Spotlight On: Preston Bailey

For The Knot 15th Anniversary Gala in New York City, Preston worked with our very own editor in chief, Carley Roney, and fashion designer Monique Lhuillier to create a floral art installation, titled Bride in Bloom, inspired by one of Lhuillier's dress sketches. Photo: Christian Oth Studio

The Bride in Bloom installation took 200 man-hours to complete, consisted of 5,500 flowers (white calla lilies, white hydrangeas, white Eskimo roses, pink Rosita Vendela roses, phalaenopsis orchids, and gardenias), and stood 11 feet tall and 4 feet in diameter! Photo: Christian Oth Studio

Known for his signature animal sculptures, Preston topped off the Bride in Bloom installation with two complementary poodles made of white carnations and dusty miller.Photo: Christian Oth Studio

For a wedding in the south of France, Preston created this white floral peacock that stood 12 feet tall.Photo: John Labbe

Preston recommends capturing the guests' attention right away with a striking escort card display, like this alcove entrance accented with yellow roses.Photo: John Labbe

"My favorite way to wow the guests is to create something that they have never seen," Preston says, such as this floral and crystal chandelier tree. "Ultimately, I always try to push the limit of what's new and different."Photo: John Labbe

Whether through flowers or foliage, Preston recommends bringing nature indoors to create an atmosphere that celebrates life.Photo: John Labbe

"You can't go wrong with flowers," says Preston, who still incorporates them into nearly every detail he creates today, like this four-column huppah. "I started as a florist, and that is still my passion. The joy of working with flowers is being able to make it look different -- hanging from the air, creating different containers, giving it that tw ...

Even if you're not Ivanka Trump, you can still achieve the same fabulousness. "The way to do that is very simple: Just choose what's most important to you," Preston says. "If it's flowers, have a lot of flowers. If it's the dress, create the most beautiful dress. Invest mostly in what you love." Here Preston worked with a monochromatic color scheme ...

Never one to shy away from color, Preston prides himself in executing vivid motifs without sacrificing class, like with this floral dragon installation. "Color is a very powerful element, and it changes from culture to culture and bride to bride," he explains. "The beauty of taking different cultures and translating them into colors that are import ...

"My favorite venues [to work with] are tents," Preston says. "You have this blank canvas that you get to be playful in and create this environment that doesn't exist." For this particular event, he actually used a bubble tent (as opposed to the typical rectangular shape) and projected changing imagery onto it throughout the night.Photo: John Labbe

"One tip I have for couples: It seems rather obvious, but it is to personalize the wedding as much as possible," he advises. "The first question is what is important to you -- not what is important to the guest, but what is the most essential thing to you." This design made the dance floor the central focus of the reception, a clear indicator of wh ...

Preston used a stark-white palette of sleek couches off which to bounce fuchsia lighting effects in this modern lounge area.Photo: John Labbe

Celebrity client Melissa Rivers commissioned a "winter wonderland" for her New York City wedding, which Preston achieved once again through transplanted trees and dramatic lighting.Photo: John Labbe