With hard work, luck and God’s blessing, I’ve built a career on transforming raw spaces into sumptuous, theatrical environments, translating my clients’ visions into awe-inspiring reality.

I’ve written best-selling books: Design for Entertaining, Fantasy Weddings, Inspirations and Celebrations. I also make frequent TV appearances and speak at conferences around the world. I’ve been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, CBS’s The Early Show, and The Today Show, and my work has appeared in publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle Décor, and The New York Times.

What can I say? I love any excuse for a celebration, but the warm weather months are particularly fun.

Here in New York City the streets and parks come alive in the spring and summer both with flora and fauna AND people. It’s impossible not to be happy with warm sunshine on your face. But no matter where in the world you are, who can resist a beautiful blue sky? The colors of great outdoor weather always inspire some of my favorite sunny weddings and events, and I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate rich, happy shades of pink, yellow, orange, blue, purple, and green into my designs and floral arrangements.

When I was young, I never considered working in the wedding and event industry. My first passion was floral; I loved designing all kinds of flowers. It was only after I started to have some success designing flowers that I started to think about entering the event design and planning field.

It has never surprised me that most people know me first for my flowers, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Floral design is my true love! I put my heart and soul into every element of an event, but I always have the most fun with the flower sculptures and centerpieces. You never know what might end up in one of my sculptures: Trees, monkeys, peacocks, dragons, stained glass, even pineapples and skulls!

I always feel especially inspired around the holidays. I love this festive and cheerful season between Halloween and New Year’s Eve, because it’s a time to celebrate everything good in life with our closest friends and family.

With so many rich colors and special traditions, designing for the holidays is a real treat. It’s a feast for the eyes! Unfortunately, I often see holiday designs that feel tired. So, every year I challenge myself to incorporate something new and unexpected into my December designs. Some years, I get inspired by a piece of Christmas candy. Other years, I might be inspired by a yellow New York City taxi cab rushing through the snow. You never know!