Foothills Magazine February 2007

As a second-grader, Michelle St. Rose would lay in bed dreaming of her wedding day.  The ceremony would be by a lake with geese, and she would have eight brides-maids dressed in eight different colors wearing oversized, floppy hats. 

A seasoned florist and wedding planner, St. Rose now chuckles at her cartoon-like childhood fantasy, but weddings continue to be an outlet for her creativity.

A Tucson native, St. Rose is the owner of Serendipity, a local wedding design and event planning service that handles about 30 wedding ceremonies a year.

The 45-year-old Foothills resident got her start in the flower business working in a floral shop during college.  St. Rose enjoyed the job so much, she abandoned plans to go to law school and opened her own flower shop in the 1980s.  By 1993, she focused her business on weddings, and to date, has handled the floral design for more than 1,000 marriage ceremonies.

“I get to help brides plan for the most important day of their life, and that’s always felt good,” says St. Rose, whose floral design work is just part of her wedding planning services.

St. Rose, who will launch a new venture by offering full service, on-site wedding at the Serendipity House, 4351 E. Grant Road, with no more notice than 24 hours.

St Rose say smaller, more intimate wedding ceremonies are a current trend, and she hopes to offer brides and grooms an alternative to justice-of-the-peace-style weddings with her 24-hour notice ceremonies.  She plan to offer a variety of wedding packages, which may include cake, flowers, limo service and more, ranging in price form $250 to $5,000. 
Vicky Schroeder, who will celebrate her first wedding anniversary with her husband, Ben, this month, hired St. Rose to design her wedding flowers after interviewing eight potential candidates. 

“I was so concerned with floral design.  I had a real vision of what I wanted my wedding to be and (Michelle) made it happen,” says Schroeder, 28.

Schroeder says St. Rose also offered great emotional support. 

“Every time I had a problem and needed somebody to cry to, she was there to comfort me,” she says.

St. Rose says that’s an important part of the job for any good wedding planner. 

“You kind of become the therapist to families and brides,” she says.  “When you’re planning a wedding, it’s a huge event, and the bride inevitable gets stressed.”

St. Rose has won numerous awards for her floral designs and was named Arizona Designer of the Year three times by the Arizona State Florists’ Association.

She is also the founder of www.idointucson.com, a network of wedding vendors who work together to share business and produce local bridal fairs.

For more information about Serendipity services and to view samples of St. Rose’s work, visit www.serendipityweddings.com.