Black Swan Floral Design

24/08/2024

Come check out this super great event featuring local food, artists, crafters, beer and wine, farmers, music and kids activities! While you're there, stop in to "floral hall" and say hi while I demonstrate some flower installs!

The Adirondack Harvest Festival celebrates local farms and food, supports our local economy, and gives community members experiences that help us all learn and grow together. It is a day designed to bring farms, local businesses, and the community together! Giving regional farms an opportunity to sh...

31/07/2024

29/07/2024

I picked some treasures out of my garden this week and made a bowl of happiness ☺️

13/07/2024

I don't know how people do it. Keep up with life, MOM, run a business, MOW THE LAWN, take care of the garden, pets, appointments, finances, Landry, make memories, stay in touch with friends and family, self care, oh and keep up with social media.....my home constantly looks like it was hit by a tornado, inside and out, and I literally never sit down. BUT, we made a couple pretty things today.....

Venue: Lake Placid Lodge
Wedding Planner: Placid Planner Weddings

09/06/2024

Yesterday's head table 💜💛💚💙
Whiteface Club and Resort

02/06/2024

Two years ago we did one of my all time favorite weddings. It was spring, and the bride wanted an enchanted garden vibe. She had some great ideas, but was also open to some of mine. That's when the best work happens for an artist, a collaboration with trust. And it feels amazing when the gallery comes back embodying everything we were trying to convey. Mixing plants with fresh cut flowers is also a favorite "secret" of mine. 🤫

I thought this was an appropriate post since we'll be back for a beautifully bright and cheerful wedding next week at the .

Cheers to warm weather and sunshine (and love of course)🥂

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19/05/2024

I loved how sweet this set-up was. Each piece could be used around the reception afterwards as well.

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17/05/2024

It's so special when couples take a moment to walk through the venue before the party begins. They get to see all the details they thought so deeply about for the last year. All the little things come together to create the space and feelings they were trying to convey. My favorite!

I know, I know, I'm posting a winter wedding when spring just got here! But, now is when I generally book my winter weddings, and....how magical is this one ✨

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15/05/2024

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06/05/2024

Hey there -

I thought I'd pop in to say hi. I know it's important to see an actual person behind the business 😊

I like reading personal facts about other businesses/people, so here's a couple about me:

- I'm the youngest of 3, and I'm very close to both my brother and sister.

- I'll be 40 this summer. I don't like the term "midlife crisis", but I'm starting to understand it. I feel more mortal than I ever have, so appreciating everything, understanding people as best I can, and balancing work with family time and new adventures has become a priority, as well as self care.

- I started playing volleyball again after a 20 year hiatus, and it feels pretty great.

- I REALLY love gardening in the spring, but it stresses me out in the summer 🤦

- I consider myself a pretty awkward, but intuitive person. I've leaned into both. I'm also learning I'm more Virgo than I ever thought I was.

- if my husband and I were millionaires (😂😂😂) we'd convert a barn into a home

- I used to think summer was my favorite season, but I'm pretty sure it's spring ....well, maybe late spring 🌱😁

Headshot by

03/05/2024

Oh my love.......

21/04/2024

I played more today with what I learned from . It's literally endless with what can be done with flowers, but the key is having successful, dependable and accessible mechanics (aside from the vision and inspiration that she gave us). I also tried to practice a couple photo tips we learned, along with "how to be friends with Instagram" 😂, so here I am.

Every Spring I write a love letter to narcissus, because, well, I love them. So this is this year's representation...or at least my first one. I love it, and them, and Sue's genius brain, and nature, and floral design. I REALLY loved it as a bouquet, but didn't have a bride to put it in front of, so it became a sculpture instead.

Happy happy happy Spring 😘☺️❤️

19/04/2024

This wonderful mechanic was taught to us from , she gave us the recipe she finds works best, and then let us explore. I decided to test it by making it a little longer than she recommended, which in turn made it a little heavier and less airy than I would have liked. But now I have so many new ideas I'm so excited to try! Always keep learning friends❤️

19/04/2024

Today was magic. The past three days I've had the chance to watch, learn, converse, and ingest as much inspiration as I can from Passionflowersue. She is an astounding teacher and an amazing advocate, educator, and artist in the floral world. I can't thank our wholesaler, Green Mountain Floral Supply enough, for bringing her in. The amount of hard work and care they put into these workshops so our area, and their customers, can enhance and grow what we love to do most, is not overlooked. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!

17/04/2024

This week I get to do one of my favorite things in the universe - fill my cup with fresh inspiration from one of the most incredibly innovative floral designers around, . The last time I took a class from her was 2019, and she taught me the most versatile mechanics I use at every single wedding I do. Both the canoe, and head table in these photos used her mechanics, and I can't thank her enough for being such an incredible teacher, sharing her knowledge and passion for sustainable and long lasting practices in the floral industry. More pictures to come this week!

