Amy Hendrickson takes her inspiration from nature itself, which is appropriate, considering her profession is flowers.
But it’s not the standard wedding flower arrangements when it comes to Hendrickson’s designs.
“What I love about my weddings is that the brides give me the freedom to do different things,” said Hendrickson, who owns and operates Amy Kate Designs, based in Cheboygan and handling weddings around the north.
One particular wedding stood out in her memory from last year. Hendrickson used green crab apples and “teeny tiny” red crab apples in displays with flora in chartreuse and greens, with blue lavender and pink flowers. The centerpieces also had stems of blueberries mixed in with “a lot of natural foliage and flowers.”
“People were in awe,” Hendrickson said. “And people were eating the centerpieces — it was so cool!”
And if she can find a place for “lots and lots of big stock candles,” she will. Or pears and lemons and “big fat Ecuadorian roses and herbs.”
“I’m a color gal,” she said, “I just love color.”
She also loves adding the extra touch, like monogramming napkins for the bridal table with the bride’s new last name initial, so she’ll have the new linens to take and use at home.
“I find most of my brides are very organized and I will suggest things, but I want to get to know them first,” Hendrickson said. “What colors do they like? I show them a slew of magazines and gardening books and let them page through and I can tell by their reactions to things, what they like.”
She prefers a year’s notice for planning detailed weddings, and many in the region already know of her designs as owner of the former Thru the Grapevine location in Bay Harbor.
Hendrickson works with a team of professionals, including rental businesses, cake makers, wedding coordinators and caterers, for instance. She also has a landscape artist to help create one-of-a-kind wedding settings.
Many of her more elegant and expensive flowers are ordered from overseas, including on the Dutch auction. She describes her style as “free form” and “I tend to tell people I work with nature’s building codes. It’s wide open.”
Michigan offers its own beauty in terms of wedding flowers and natural items for decorating, she said, noting pine and birch trees make for unique accents.
Locally she buys hybrid delphinium and luscious dahlias from area farm markets. When it comes to the wedding staple — roses — she prefers “big fat open roses, and I love garden roses and only roses that have wonderful fragrances.”
Hendrickson also likes to use fresh herbs in her designs, plus lilacs, lily of the valley and forget-me-nots. Potted plants and flowers and foliage also find a place in her creations.
Dramatic reception table pieces and centerpieces are her favorite to create, Hendrickson said, “something that’s just ‘wow’ and something that stops people in their tracks, so they have to touch it and smell it and even taste it. It gives the guests something to talk about.”
Creating stunning bouquets for the bride and attendants also receives special care. She prefers the hand-tied, Martha Stewart-style of bouquet, but she doesn’t always use ribbon. Sometimes a brooch or heirloom hanky  can be used for a special touch that has meaning to the bride.
“Brides really love that special touch,” said Hendrickson, who attended the American Floral Arts School in Chicago, where she learned many of her unique techniques.
She also creates custom gifts for the bridal party, such as her line of soaps and lotions that can be labeled especially for the couple.
“There are so many things you can do,” she said, “you just need a very creative person to bring that out, and that’s what I do.”
 
Reach Hendrickson at (231) 883-6170 or ttgrapevine@aol.com.
 

Don’t forget about other floral needs:
• Toss bouquet
• Hair accessories
• Attendants’ bouquets
• Junior bridesmaids or flower girls
• Boutonnieres
• Corsages
• Church and pews or ceremony site
• Garland for tents or doors
• Arch
• Petals down the aisle runner
• Head table
• Guest table arrangements
• Flowers for the cake

10. Gardenia
9. Sweet peas
8. Stephanotis
7. Ranunculus
6. The peony
5. Hydrangea
4. Lily of the Valley
3. Calla Lily
2. Tulip
1. Drumroll, please … The rose
Source: www.theknot.com