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Hundreds of creamy tulip petals bring romance to a bridal gown

Photography by Tess Schilke

Growing and designing wedding florals is part of Waverly Flower Co.’s brand, so it’s no surprise that Alanna Messner-Scholl reimagined a bridal gown fashioned not from silk yardage, but with a flurry of tulip petals from her own tulip harvest.

Messner-Scholl’s editorial-style photo shoot took place at Elkins Estate, an historic manor built in 1898 and situated on 42-acres in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. “It felt like we were in an elegant setting in the French or Italian countryside,” she said. The collaboration with Tess Schilke was fortuitous, because the photographer was quite familiar with Elkins Estate from previous bookings. “This location is so ornate, you almost don’t need flowers; they’re just kind of an accent to complement the rooms,” Messner-Scholl laughed, adding that she’s planning flowers for a 2026 ceremony at the property.

The models, Shannon McConnell and Brett Morris, are clients of Waverly Flower Co., and they plan to marry in October. “Having already met Shannon, I imagined her wearing the silhouette of a slender, strapless gown with a neck scarf that draped over her shoulders,” Messner-Scholl explained. For the groom, rather than making a conventional boutonniere, she created an oversized botanical lapel featuring tulips, hellebores, ranunculus blooms and Pieris japonica. “It is a statement piece that reads like part of his tuxedo rather than a boutonniere.”

The gown’s production and the photo shoot were planned for peak tulip season. “I was pretty set on having our own flowers for this gown, and my vision was to use about 250 fully-double ‘Mondial’ tulips, which are a gorgeous, creamy white hue.”

Unpredictable weather created some tulip production challenges, requiring Messner-Scholl to choose a second variety to round out the design recipe. “I added ‘Avant-Garde’ tulips, which are ivory with a yellow center.” The mix of cream and ivory petals adds depth and dimension to the pale floral gown. “I originally thought I would fasten tulip heads with reflexed petals to the gown, but we didn’t have enough,” she said. “So instead, I removed all the petals and glued on each one individually – which took a lot longer than I anticipated.”

The use of tulip petals (rather than full flower heads) created a softer, ruffled texture but avoided bulk in the bust area, the designer said. However, she found it hard to maintain the freshness of her tulip petals once they were glued to the base garment. “The tulips didn’t hold up as much as I had hoped for, but that’s part of the process,” Messner-Scholl explained. “We started constructing the gown at 8 a.m. and at noon, it looked perfectly fine. Even with misting the heck out of the dress, though, by 3 p.m., it just nose-dived.” The unseasonably warm, late April date and a one-hour drive to transport the dress to the venue took a toll on the delicate petal shapes. “Thankfully, I’m overjoyed with the photographs,” she added. “They tell the story that I wanted to tell.”

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Alanna Messner-Scholl, Waverly Flower Co., waverlyflowerco.com, @waverlyflowerco
PHOTOGRAPHY: Tess Schilke, @tess.schilke
VIDEOGRAPHY: John Feher, @johnfeher
FLOWER SOURCE: Waverly Flower Co.
VENUE: Elkins Estate, @elkinsestate
FLORAL ASSISTANCE: Elliana Haines, Waverly Flower Co., @ellianamadison_
MODELS: Shannon McConnell and Brett Morris, @shanmcconnell, @brettmorris10
HAIR: Krystin Curry of Mane & Moon, @krystincurry_hair
MAKEUP: Sarah Capizzi of Inner Glow Hair Lounge, @innerglow_hairlounge
AIRBRUSH TAN: TLS Spray Tan Bar, @tls_spraytanbar