Evert event, he used crystals, crystal garlands and masses of calla lilies
-He once froze mimosa flowers in ice and floated them in a pool, creating a magical ambiance
-A new design being developed is a “cotton” bridal bouquet featuring the cotton plant for a special request
-Flower fantasies yet to be created include an acrylic stage inside a swimming pool with rose petals and pastel daisies “raining down” on the bride and groom from a helicopter and the creation of a garden of Eden with paths leading to flowering plants and trees
Bouquets and Boutonnieres
In keeping with today’s bridal trends, Marquez designs wrapped bouquets for brides to carry. The style of bridal bouquets has become more often ornate and a popular option is to accent floral arrangements with crystals, pearls, diamonds and rubies. A separate bouquet can be fashioned for the bride to toss from the same flowers as a keepsake for the lucky single woman who catches it. Boutonnieres for the groom and groomsmen are often ornate as well, with more than one flower. The youngest of ring bearers and flower girls are not forgotten and receive decorated pillows, baskets of rose petals or delicate kissing balls of tiny spray roses or lacey hydrangeas on a ribbon scaled just for a tiny toddler.
Flowers as Cake Decorations
A hallmark of Boca Resort weddings is the close coordination between cake designer and floral designer, ensuring that every wedding cake can be artfully adorned with fresh flowers that
complement the bride’s theme, such as alternating tiers of peonies and hydrangeas tucked between square layers of luscious cakes or fresh daisies atop and beneath a fresh springtime cake design. In some situations, Marquez may deliver the picture-perfect flowers so that the pastry chef incorporates them into to the cake; in others, Marquez himself adds the final floral touches to the elaborate cake designs.
Giving Back
Once the wedding festivities have ended and the bridal party and guests have selected the flowers they wish to keep, Marquez and his team can arrange to donate the remaining arrangements and floral décor to area hospitals and hospices.
www.BocaResort.com
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