Attaching Flowers and Garland on Stairs

The vision for Savannah and Garrett’s March wedding in Seattle was a lush, boho celebration embracing all things green and glorious, with carefully placed floral accents. It’s not a look we often see at the classic and formal Broadmoor Golf Club, and I was excited about the transformation.

Holly Olsen of Perfectly Posh Events, the wedding designer and planner for the event, wanted the grand staircase in the golf club foyer to be a focal point and to set the visual tone for guests as they arrived. I was certain we could achieve this look without the use of floral foam.

The first step was to measure the staircase and snap some pics for reference back at the studio. Because the staircase railing needed to be enveloped in greens, as opposed to having a garland affixed only to the banister, we cut three panels (ranging from 8-10’) of chicken wire and inserted stems of hardy huckleberry into these panels at the studio so we could get as much coverage as possible. Then we spritzed them with water, rolled them up, bagged them, and put them in the cooler until the wedding day.

On-site, we hung the chicken wire panels to the wood banister using zip ties. We also added additional zip ties anchoring the panels to the metal spindles of the railing. On the upper portion of the staircase, we placed panels on the inside and outside of the railing, so that people going up and down the stairs would see as much green as those standing in the foyer. This was important since the wedding party began their procession from a room upstairs. The third panel was then affixed to the lower portion of the railing.

Next, we wove hardier flowering greens (calcynia) into the panels, adding to the huck. Some wild smilax and long stems of ivy helped fill in the gaps and created a softer profile over the wooden railing itself. Once the foundation was laid, we zip-tied two moss-and-chicken wire cages to the turn in the staircase, which we had designed in the studio the day prior and kept fresh in the cooler. The moss-covered chicken wire created a floral focal point, where the couple would likely be posed in photos.

We had also made small bundles of flowers in the studio using Eco Fresh Bouquet Wraps and their accompanying cello bags as a water source. We designed these with various stem lengths to be able to create a gardenesque vibe. On-site, we used zip-ties once more to attach the bundles to the chicken wire panels. It didn’t take much to cover any visible cello with more greens.

The last steps were to insert tubed flowers here and there as needed and to poke dried strawflower directly into the whole shebang. The result was a beautiful sturdy, secure, and totally foam free floral staircase installation!