Cote Designs

Karen did the most amazing flowers I have ever seen at a wedding. Going with her was one of the best decisions we made in our wedding planning. (The other best decision was using The Willcox as a venue.)
The flowers were spectacular. Karen was the person to suggest that I shouldn’t pick colors and stick to them everywhere. She helped us define a feel then picked flowers and decorations that created that atmosphere while enhancing the locales (church and historic hotel). She was so right. Just because blue and white hydrangeas look good in the church with cream walls and white trim doesn’t mean we should stick with that color scheme in the historic Willcox which is defined by dark wood and striking architectural features like imposing ceiling beams.
My family is from South Carolina, and Baldvin’s is Icelandic so we wanted to find elements of the two cultures in the decorations. I had collected rocks in Icelandic rivers while my husband fished with his friends, and hoped to include them. At the Willcox, she had great bright dahlias floating on water with a bed of Icelandic lava rocks. Some of which I had collected. It was a strikingly elegant display that was beautiful in the venue.
Another example of her creativity was when she suggested how we could integrate my husband’s fishing hobby. (I thought for sure this would be kitsch!) But her suggestion was to use flies tied by my husband in some of the flowers. Baldvin (my husband) used bright colors that went with the bridesmaids dresses, including peacock feathers. Karen put some of them into my bouquet (not the one I threw!). She also used them in the boutonnieres. The flies were well-​integrated and the colors went beautifully. I couldn’t believe how well they turned out.
There are not enough words to describe how much I appreciate Karen’s help organizing my wedding. I say organize… She did the flowers. But the first time we sat down, she told us, you need to do this-​this-​this and everything else can be done in the last month. She helped us define an image, and atmosphere. And from there we were better able to make decisions in all aspects of the planning.
If I could give more stars, I would.
You can see pictures of her work here: