Seize the day: Expert tips from the man behind top celeb events

Wedding trends are almost impossible to ignore, but in following them, we end up creating an exquisite corpse.You saw Mrs.Boldface Name do it Vogue or on Instagram.

You loved it, but, wanted to put your spin on her idea.You post your ceremony on social media, inspiring others.

Rinse and repeat, and you end up with a matrimonial mutant, a surreal ceremony that looks nothing like the inspiration.“Wedding trends are evil,” said Preston Bailey, the New York-based celebrity wedding planner and floral artist responsible for creating many a viral wedding moment and more than few trends.“They make everyone a little bit lazy, just following whatever is happening at the moment.”Bailey has been the planner du jour for decades, orchestrating ceremonies for Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian; Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas; Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner; Donald Trump and Melania, and royals around the world.In 2024, he had the world tuned in for the blockbuster $600 million “I do” of India’s richest man, Anant Ambani, to Radhika Merchant.

Some 14,000 guests wer wowed by his extravagant floral arrangements that included moving animal sculptures.He’s also patterned parties for the likes of Uma Thurman, Oprah, and Liza Minelli, and his influential books “Inspirations” and “Flowers’ are celebrating their 20th and 15th anniversaries, respectively.But that’s not where the Panama-born planner started.”People forget that the first wedding that I did was $300,” he said.In fact, Bailey says one his missions is to help couples of more normal means “become trendsetters instead of followers.”We asked this maestro of matrimony how to avoid trends, while taking away the best from spendthrift celebrity affairs.If Bailey has a philosophy of event planning it goes something like this: “events are about entertainment.”When he’s planning a supersized ceremony he designs “pretty environments” where “every half an hour there’s a wonderful...