I first learned about Hallie's Garden from a friend who used to take a collection of her own vases in to Hallie anytime she had a dinner party and ask her to fill them. Each was special and unique and I remember thinking it was a terrific idea and service.
When it came time for my wedding in the fall of 2007, for several insane moments I thought about doing my own flowers. I scoured web sites, flower shops in NYC, bridal magazines, and wound up more confused than anything else. It was then that I decided to meet with Hallie for some ideas.
I went armed with a picture of my dress, my stepdaughter's actual dress, my fiance's actual shirt and tie, a table runner and hand blown glass pedestal vase we intended to use on each table. During our meeting (conducted in her corner within Formaggio's), we talked about the overall feel of the wedding, where my fiance and I had met, and the like. Since I told her I liked too many flowers to be able to sort through what I wanted, she suggested we start playing with some mock arrangements. As we did, I realized that what I wanted were table arrangements that didn't look planned...that weren't all the same. I wanted them to look very organic, and to work together without matching. Once she got an idea of some of the things I liked, I presented her with my modest budget, and comfortably told her she could have free reign to put together what she thought made sense.
I was stunned by what she was able to do for our celebration! She completely 'got' what I was looking for and delivered creative pieces that were EXACTLY what I would have chosen if I had had the knowledge and know how to figure out. Everything reflected exactly who we were, and conveyed the warmth and intimacy of our wedding. Though it all, Hallie was kind and patient and made what I thought would be a stressful exercise pure heaven.
I look at my wedding pictures frequently and love the flowers Hallie created for us as much today as I did nearly 5 years ago. thanks Hallie!
more