Flower People

IN Los Angeles flowers say one thing about you: money.

The Times’s Chris Ayres calls the practise of buying and giving flowers in LA the “ultimate luxury item; the ultimate triumph of wealth over nature.”

And at Marcia Cross’s wedding to Tom Mahoney there were lots of flowers.

There are seven girls scattering rose petals along the path trod by the Desperate Housewives’ actress. A heart-shaped peony wreath hangs over the door to the Church of Our Saviour Episcopal Parish in San Gabriel, California.

The reception cocktail lounge is full of white tulips, Casablanca and calla lilies. The 5ft wedding cake is festooned with roses and lilacs.

And flowers are not just a way of showing how rich Angelinos are, they hark back to the time Marcia and Tom met in a florist.

Marcia spotted Tom among the delphiniums. A florist passed her number to Tom. A week later he called. And two years later they are being married.

And it as not all just a display for the nose and eyes as Marcia’s sister Ellen treats the ears to a version of Paul McCartney’s Only Love Remains as Marcia floats down the aisle. Tom’s mobile phone then rang.

And there is something for the taste buds, too. Over at the Pasadena Ritz-Carlton, the happy couple and 240 guests dined on sea bass and filet mignon and take in the bouquet of hydrangeas and roses.

And then it is time to dance. And before long the stains of At Last by Etta James and What A Wonderful World have died down and it is time to press the flowers into a book – and the bride and groom into the pages of a Hello!…

Posted: 5th, July 2006 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink