To Have & To Hold: Magical Wedding Bouquets [Hardcover]

David Stark (Author), Avi Adler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

One of the most anticipated experiences in every bride-to-be’s wedding planning is choosing her bouquet. However, when faced with the real-life sea of styles and flowers, a bride-to-be may soon become overwhelmed. To Have & To Hold offers more than 150 unique bouquets, pictured in 200 luminous photographs, that incorporate scores of seasonal flowers both familiar and exotic, as well as flowering branches, pinecones, leaves, feathers, family lace—even fruits and herbs—to guide her in her decision.

David Stark and Avi Adler escort the bride-to-be through today’s maze of flowers and bouquet styles, identifying the indispensable basics: Labels and deconstructed bouquets name every flower. Lists of flowers available by season and by price help narrow the choices based on when the wedding will take place and what the budget is. Also included are practical details such as how to care for flowers, how to make your own stunning and cost-effective bouquet, how to hold the bouquet and then how to preserve it, and how to tie in boutonnieres, bridesmaids’ bouquets, and flower girls’ baskets. In addition, the authors’ personal anecdotes offer sage advice on bouquet do’s and don’ts.

To Have & To Hold has a bouquet to strike any fancy for every kind of wedding day.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As Stark and Adler say in their introduction, there's nothing quite like the day that they bring their clients (brides-to-be) to shop for flowers. Invariably, the women are at once excited and intimidated by the variety, especially when it comes to what the bride will carry as a bouquet. Stark and Adler break down the bouquet options by season and offer detailed descriptions of hundreds of types. Next to stunning photographs, the descriptions list every flower or greenery in each arrangement and end with a price range for that particular bouquet (rated by number of flowers, one flower meaning the cost is under $100 all the way up to four flowers meaning the cost is closer to $500). Stark and Adler's background as planners and decorators show through in their passionate treatment of this most cherished of items. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

David Stark is the president and creative director of one of New York’s esteemed event-planning firms, David Stark Design & Production, which creates elaborate events hosted by New York’s elite, including the New York City Opera, MoMA, Sotheby's, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Target. His wildly inventive ideas have been featured in magazines such as InStyle Home, House Beautiful, Elle Décor, Traditional Home, and Modern Bride, and he has appeared on national television shows including Martha Stewart Living, Martha, Today, and The View. The author of Napkins with a Twist and co-author of To Have and To Hold and Wild Flowers, Stark lives in Brooklyn, New York.

David Stark and Avi Adler are the most sought after event planners in New York. With clients that include MoMA, the New York Botanical Garden, Target, Valentino, Bulgari, and Kate Spade, they have appeared on national television shows such as Martha Stewart Living and Today. They live in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Artisan (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579652786
• ISBN-13: 978-1579652784
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Nature & Wildlife
  • #72 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Weddings > Planning

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice designs, but overall not as many bouquet photos as expected..., June 2, 2006

By 

K. Berry (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Have & To Hold: Magical Wedding Bouquets (Hardcover)

I recently purchased this book (and another bridal bouquet book that hasn't received as much p.r. as this book). My expectations of this book were very high because of all the promotion in bridal magazines, however, I was disappointed to discover there aren't as many bouquet photos in the book as expected. The photography is excellent and the floral designs pictured are very contemporary and vibrant (kudos to the designer), but I found there to be a lot of white space and a lot of filler photos (distance or silhouette photos of brides, up close photos of cut flowers, ribbon with scissors, etc) used. The text subject matter is very light (not detailed "how to" instructions) and varies in topic though generally explaining a little about some of the types of flowers used (for example, "Leucojum is known informally as the summer snowflake..."). Of 208 pages, this book contains, approx. 80 (yes, I counted) large and medium size photos of bouquets, approx. 30 small photos of bouquets, a couple of bouts, a couple of hair wreaths, etc, and approx. 78 of what I felt were filler photos (as I described above). I was expecting more primary photos and less fluff in between primary photos so that is my major criticism of the book.

This book provides a good glimpse of the authors' personal style of design (he is obviously a talented floral designer), but I found the book's size, content, and number of photos to be very similar to many other, similarly-sized, bridal design books on the market. It's a newer release so the designs are "fresher" than the others but there are a lot of similarities in layout and content. The niche that this book has over others in the same genre is that it puts more focus on the hand-tied stem wraps and ornamentation that most books ignore so that's a fresh approach. As a designer I also like many of the unusual and exclusive blooms used in the bouquets as they are very distinctive and not often photographed, however, brides are likely to receive sticker-shock when they hear the price to replicate. Brides with more resources may be able to splurge, but due to the cost of the pricey blooms and the labor involved in such intricate ornamentation, the cost to duplicate can easily be outside of the average bride's floral budget. That is my other major criticism of the book as there doesn't appear to be a wide variety of price points represented and that hinders its use as a general consultation book, particularly with bridal clients who have average and below average floral budgets.

Because I own nearly 40 floral design books that are similar, I was searching for a more comprehensive, bouquet photo reference book that brides can use as a "one stop shop" for choosing a variety of styles and colors they like in a range of prices. Although this book didn't meet that need, I did find what I was looking for in the other book I purchased (The Bridal Bouquet Book by Ginny Parfitt, Schiffer Books). It's is a gem of a find, and I'd recommend it, instead, to brides and florists looking for one, primary reference book filled with wedding bouquet photos. It has 175 pages with 351 (I counted) large and small photos of bouquets, 71 photos of bouts, corsages, etc., 0 filler photos, and it's currently my top pick for wedding floral reference books. The designs are contemporary, current, and because they are created by many different floral designers across the United States, the book offers a wide variety of creative styles, colors, and price points. It's my number one pick and recommendation to fellow florists and brides. My number two is Wedding Bouquets (Over 300 Designs for Every Bride). That book is a smaller-sized softcover, but if you're looking for a big variety of bouquet photos for a small price, that's definitely what you'll find.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern, beautiful bouquets, January 8, 2006

By 

Sarah Borkowski (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: To Have & To Hold: Magical Wedding Bouquets (Hardcover)

I had absolutely no idea what type of flowers I wanted or really what type of flowers were available for bouquets when I started planning my wedding. So I went to the library and checked out a bunch of books on bouquets and wedding flowers. Most of them were terrible. They showed either ugly bouquets from the 1980s or the traditional red rose bouquet. To Have and to Hold was very helpful in providing ideas on not only specific flowers for wedding bouquets, but also different flower combinations and beautiful stem wraps.

The book has full page color picture of dozens of bouquets, divided by season. There is a wide variety of colors and styles to satisfy almost anyone. To Have and To Hold also provides interesting twists on bouquets like adding berries, feathers, or holding a small book with a flower as a bookmark. Along with pictures of bouquets it also shows how to incorporate some of the flowers into other parts of the wedding (boutonnieres, flower girls, and cake toppers). The pictures have captions that provide the flower names and sometimes descripitions of flower variations and when the best seasons are for the specific flowers which is really helpful.

Being the typical bride, I have looked into what seems like an unending list of different wedding books, and I have found To Have and To Hold to be the most helpful flower book I have found. Great book!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good place to start, March 23, 2006

By 

S. Yong (Sunset Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: To Have & To Hold: Magical Wedding Bouquets (Hardcover)

This book gives great info. if you don't know a lot about flowers (pricing, names of flowers/descriptions, flower maintenance) or which flowers are available in the season you're getting married. The pictures are beautiful & the bouquets are gorgeous but I wouldn't buy this book in the hope of finding the perfect bridal bouquet. It is a good resource for ideas & to see bouquets that are creative, not tacky.