Academy Awards Floral Designer Tips

Mark Held of Mark's Garden, designer to the Academy Awards' and countless celebrities, shares high-end floral design tips.

By: Laura James

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Award-Worthy Flowers

Mark Held, BloomNation florist and co-owner of Mark’s Garden, has been designing for the Academy Awards and A-list celebrities for many years. This display was in the room at the 2014 Academy Awards where award winners gave interviews after accepting an award. Mark's Garden used a variety of brightly colored flowers, particularly in gold shades, because they project well and look the best on TV. Mark's Garden has also done the flowers for the Academy Awards Governors Ball for the past 22 years.

Peony Bridal Bouquet

Who doesn't love peonies? Held says it's usually one of the first picks for bridal bouquets. In this particular bouquet, Mark added Lily of the Valley to accent the gorgeous blush blooms.

Calla Lily Chandelier

Talk about a grand chandelier! For this wedding, Mark and his team knew the bride loved calla lilies, so they created this elegant chandelier by suspending the flowers at different lengths.

Movie Theater Wedding

This New Year's Eve wedding was at an old movie theater in Los Angeles. Guests received their seating assignment at this box office. Held says the red roses spruced up the exterior of the old building and matched the couple's red color scheme.

Winter Wedding

For this winter wedding, Held used a neutral palette with a variety of white and blush roses. He says large paper flowers, which have been popular for several years, make a great backdrop at weddings and light the room well.

Making Them Last

For making arrangements last as long as possible, Held says it's important to change the water often and keep flowers in a cool place. Although you can do a few things to make arrangements last longer, Held says flowers are not silk; they will die and are meant to be enjoyed for their temporary beauty. "It's not about how long the flowers last, but how beautiful they are," Held says.

Criss Cross Aisle

Held says he likes coming up with designs people have never seen before. For this particular wedding, he knew the bride wanted plenty of colorful flowers, so his team made a gradient criss cross design for her grand entrance.

Rose and Rose Gold

Held says this event is from a couple of years ago when rose gold was just gaining popularity. A palette of blush pink and ivory roses lined the stage.

White Wedding Roses

For large weddings and events, Held says it's not uncommon for his studio to use 25,000 roses.

Spring Arrangement

Tulips, lilies, roses and hydrangeas all went into this beautiful spring-looking arrangement. The client? Oprah Winfrey. Held says Oprah is a big fan of pastel colors. For this particular basket, she requested a "box of spring."

Pink Peonies

Mark's Garden delivers to several A-listers in California and Held has learned preferences for many celebrities over the years. He says Jessica Simpson prefers pink flowers.

Orchid Arrangement

Held says he likes using roses with bright, fuchsia orchids in arrangements for a more exotic look, and those are two very popular flowers among his clients.

Overflowing Arbor

Mark's Garden created this lush and colorful arbor using roses, hydrangea, bougainvillea and more as a spectacular focal point for a home wedding in California.

An Elegant Celebration

A white, violet and green color scheme made for an elegant tablescape at a large birthday party at a client's home.

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Photo By: Image courtesy of BloomNation