Weddings that carry the romance of the city and the calm of the river light. Melissa-May Designs, your wedding florist in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia weddings hold a certain doubleness. There is the grandeur of a city that has kept its history close, and there is the intimacy of a couple standing together while the light comes off the Delaware. A Philadelphia wedding florist has to honor both, and that is the space Melissa-May Designs was built to work in.
Melissa-May Tarlton has designed for celebrations from Old City to Rittenhouse, from waterfront rooms to the green edges of Fairmount. Whether your day unfolds in a restored townhouse, a museum hall, or aboard The Moshulu on the river, the florals are composed for the room they will live in, never pulled from a template.
This is full-service floral and event design, by appointment only, with a limited number of weddings taken each weekend so every couple has her attention. Romantic at heart, calm in the details.
Philadelphia's venues, read closely
The city offers a rare range for one skyline. Old City brings cobblestone and candlelight and rooms with centuries in the brickwork. Rittenhouse leans polished and continental, all tall windows and quiet money. Fairmount and the park settings open into green, and the Delaware waterfront gives you water, sky, and the long masts of the old ships against the evening.
Each of these asks for a different hand. A historic hall wants florals with weight and architecture. A waterfront celebration wants movement and air. Melissa reads the setting first, its scale, its light, its bones, and designs so the flowers feel native to the space rather than set down inside it.
What she designs
Bespoke bridal bouquets, ceremony moments, centerpieces, and large-scale installations, composed as one continuous visual story from the first look to the last dance. For an urban-romantic Philadelphia wedding that means florals scaled to real rooms, considered against city light and stone.
Beyond the flowers, Melissa brings the artistic detailing that makes a day feel authored: hand calligraphy, engraving, heat foiling, and painting woven through the design. She offers full-service floral and event design rather than partial planning, and is glad to refer trusted planners when a couple needs one.
Curated florals and celebration styling
Sophisticated Events & Weddings
Full-service design for weddings and elevated celebrations. End-to-end wedding florals, styling, and the thousand small details that make a day feel unmistakably yours.
Artistic decor and direction
Exquisite Florals & Design
Bespoke floral artistry and custom decor, from elegant bridal bouquets and centerpieces to large-scale floral installations, composed with an eye for movement, color, and quiet drama.
Custom calligraphy, engraving, foiling & painting
Elevated Design
Hand calligraphy, custom engraving, heat foiling, and artistic painting. The finishing touches, made by hand, that turn a celebration into an heirloom.
Hourly advice for couples & special events
Design Discussions
Prefer to lead the way yourself? Book Melissa's eye by the hour for direction, sourcing, and styling counsel for couples and special events.
Weddings in Philadelphia
Do you serve weddings in Philadelphia?
Yes. Philadelphia is home ground for Melissa-May Designs, from Old City and Rittenhouse to Fairmount and the Delaware River waterfront. She designs full-service florals for city weddings throughout the year.
Will you travel to our venue in the city or just outside it?
Absolutely. Melissa serves greater Philadelphia and the wider tri-state of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and takes select destination weddings as well. Wherever the celebration lives, the design comes to it.
How far in advance should we book?
Because she accepts only a limited number of weddings each weekend, popular dates fill early. Reaching out nine to twelve months ahead is ideal, though it is always worth asking about your date. Everything begins with a private consultation, by appointment.
Nearby wedding florist service areas
Moments made to last.
Now booking weddings and events in Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania. Tell us about your day and we will be in touch.