Hello KDHamptons readers~ Happy Sunday! Here’s an uplifting story & photo gallery from our contributing Floral Expert, Erin Meaney, who owns Topiaire Floral Boutique on Jobs Lane in Southampton. Erin recently designed the flowers for beautiful new bride, Dana Vassalo, for her stunning Southampton wedding to Andrew Joseph Juron. Planning your own Hamptons nuptials? Take a tip or two from Erin below to get inspired…

Erin shares, “Dana Vassallo was no Bridezilla! She was incredible from the moment she got engaged. Dana new exactly what she wanted, and the look she wanted to achieve. It didn’t hurt that Dana worked for Topiaire for a year before moving on to Donna Karan! It was all about pink. The bridesmaids wore black and carried tiny bouquets of pink garden roses.

Erin says, “We wanted Dana to be surrounded by incredible flowers for her entire wedding day. In her bridal suite where she got ready for the ceremony, we made similar arrangements to the flowers she would carry down the aisle, which was a bouquet of gorgeous Dutch white hydrangea and white phaleonopsis orchids tied with white shantung silk Midori ribbon.”

The couple were married at the beautiful Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary Church in Southampton, followed by a reception at the Whitefield Estate.

“Dana’s pint sized flower girl carried a tiny bouquet of small pink roses! In terms of flowers for the church~ a lot of the weddings we do are at Sacred Heart, which is so spectacular that ‘less is more’, and we concentrate on the altar as the floral focal point. We also placed wreaths of pink roses on every third pew which was perfect,” says Erin.

Dana says, “It is pure magic what happens behind the four walls of Topiaire Flower Shop in Southampton. With a touch of sheer genius from Erin, our wedding tent was transformed from a blank canvas to a secret garden, lush with ivory and pink roses and hydrangea. Without a doubt, the flowers were a show stopper and we are sincerely grateful to the Topiaire team for creating the most chic “eye candy” you can imagine! Also, we are so thankful to our parents for giving us the most enchanting night of our lives.”

Erin shares, “Dana chose long, Tuscan style tables with sheer cloths in grey. We designed a variety of mercury glass cases, in all different sizes, overflowing with hydrangea and garden roses as centerpieces.”

Erin’s best bridal budget tip: “Be aware that wedding bouquets can do Double Duty. The flowers we placed at the altar were repurposed at the reception in the cocktail area, and the bridesmaids bouquets provided a perfect pink floral frame around the cake [below].”

Visit Topiaire at: 51 Jobs Lane, Southampton; 631.287.3800 http://topiaireflowershop.com/

**KDH loves all of these gorgeous images by photographer, Tracey Elizabeth? Tracey has been capturing weddings [and fine are  protraits] for over thirteen years, and takes a photojournalistic approach to her wedding photography, creating images that share the experience of the day. [Check out the charming shot of Dana and Andrew at bucolic Sip-n-Soda below!]

The Tracey Elizabeth Photography Studio is located on the North Shore. For more information go to: www.TraceyElizabeth.com