Petah Bashano gives a fresh take on florals; Carolyn Zinni gets personal with brides; and Commonwealth Proper polishes the groom’s get-up.

If you were wowed by the decor at the many Philadelphia weddings you attended this summer (and who didn’t?), chances are event planner Petah Bashano was the man behind it all. Often, florals come first. “Each wedding requires different materials depending on the overall aesthetic,” says the Havertown native and Art Institute of Philadelphia graduate. “We may choose boxwood for a modern garden design, thick ivy for a whimsical English garden design, cedar boughs and acacia for a forest theme.” Those fresh materials will go on to fill table centerpieces and cover huppahs and, more recently, seating assignment displays that favor greens over gardenias. Forget tented place cards lined up like soldiers on fresh-pressed linens— or even calligraphy-covered mirrors with the couple’s initials scrawled in the center—and instead imagine picking your table number from a foliage wall accented by ribbons, flowers or jewels. Bashano warns that lighting is key to bringing these green screens to life. “Foliage walls are mysterious and a bit sexy, especially when well-lit,” he says. “The juxtaposition of an overwhelming masculine element like a wall of greenery in a predominantly feminine wedding reception can add an interesting balance to the room’s design.”