KATIE COURIC INTERVIEW

 

We were so incredibly honored and delighted to design the florals for Ellie Monahan's four day wedding at Cedar Lakes Estate in July this year. We wanted to share the inside scoop via the mother-of-the-bride, none less than journalist, producer, and writer Katie Couric, who asked Ingrid all about how she and her team turned Katie and Ellie’s vision into a reality for the wedding.

Below are just some excerpts for your reading pleasure... however, for the full interview please click here.

In addition there is a BIG write-up here in VOGUE if you would like to dig into ALL of the details, e.g. see pictures from the 80's themed Fourth of July party on the first night, or the invitations and menus by Emily Baker Studios as well as Amanda Savory's top notch wedding planning surprises at the spectacular Cedar Lakes Estate and pictures by the amazing Brian Dorsey.

Photo: Brian Dorsey

Katie: How would you describe the look we were going for?  What kind of direction did you get from Ellie?

Ingrid: Ellie (and Katie) wanted us to create something special and festive without being fussy or overdone. They sent me videos of flowers from farm stands and farmers markets! Ellie also said she wanted her bouquet to look like she had run through a beautiful field of summer flowers and just grabbed a bunch. When a client loves flowers as much as they do, that makes everything so much easier. Katie’s mom was very artistic and did wedding flowers and it’s clear from her instagram that Katie is equally obsessed! She loves antique glass bottles and single blooms that show off the beauty of just one flower. So we worked those elements into the wedding events.

 

Katie: There was a ton of color at this wedding. Is color coming back? 

Ingrid: Definitely! Many of our clients come to us because of the way we work with color, and we’ve noticed an upswing in requests for vibrant and playful color palettes. People need some cheering up after a rough year.

Photo: Brian Dorsey

 
Katie: How challenging was that magnificent arbor?

Ingrid: We loved creating the arbor and aisle flowers! But the main challenge — in addition to the usual hot sun weather and wind, etc. — is that we only use sustainable methods for all of our floral installations. The most common and easiest way to create an arbor with a lot of flowers is to use floral foam, which is very harmful and toxic. Our approach isn’t the easiest, and takes longer but it’s absolutely worth it. I encourage everyone to ask their florists about their sustainability practices and make sure they don’t use floral foam or overly processed flowers!

Katie: You really like to use local flowers. Why is that?

Ingrid: I can spot a good local flower from a mile way! They’re always the prettiest since they haven’t been squeezed into a box and lost their shape. I have become friends with my wholesalers and farms over the years and they often put the best stuff aside for me! For Ellie and Mark, we even got a big delivery from my favorite farm Hautau & Sons, located just 30 minutes away from Cedar Lakes.

 

Photo: Brian Dorsey

Photo: Brian Dorsey

 

Photo: Brian Dorsey