How S & A proved that a restrained palette and intentional design can be the most stunning thing in the room
When S & A came to us, they knew exactly the feeling they wanted: elegant, classy, minimalist, modern. No loud colors, no maximalist arrangements, no visual noise. Just clean, sophisticated design that let the architecture of one of Washington DC’s most beautiful boutique hotels do exactly what it was built to do, impress.
The Riggs Hotel on F Street NW is the kind of venue that doesn’t need much help. Its soaring atrium, marble details, and editorial aesthetic set a high bar. Our job was to design florals that met it without competing with it. And that, honestly, is one of our favorite design challenges.
The Vision: White, Green, and Completely Intentional
The palette was pure and precise: white, cream, and a deep range of greens from soft sage to rich forest. The ingredient list was equally considered: roses, ranunculus, hydrangea, gypsophila, and chrysanthemums for the blooms, layered with Italian ruscus, eucalyptus, and lush mixed greenery throughout.
Nothing about this design was there by accident. Every stem earned its place.
The Personal Flowers: Romantic and Naturally Styled
S carried a larger, flowing bridal bouquet; natural and romantic in style, white flowers with heavy greenery, slightly piecy and unstructured in the best way, tied with a crisp white ribbon. The groom and both fathers wore single-flower lapel boutonnieres with greenery, clean and classic. The mothers wore single white flower corsages on gold bands, an elegant detail that tied the personal flowers together beautifully across the family.
And then there was the dog. S & A’s doodle was part of the day in the most adorable way, outfitted with a floral collar of heavy greenery and scattered white flowers that matched the palette perfectly.
Bridal bouquet: $300 | Floral dog collar: $100
The Rehearsal Dinner: A Preview of What Was to Come
The evening before the wedding, S & A’s rehearsal dinner was held at the Four Seasons just down Pennsylvania Avenue, and we kept the design story consistent. Eight flower-heavy, low arrangements in the same romantic, natural style as the wedding day flowers filled the tables, giving guests their first taste of the aesthetic and building anticipation for what was coming the next day.
The Ceremony: Architecture and Greenery in Perfect Conversation
The ceremony took place in the Riggs atrium, a space that already has presence. The ceremony arch was dressed with moderate but intentional greenery coverage and scattered patches of white flowers, deliberately not over-stuffed, allowing the architecture of the venue to breathe through the design. A collection of pillar candles of varying heights flanked either side at the feet of the arch, their warm glow adding softness to the clean, modern aesthetic.
The 20-foot aisle was lined with a continuous solid greenery garland on both sides; lush, grounded, and beautifully simple. And here’s where smart design thinking kicked in: that aisle garland wasn’t a one-time-use piece. It was intentionally designed to be broken into segments and repurposed as the centerpieces for the rectangle head tables during the reception flip.
Ten pedestal arrangements in medium-sized, romantic, natural style flanked the ceremony space, placed directly atop pedestals already on site, adding height and floristry to the room without overwhelming it.
Ceremony arch: $1,400 | Pedestal arrangements: $175 each
The Repurpose Moment: When the Aisle Becomes the Table
The ceremony-to-reception flip at the Riggs was one of the cleanest repurpose moments we’ve executed. During cocktail hour, the greenery garland that had lined the aisle was deconstructed and repositioned as the centerpiece runners for the continuous Head Table, six rectangle tables put together: a large garland running along the center, paired with pillar candles at varying heights throughout the table. Guests who had just walked that aisle now sat alongside the same greenery at dinner. Same investment, completely transformed.
The sweetheart table, placed in front of the ceremony arch so the arch continued to serve as its backdrop throughout the reception, was dressed simply and intentionally, varying-sized white pillar candles in hurricane glasses, clustered at one corner with a smaller echo cluster at the opposite corner. Some greenery interspersed. No flowers needed. The candles and the arch did everything.
Rectangle head table: ~$1,400 | Sweetheart table decor: $125
The Reception: Greenery, Candlelight, and Quiet Drama
The reception at the Riggs was a study in restraint done right. Eight round guest tables each had a cluster of greenery rising from the center, surrounded by five pillar candles at varying heights. The effect was warm, intimate, and completely cohesive: every table felt like its own moment while still reading as part of a unified design story.
Round table centerpieces: $100 each
The Investment
S & A’s full-service floral package, covering the rehearsal dinner centerpieces, all personal flowers, ceremony and reception florals, setup, the ceremony-to-reception flip, and teardown, came in around $8,600 before tax. For a full-day, multi-event design at two of Washington DC’s most prestigious hotels, that’s a testament to what a well-planned, intentional palette can do for a budget.
Want Something Like This for Your Wedding?
If you’re drawn to clean, modern elegance and you want florals that feel quietly stunning rather than loud, this is exactly the kind of design we love to build. Minimalist doesn’t mean boring. It just means every single thing that’s there is there on purpose.
Mountain Mama Florals is a wedding and events floral design studio serving Washington DC, Annapolis, Baltimore, and Coastal and Eastern Maryland.
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