How C & Z turned one of DC’s most iconic ballrooms into a timeless, flower-filled celebration
When C & Z came to us, they knew exactly the energy they were after: vintage, timeless, and glam. Not trendy — classic. The kind of wedding that looks just as stunning in photographs fifty years from now as it does the day it happens. And when your venue is the Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue, one of Washington DC’s most storied and architecturally breathtaking hotels, the bar for “timeless” is already set very high.
Our job was to design florals that rose to meet it. White, cream, black, and two shades of garden green; a palette that sounds simple until you see what it can do at scale in a Grand Ballroom.
The Vision: Classic, Elevated, and Completely Intentional
The ingredient list was a love letter to classic white florals done right: garden roses, lisianthus, spray roses, white hydrangea, white chrysanthemums, white stock, and ranunculus; all anchored by Italian ruscus, eucalyptus, and mixed greenery. Every bloom was chosen for its ability to feel simultaneously fresh and timeless, garden-gathered and grand ballroom-appropriate.
The Personal Flowers: Classic With a Twist
C carried a classic, elegant bridal bouquet: flower-heavy with mostly large blooms, not too tight, not too ball-shaped, tied with a white non-trailing ribbon. Medium-plus in size, designed to complement rather than overpower. Six bridesmaids carried smaller nosegay bouquets with matching white ribbon, unified and clean.
Three corsage wristlets on gold bands were made of large white ranunculi for the mothers, a standout personal flower choice that felt elevated and fashion-forward rather than traditional. Twelve additional lapel boutonnieres in anemone were designed for the groomsmen, fathers, grandfathers, and ushers, all tied in white ribbon for a cohesive, polished look across the entire wedding party.
And then there were the groom’s boutonnieres (yes, plural). Z had two: one with a black-centered anemone and one with a white ranunculus, both tied with white ribbon. The reason? He was playing with the idea of switching from a black tuxedo to a white tuxedo between the ceremony and reception, so we designed one boutonniere to complement each look. It’s the kind of thoughtful, personalized detail that makes the planning process so fun, and exactly the kind of thing our Planning Date call is built for.
Bridal bouquet: $250 | Bridesmaid bouquets: $115 each | Corsages: $35 each
The Ceremony: The Palm Court Room, Transformed
The ceremony took place in the Mayflower’s Palm Court Room, an intimate, elegant space that C & Z dressed with every detail considered.
Two large pedestal arrangements flanked the entrance doors, set directly on plain white pedestals, greeting guests as they arrived and setting the tone immediately. Two more large floral arrangements anchored the altar pedestals at the front of the room, flower-heavy with just enough greenery to feel lush without losing the clean, classic line.
The aisle was nothing short of extraordinary. A 50-foot solid white cloth runner, five feet wide, ran the full length of the space. On either side, thick white petals lined the runner in heavy, carpet-like coverage, dense enough to cover the carpet entirely and create a completely immersive floral aisle experience. Four ground arrangements were placed at the start, middle, and end of the aisle on either side, styled identically to the pedestal arrangements; flower-heavy, set invisibly on the ground, and designed specifically to be repurposed as raised centerpieces in the reception.
A 12-foot by 8-foot white stage covering with two stairs dressed the ceremony stage, completing the transformation of the space from hotel room to wedding ceremony.
Pedestal arrangements: $300 each | Aisle petals: $900 | Aisle ground arrangements: $250 each
The Details That Elevated Every Corner
No corner of this wedding was left unconsidered, and it showed.
The mirror seating chart was dressed with pillar candles at varying heights and a large arrangement framing the bottom, turning a functional wedding element into a design moment. The guestbook table had a small arrangement. The women’s restroom even had a petite arrangement, the kind of detail guests notice and remember. The memorial table was honored with a simple, elegant bud vase and a pillar candle.
Every one of these pieces was small. Together, they created a sense of total immersion, the feeling that every inch of the day had been thoughtfully designed.
The Reception: The Grand Ballroom at Full Scale
The Grand Ballroom at the Mayflower is a statement space. The reception design had to match it, and it did.
Fourteen round guest tables each had a small tabletop arrangement spraying up between taper candles with glass chimneys, intimate and warm at the table level while the room around them felt grand. Two 24-foot rectangular tables each had four raised arrangements, their ceremony flowers given a second life on clear cylinder or four-post riser vessels, surrounded by 24 taper candles each with votive candles provided by the venue. The scale of those two long tables, flower-heavy raised arrangements every six feet, surrounded by candlelight, was a dramatic and stunning centerpiece for the entire room.
The sweetheart table was dressed with a cluster of taper candles at one corner, C’s bridal bouquet placed at the other, and a large floral arrangement on the ground. Asymmetric, intentional, and completely on-brand for the vintage glam aesthetic of the entire day.
Round table centerpieces: $155 each | Rectangle table candles & risers for ceremony arrangements: ~$1,200 total | Sweetheart table: $325
The Repurpose Moment: From Ceremony Floor to Reception Heights
The repurpose story at C & Z’s wedding was one of the most satisfying we’ve executed. Those ground arrangements that had lined the Palm Court aisle during the ceremony, along with the pedestal toppers, were lifted onto clear four-post risers during the cocktail hour flip and became the raised centerpieces anchoring each of the two long rectangular reception tables. The same blooms that guests had walked past on their way to their seats now towered above them at dinner, transformed entirely by elevation and context. One investment, two completely different visual moments.
After the Last Dance: Where the Flowers Went Next
At the end of the evening, guests were invited to take arrangements home; a beautiful way to extend the life of the florals and send guests off with a piece of the day. Any remaining arrangements were donated to The Simple Sunflower, which redistributes flowers as hand-arranged bouquets to patients at Georgetown University Hospital. C & Z’s blooms kept working long after the last song played.
The Investment
C & Z’s full-service wedding florals, covering all personal flowers, full ceremony design across two rooms, cocktail hour details, complete Grand Ballroom reception design, a white stage covering, setup, and teardown, came in just under $13,500. For the scale of what was executed across one of Washington DC’s most prestigious hotel venues, with ceremony-to-reception repurposing and floral details in every corner of the day, it represents exactly what intentional, full-service floral design at a landmark DC hotel looks like.
Want Something Like This for Your Wedding?
If you’re planning a wedding at the Mayflower Hotel or another iconic Washington DC venue and you want florals that feel timeless, classic, and completely elevated. This is exactly what we do. Every detail, every corner, every bloom designed with intention.
Mountain Mama Florals is a wedding and events floral design studio serving Washington DC, Annapolis, Baltimore, and Coastal and Eastern Maryland.
Leave a Reply