A decorated banquet tent with a long table set for a celebration, featuring pink and white patterned tablecloths, white chairs, tall candles, floral arrangements, orange drapery, and lantern-shaped hanging lights. The tent is surrounded by trees and greenery.

Wedding Welcome Dinner Case Study

This Lake Minnetonka welcome dinner launched a three-day wedding weekend with a richly layered, Asian-inspired installation under a sailcloth tent, complete with a custom sunken garden, layered orange florals, and suspended orchid accents.

Event Details

As Creative Crew Command, I directed a 30-person floral team across off-site production and day-of installation, managing task flow, build sequencing, transportation logistics, and on-site timing. Working mainly with the florist, my role ensured her creative vision was translated into a precise, efficient execution—on schedule, at scale, and without stress. The result: a seamless guest experience, powered by calm leadership and very intentional behind-the-scenes execution.

Event Type: Floral Installation - Crew Command

Location: Private Residence Lake Minnetonka

Date:  June 2025

Decorative event tent with orange drapes and hanging lanterns with crane illustrations, white curtains, and a table with candles and floral arrangements inside.

My Role

I led event logistics and production management for a 30-person floral team, overseeing schedules, transportation, parking solutions, shuttling, and township access restrictions for a private waterfront event.

  • Managed floral production and on-site installation, coordinating off-site builds, refrigerated truck and cargo van deliveries, and photo-ready execution timelines.

  • Served as the central point of contact for vendor coordination across planning, florals, lighting, rentals, catering, and décor teams to align event production workflows.

  • Built and managed a detailed event production timeline, including lighting load-in, table placement, installation windows, and post-event strike across a multi-day wedding weekend.

  • Provided on-site event leadership and VIP logistics support, maintaining discretion for a high-profile family while directing teams, styling tables, and preparing the venue for subsequent events.

Decorated outdoor banquet table with peach tablecloth, white chairs, black glasses, candles, and floral centerpieces, under a tent with orange fabric, hanging lanterns, and orange and white floral arrangements.

Executing this event meant coordinating a floral team at a private residence with no on-site parking, tight township restrictions, and a highly controlled delivery environment—so I built a precise schedule covering arrivals, shuttling, task flow, and team support to keep everything moving smoothly. With half of the florals produced off-site, I coordinated refrigerated box trucks and cargo vans for timed, one-and-done deliveries, managing a narrow install window between lighting load-in and table placement to ensure we were photo-ready an hour before guests arrived.

Working in sync with the planner, rentals, lighting, catering, and décor teams, we stayed on schedule while also supporting table styling, candle placement, and a post-event strike to prep the space for the Brunch event happening 2 days later—all while maintaining strict privacy for a high-profile family.

The Challenge

Execution and Strategy

I approached this multi-day wedding weekend with a planning- and logistics-driven process tailored to a private lakeside residence, where access, timing, and discretion are critical. Detailed production planning, color-coded schedules, and coordinated truck and van runs allowed for precise execution across installations, teardowns, and transitions without disrupting the weekend flow.

Through proactive communication and coordination with the planner and luxury vendor partners in the weeks leading up to the event and throughout event week, I helped align workflows, manage tight turnaround windows, and troubleshoot challenges in real time. On-site, my leadership focused on disciplined execution and team support—managing workflow, resources, crew placement, and privacy expectations—ensuring a seamless experience for high-profile clients and their guests.

Elegant outdoor event tent decorated with orange drapes, white lanterns with floral accents, and hanging orange flowers. Long tables with pink patterned tablecloths are set with black plates, candles, and black cups, surrounded by white chairs. The background shows lush green trees.
Decorative event table setup inside a large white tent with white drapes, orange accents, pink patterned tablecloth, candles, and chairs.

All installations at this private lakeside residence were completed on schedule and photo-ready one hour prior to guest arrival, allowing photographers time for detailed imagery before the evening unfolded. When the floral design evolved on-site, we adjusted quickly—editing the plan, reallocating product, and returning unused florals to production for donation without disrupting the timeline.

The final result was a fully immersive, Asian-inspired environment, with a sunken garden, suspended orchids, and layered floral moments throughout the tent, bar, and ancillary spaces—executed discreetly and efficiently by a sizable team that moved in and out without a trace while having a great time bringing the vision to life.

The Outcome

Vendor Partners

Photo/Video: Lollipop Media | Event Planning + Design: Poppati | Floral Design: Ashley Fox Designs | Venue: Private Residence | Rentals: BBJ La Tavola, Casa de Perrin, Collected & Co., Phos Events, Girl Friday, Apres Event Decor | Catering: D’amico Hospitality, ChowGirls Catering