Don't talk Martha Stewart to
this Oak Lawn man
There are three things Jim Harney dislikes calla lilies, rain and Martha Stewart.
 "Calla lilies
are the kiss of death for weddings because they wilt in about four hours," says
Harney. "If a bride insists on them, our staff asks her to sign a waiver."
Harney is the
expert behind Aberdeen Wedding Flowers, the oldest and largest bridal business in Chicago
with several locations, including two in Oak Lawn. |
Oak Lawn florist Jim Harney is surrounded by different bridal
bouquets. This year, he says "roses and princess orchids" are the "in"
flowers
Star photos by Mary Compton |
As this year's wedding season peaks, Harney and
his staff of 125 "pray for rain-free weekends."
"Rain results
in unhappy brides. We can't have that," he says.
As for Martha
Stewart: "I have nothing against her, except she likes to showcase rare, exotic
flowers that aren't generally available. Then, the phones start ringing and everybody
wants them."
Those
"exotic" flowers and perhaps even the less-than-exotic will cost brides more
this year, he points out.
Today wedding
flowers typically cost about $750 and $3,000, but "weddings are up by about 50
percent for the millennium.
"People who
wanted to marry in 1999 decided to wait. So the flower-growers -- most of whom are in
South America and Hawaii have raised their prices in response to the increased
demand."
Harney has seen a
number of wedding trends come and go over the years.
He started in the
florist business at age 15, back in 1957 as a helper at 85 cents per hour.
In college, he
started his own florist business. He's seen five decades of brides walk down the aisle at
roughly 150,000 weddings.
"Weddings are
all we do so we focus totally on the event," he says.
It was Harney who
provided 10,000 out-of-season tulips to the Johnny Carson Show for Tiny Tim's 1969 on-air
wedding and Harney who masterminded the "Tricia Rose" for Tricia Nixon's White
House wedding.
Aberdeen's
provided the flowers for Chicago's largest wedding -- 76 bridesmaids and groomsmen.
"The walk down the aisle took a full 40 minutes," he says.
And it was Harney
who invented the "Water Bouquet" on which he owns a patent.
"It looks
like any wedding bouquet. Except the handle inverts to a small pedestal. It's a great way
to save money because the bridal party's bouquets transform into centerpieces.
"And, after
the wedding, the bridesmaids take them home as keepsakes."
He has dozens of
other wedding stories.
For example, there
was a bride who wanted nothing but black orchids. Contrary to belief, black orchids are a
rarity in nature.
So Harney and his
staff hand-dyed 500 white orchids, painstaking dipping each stem in black pigment.
And, there was a
bride who wanted live doves at her wedding.
Harney rented the
doves -- in cages -- from an exotic bird dealer. But the reception got a bit rowdy and
somehow the birds were set free.
"We had a
heck of a time rounding them up afterwards," he recalls.
Weddings today
still delight Harney.
Brides, he
observes, are far more particular today. And, they are generally older -- 28 instead of 18
-- more educated, money conscious ... and fussier.
It used to be, he
points out, that the bride's mother ran the show, now the brides are in charge and their
husbands-to-be are more active than in the past in that decision-making process.
The "in"
wedding today, according to Harney, are dresses in pastels and natural tones like maize,
mint, cocoa and malt. Roses and Princess orchids are in carnations "very, very
out."
The garden look --
long-stemmed roses tied with a ribbon -- very much "in."
As, obviously,
this year are weddings. |
Old-fashioned is the trend this year for 2000 weddings, according to Jim
Harney. His patented bridal bouquet turns into a table centerpiece -- saving money
for the bride and bridegroom.
|
"I have nothing against her (Martha Stewart), except she likes to showcase
rare, exotic flowers that aren't generally available."
Jim Harney
Florist |
|
