Wedding Flowers at Ivy House

Ivy House is a study in transparency and light, offering a rare architectural opportunity to design within a climate-controlled glass structure. The venue’s clean, modern farmhouse aesthetic serves as a gallery-style backdrop where floral design becomes the primary vehicle for color and mood.

The Spaces

The Greenhouse

This is the venue’s crown jewel, featuring slanted glass ceilings and a floor-to-ceiling glass wall that looks out onto the seven-acre property. While climate-controlled, it is essentially a solar oven in the summer months, meaning your floral choices must be resilient.

• What works: Ground-level “floral nests” that frame the couple without obstructing the view through the glass. The metal framework is also sturdy enough for asymmetrical climbing installations that look like they are growing up the glass.
• Skip: Delicate, thin-petaled blooms like hydrangeas or sweet peas if your ceremony is in July or August. They will struggle in the direct sun.
• Watch out: The concrete floors are unforgiving. We recommend heavy, weighted bases for any free-standing structures to ensure stability.
• Budget hero move: Focus all ceremony funds on a single, lush ground installation at the altar. The architecture handles the rest.

Main Reception Hall

The reception space is expansive and neutral, featuring whitewashed pine timbers and high ceilings. It is a “blank canvas” in the truest sense, meaning it can feel cavernous without a strategic floral plan to draw the eye down to the tables.

• What works: Utilizing the four in-house greenery chandeliers. Adding fresh, trailing foliage like Smilax or Italian Ruscus to these existing fixtures provides massive scale for a fraction of the cost of a custom install.
• Skip: Tiny, low-profile bud vases on the 72-inch round tables. They disappear in this volume of space.
• Watch out: The venue uses a mix of rounds and long farm tables. Farm tables look best with linear designs—think long, broken garlands or repeated clusters of arrangements.
• Budget hero move: Repurpose the Greenhouse ceremony “nests” to the front of the sweetheart table or the base of the bar to maximize your investment.

Outdoor Patio & Gardens

The transition from the greenhouse to the reception hall often flows through the patio. It features string lights and a white farmhouse vibe that feels quintessentially Saugatuck.

• What works: Potted statement plants or large-scale arrangements at the entrance of the patio to create a “portal” between the indoor and outdoor experiences.
• Skip: Tall, top-heavy arrangements on cocktail tables, as the lake breezes can be unpredictable.
• Watch out: The white picket fence is a charming detail but needs intentional floral accents to keep it from looking too sparse in photos.

What Works at Ivy House

• Monochromatic Textures: Against the white walls and glass, a monochromatic palette (like all-white with heavy greenery or deep sunset tones) looks incredibly sophisticated and high-end.
• Structural Verticality: Given the high ceilings in both the Greenhouse and the Hall, use tall branches (like Quince or Cherry Blossom) or elevated stands to bridge the gap between the tabletops and the rafters.
• Heat-Hardy Varieties: Tropicals, orchids, carnations, and sturdy roses are your best friends in the Greenhouse. They maintain their turgidity even when the sun is at its peak.
• Lush Bar Accents: The bar at Ivy House is a prominent feature. A large-scale, asymmetrical arrangement here anchors the room and serves as a backdrop for one of the most-visited areas of the night.
• Greenery Chandeliers: Always opt to dress the venue’s existing chandeliers. It is the most efficient way to add “life” to the ceiling without the labor costs of a from-scratch rigging job.

Budget Guide

The neutral architecture of Ivy House means that while you can get away with a minimal budget, the venue truly transforms when the floral design matches its grand, airy scale.

Tips

• Prioritize the Greenhouse glass: Don’t hide the view; frame it with ground-based designs that allow the natural landscape to participate in the ceremony.
• Plan for repurposing: The walk from the Greenhouse to the Main Hall is short, making it easy for a professional team to move ceremony pieces to the reception during cocktail hour.
• Embrace the concrete: The grey floors are a perfect neutral; use them to your advantage by creating “growing” floor installations that pop against the industrial finish.
• Check the sun’s path: Depending on the time of year, the sun will hit the Greenhouse differently; ask your coordinator where the “hot spots” are before finalizing the placement of delicate floral pieces.