Historically, flowers have belonged to the colorful seasons of spring and summer. But according to Kansas City TikToker and florist Lexi Nardini, there are some autumn floral trends beginning to surface for the upcoming season.
Nardini graduated from Mizzou last year with a major in event management, a plant science minor and a floral design certificate. Soon after, she opened the floral division of Platinum XP, a preexisting event-planning business focused on corporate events. Now, Nardini is in the process of rebranding the division to focus entirely on weddings, her greatest passion regarding flowers.
Nardini has grown a following on TikTok. She’s most popular for her vlog-style “day in my life as a florist” videos. She shares videos of herself driving boxes of flowers around the city and setting up beautiful arrangements and also gives a glimpse into her life as a young person living downtown. From building a bouquet to documenting her nightlife in the city, Nardini is truly the flower girl of Kansas City.
What is the reason behind the emerging obsession with autumn floral arrangements? Fall weddings.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, wedding planning was one of several industries to take a punch. With several of those spring and summer weddings canceled or postponed, it seems the desirability of getting married during that time of year declined as well.
Wedding planners are finally starting to regularly book events again, and their most popular season isn’t spring or summer—it’s fall.
“Usually it’s spring, but fall is completely booked,” Nardini says. “Everyone wants a fall wedding, which I understand because the color scheme is really pretty, the warm tones.”
Fall is the new wedding season, Nardini says, whether the color palette matches classic autumn reds, yellows and oranges or leans into a more sleek black-and-white look.
Another surprising floral trend resurfacing: The return of baby’s breath. Nardini says that she, like most florists, can’t stand the dainty filler flower, but it has been a popular request throughout the summer season, and she doesn’t see that changing. Nardini says she is warming up to the approaching trendiness of baby’s breath. “I recently did a wedding and it was just completely baby’s breath with white roses,” she says. “It was actually very pretty and modern.”
Nardini offers some tips about how to create the perfect arrangement on your own. “It’s all about the prep work,” she says.
Begin by stripping the stems of all additional leaves, especially toward the bottom—this creates a more elegant look. Next, cut the stems to the desired length. A common mistake, Nardini says, is cutting the stems too short. Ideally, a great arrangement has a variety of flowers at a variety of lengths.
When picking out flowers, Nardini recommends getting a big flower, a couple of accent flowers and a filler. The biggest flower is usually something popular like a rose or peony. The accent flowers should be smaller. The filler, often baby’s breath, is used to fill in the gaps. As we move into September, with autumn air nearly in reach, think about adding a floral arrangement as your centerpiece. With new trends like fall palettes and baby’s breath emerging, there’s an easy blueprint to follow. If you can’t seem to figure it out, you can always hop over to Nardini’s TikTok (@lex.n.lilacs) for some floral inspo.
