Cruising with Emerald City Designs

We’re in our fourth year using Emerald City Designs as our preferred floral and linen vendor. Naturally, we wanted to share the love with our readers, so Emerald City’s Nicole Beaudoin sat down with me to talk about their vision, creative process, and this year’s floral design trends.

Their name references The Wizard of Oz, a movie the owner David McKnight loved in his childhood. “It’s about following the yellow brick road to fulfill your dreams,” Nicole tells me. Walking through poppy fields on the way isn’t so bad a view, either.

So their business name gives it away: the sense of place is very important in their design process. When it comes to arrangements for the Ovation and Infinity yachts, they have a great sense of the space. “We like to work with décor that emphasizes the essence of the yacht, which to us is a really classy location. It has a lot of ambiance going on already,” Nicole explains.

So what are the hottest spring/summer 2011 floral trends?

“Neutral is one trend that we are seeing,” Nicole tells me. There is a “vintage, muted” feel that will be very much in vogue.

One of her favorite Infinity Ovation weddings used this color scheme. “It was from this past year – latte textured tablecloths, silver antique urns, crystal accents on the tables and flowers spilling out of the urns!”

“My favorite designs on the yachts,” Nicole says, “have been when we go neutral – ivory, champagne, white, beige – and let the décor have an understated, romantic tone.”

But what if neutral isn’t your thing? There’s still good news.

“The other trend we’re seeing is a saturation of color but being specific in the tones – for example, hot pink and apple green,” Nicole assures. On the yachts, she says, “it seems all colors go well.”

They couple their knowledge of the latest industry trends with a very classic sensibility. For weddings in particular, Nicole says “Hydrangeas seem to work very well in the white and I love to accent with a blue tablecloth for a classic design. We’re on the water, in Michigan, and I think we should highlight this concept.”

If you’re interested in seeing more of their work, they have a Style Showcase on Saturday, April 2nd. Or, if you’re interested in using them on your own Infinity Ovation Yacht Charter event, whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, wedding, fundraiser, or something else entirely, we’d be happy to oblige.

All photos included are compliments of Emerald City Designs, LCC.