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12/04/2024

Some beautiful ceremony captures from 💜

For couples who aren't getting married in a church, and don't want an arbor, I often recommend ground arrangements. They are very versatile for indoor and outdoor ceremonies, aesthetic and sizes. I make them in specific containers that work for uneven ground, wind, sand, snow, and most of the time (when planned during our meetings) can be used as a dual purpose at your reception. 😊

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11/04/2024

2025 is open for booking. And we still surprisingly have a few 2024 fall dates open. Please visit us at blackswanfloral.com to inquire (I swear our new website will be live soon 😉).

Happy Spring!

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10/04/2024

A few favorite bouquet shots by the wonderful from a recent winter wedding 😊. The couple liked the idea of whites and greens, but loved the dark anemones with some accent flowers to bridge the light and dark contrast.

Also, Facebook followers, I do post some reels (occasionally) that don't get shared to Facebook, so follow me on Instagram ! That's why my posts seem extra extra few and far between on Facebook 😉

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10/04/2024

A mixture of spring and dried flowers made for a moody and romantic aesthetic. Looking forward to poppies ☺️

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08/03/2024

Some beautiful sneak peeks from last weekend's wedding at the . I keep saying how Instagram is breaking my soul, but I'll keep posting for the few the algorithm allows to see on your feed🙏

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01/02/2024

A big congratulations to the winners of the "picture perfect wedding" contest by . Although we weren't picked this time around, we received 2 honorable mentions 😊.

Thanks to our awesome team and the incredible vendors that all made this wedding successful and memorable ❤️

Photography by .dougherty
Planning by
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11/01/2024

It's fine, I'm fine, everything's fine 😂

I feel like I say this in my head way too much lately. Anyone else? 🤦

Here's some beauty to enhance your day(a continuation of yesterday's post)❤️

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10/01/2024

As we prepare proposals for our 2024 season, I get to go back through some galleries from this past season for inspiration. It's always one of my favorite things to do.

We surprisingly still have a handful of summer and fall dates available for 2024, and 2025 is open for booking as well.

Please head over to blackswanfloral.com to inquire!

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06/01/2024

It's all about the details 😉

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28/12/2023

We often get asked what colors we recommend for each season. Our answer is always "whatever makes your heart sing". Of course we take into consideration what flowers/greenery is in season, but in terms of color, that's all you! Every decision in your wedding should be made with what makes you happy.... remember that 😉

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22/12/2023

Our Junebug feature 😁❤️

09/12/2023

Our client asked us to lean into the Halloween season, but not in a cliche way. It was all about elevating the look with a moody palette, textures of fresh and dried elements, with upgraded linens, napkins, chargers, and of course black candles🖤

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08/12/2023

I can't stress enough the importance of ambiance and aesthetic. It's going to be the thing, the FEELING you remember, your guests remember, and your photos portray (with the right photographer). It's the uniqueness of YOU. That's what I love most about my job, creating a feeling. It's not just flowers being put together (even though that's challenging enough), it's creating a memory. I hope if you're looking for a wedding vendor, you take this into consideration. Quality isn't defined by cost, it's defined by an understanding and love for the art of this industry, and the story your clients want to tell....and to me, that's priceless. If you see a price tag and instantly want "cheaper", then you're not asking the right questions about what you want for your wedding. A memory and a feeling is worth it, I promise you 😘

I'll be featuring this wedding aaalll week. The couple, the aesthetic, the gallery just exudes the point I'm trying to make. Thanks for the amazing photos , the incredible planning and the warm venue ❤️ and of course the amazing partnership with our clients Heather and James 😘😘😘

22/11/2023

18/11/2023

Let's talk about this big guy......

Hanging installations offer a wow factor that not many other installations can do. For it to be successful though, it takes a lot of time and planning. The mechanics are critical - what's the point of building a house without a decent foundation? We also have to take into consideration how it will be hung (and obviously where), how much time we have onsite to get it done, what the tent company/venue will allow, weight limits, flower choices, what other installations we have at the same time, weather, and of course aesthetic.

For this wedding in particular, we had numerous installations and a short time frame, so we needed to get as much as we could get done at the studio. BUT, because of the size, there were obstacles with hanging it in the truck. So, the next best idea is, what can we do beforehand to put this together as quickly and beautifully as possible, on site?

My husband built the frame out of wood and secured it in multiple places so it would be rigid enough and not "droop" anywhere. We then wrapped the whole thing (a few times) with chicken wire on the inside , and chicken wire burritos around the perimeter - no floral foam installation.

The bride wanted waterfall greenery in the center - so here's my secret to save time on site.......we prepared numerous chicken wire "kissing balls" that we could easily hang at different heights to the chicken wire.

The flower garlands were prepared ahead of time, as well as bunching some of the flowers together.

And LUCKILY, this tent company was so helpful that we were able to put it together at standing height, rather than on ladders, which saved a ton of time (thanks Clifton Park!)

I wish I was better at taking video for people to better understand all the necessary steps for installations like these.

It's not easy, but when it's done, it's worth it.

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Tent company: Clifton Park
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