Beyond the Pinterest Board: How a Stylist and Florist Create a Truly Curated Wedding Experience
Pinterest is a brilliant place to gather ideas, but it’s no substitute for a cohesive, professionally curated wedding design. In this post, I’m joined by Corrie McDonald, founder of Soirée Studio, to explore how meaningful collaboration between a wedding stylist and florist can completely transform your day. From concept creation to thoughtful floral placement, we’re sharing how a united vision leads to weddings that feel elevated, seamless, and entirely personal.
Can you tell me a bit about yourself and your experience?
I’m Corrie McDonald, founder and creative director of Soirée Studio. I’ve spent nearly a decade styling luxury weddings across the UK, and what began as a simple calligraphy & prop hire business has since evolved into an award-winning wedding design and styling studio.
Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand how quickly trends come and go in the wedding industry—and how that often leaves couples feeling overwhelmed and unsure how to bring their ideas together. That’s what led me to develop a more design-led approach, one that’s rooted in personal storytelling, not Pinterest trends.
My role is about more than making things look beautiful, It’s about bringing structure and clarity to the visual side of the planning process. I take time to understand each couple’s story, their tastes, and the way they want their wedding to feel. Then I translate all of that into a cohesive design that becomes the creative anchor for every supplier involved.
Ultimately, my goal is to design weddings that look & feel curated, not decorated.
How would you describe your approach to wedding styling, and what makes your aesthetic distinct?
Most venue stylists start with the visuals—what’s trending, what’s on your Pinterest board, and whether the candles match the napkins. And while that can absolutely result in a lovely looking wedding, it often leads to something that feels a bit generic, or worse, like the last three weddings you went to.
My approach is rooted in personalised design, not decoration.
I believe that when every element is connected by a clear creative thread, a wedding feels elevated, intentional, and completely personal. My aesthetic is often described as refined, understated, and timeless—but no two weddings I design ever look the same, because no two couples are the same.
I focus on creating styling that feels like an extension of the couple, not just a styled space for the day.
When you first start working with a couple, where does your creative process begin?
It always starts with the couple’s story, before we ever talk about flowers or tableware, I want to understand who they are as people: how they live, what they love, how they want the day to feel. I ask each couple to create a Pinterest board that has nothing to do with weddings, just images that reflect their personal style, hobbies, interests, and inspiration in everyday life.
I look for consistency: are they drawn to clean lines and minimal fashion? Do they pin travel imagery filled with texture and warm tones? Are there pops of gold, raw linens, layered neutrals? All of these cues help me translate their identity into a visual language.
From there, I build a bespoke concept that becomes the foundation for the entire wedding design. That concept isn’t just a moodboard, it’s a creative direction that shapes every visual decision and helps every supplier bring their best work into a shared vision.
This is the part that most couples skip—and it’s exactly what ties everything together.
How do you see flowers fitting into the overall styling and visual impact of a wedding day?
Flowers are incredibly powerful, they carry colour, form, movement, and emotion. They’re not a decorative afterthought; they’re a core part of the wedding’s visual story. When used intentionally, florals help bring softness, energy, and life into the design. They often act as the bridge between the styling elements and the venue itself, helping everything feel grounded in the space.
What are some of your favourite ways to integrate flowers into the broader styling scheme, beyond centrepieces and bouquets?
I love using florals to frame key moments or transitions, like entrances, signage areas, and bar styling. Adding small, thoughtful floral touches to the stationery table or cake display can really elevate those areas. I also love working with florists to style guest experience elements, like escort card displays giving unexpected visual detail.
Do you have a favourite flower or floral design element that always elevates a space?
It’s less about one specific flower and more about movement and form. I love florals that have a soft, natural shape, like sweet peas, geum, or trailing jasmine. They create a sense of lightness and elegance without feeling over-styled. A well-placed asymmetric arrangement or a broken arch will always elevate a space, especially when it feels like it belongs in the environment.
What’s your process like when working alongside a florist, especially when creating a cohesive visual story?
Collaboration is key. I always share the full wedding design book with florists so they understand the tone, the textures, and the mood we’re aiming to create. We then discuss how florals can enhance or balance the space, from ceremony installations to the scale of centrepieces. I love florists who bring their own creativity to the table while still working within the framework of the overall design. The best outcomes always come from trust and open conversation.
Can you share a wedding where flowers made a transformative impact on the overall design?
One that really stands out featured a very minimal ceremony room with a plain brick wall flanked by ornate windows, beautiful architecture, but visually unbalanced and in need of softness.
Working closely with the florist, we designed a broken floral arch that framed the couple in a way that felt as though it had naturally grown into the space. Soft, trailing foliage and asymmetric placement gave it a romantic, organic feel that didn’t compete with the architecture—it complemented it.
What made it even more impactful was how it evolved throughout the day. After the ceremony, the florist cleverly adapted the installation to frame the sweetheart dining table, creating a visual thread that connected the ceremony to the reception and brought a real sense of continuity to the design.
How do you balance floral abundance with other styling elements like stationery, tableware, and props?
It’s all about visual rhythm. You want each element to have its own voice, but also to play well together. If florals are abundant and textural, I might suggest paired-back linens or monochromatic stationery to let them shine. If the design is more minimal, then the stationery or tableware might take a slightly bolder role. Every piece should have a reason for being there, it’s a balance of tone, shape, and visual weight.
What advice would you give to couples investing in styling and florals for a high-end wedding?
Start with a clear design direction.
It’s one of the most important (and often overlooked) foundations of a truly elevated wedding. Without it, couples often find themselves handing over a Pinterest board full of clashing ideas—and hoping that their florist, stationer, or stylist can make sense of it. That kind of ambiguity usually leads to frustration, last-minute changes, and suppliers working from different interpretations of the same brief.
In your opinion, what makes the collaboration between a stylist and florist truly magical?
The magic happens when neither of us is thinking in isolation, when I’m not just focused on linen textures, and the florist isn’t just thinking about centrepieces. Instead, we’re both building towards the same vision: a wedding that feels cohesive, elevated, and full of meaning.
But it’s not just about the final outcome on the day, it’s about the experience we create throughout the planning process. A true creative collaboration means we’re bouncing ideas off one another months in advance, problem-solving behind the scenes, and supporting each other through every phase of the design.
We don’t just show up on the wedding day and hope it all comes together, we’ve been building it together. And that level of trust, communication, and shared passion is what elevates the entire experience, not just for us, but for the couple and every other supplier involved.
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Photography: Victoria Louise
