By Nancy Kriz
David Recine, owner of Flowers by David Anthony in Monroe, is the “dream team florist” for the third episode of the TNT program, “Wedding Day,” which will be broadcast June 30. Photo by Nancy Kriz
MONROE – Ask Monroe florist David Recine if there is such a thing as blue apples and he’ll tell you there is in a fantasy world.
Recine, the owner of Flowers by David Anthony, knows this for sure because he recently created extravagant floral displays featuring real green apples which were hand-dipped into fantasy
blue apples for the fairy tale wedding of a Hudson Valley couple in the new TNT reality show, “Wedding Day.”
The show, which premiered June 16, is a new “feel good reality show” which gives “deserving couples a helping hand to ensure the most important day of their lives is also the most magical,” according to TNT. Couples are selected based on nominations submitted by family and friends. Viewers will learn about the couple from the time they first met to their wedding day.
Those familiar with reality television will find “Wedding Day” features certain characteristics seen in other reality TV shows. Elements of TLC’s “A Wedding Story” and “Trading Spaces,” ABC’s “Extreme Makeover Home Edition,” and even a smattering of NBC’s “The Apprentice” will be visible to viewers.
“We conducted an extensive search from coast to coast for couples whose stories are undeniably inspirational and uplifting,” said Mark Burnett, who also produces CBS’ “Survivor,” and ABC’s “Apprentice,” in a statement. “The show also gives us the wonderful chance to give back to those who volunteer their time or put their lives on the line to help others.”
Short-term leave
Capt. Christina Fanitzi and Capt. Shawn Fitzgerald will appear in the June 30 episode of TNT’s “Wedding Day. Fanitzi is the granddaughter of Monroe residents Eileen and Joseph Nash.
Recine’s floral studio work is featured in the June 30 episode focusing on Army Capt. Christina Fanitzi, whose grandparents are Monroe residents Eileen and Joseph Nash, and her fiancé Army Capt. Shawn Fitzgerald. They had been planning to get married for years, but Army commitments kept their wedding from happening. At the time the show was taped, the couple was each stationed in different areas of Iraq.
With cooperation from the Army, the episode opens with footage of Fanitzi and Fitzgerald and tells the story of their courtship and their Army obligations. Via a satellite hook-up, the couple is told by “Wedding Day” they have been selected to have a dream wedding.
The military gave the couple a short leave to return home for their Jan. 16 wedding, and the show continues with both of their families greeting them at Westchester County Airport. As the couple is sent off to spend time together in Manhattan, their families and friends are given tasks to help to put together the wedding and reception, featuring a “world travel” theme, all in a week’s time.
Sprinkled within are conversations with Fanitzi, Fitzgerald, their parents and friends as well as short segments with Recine and other professionals talking about their involvement.
“We were referred by the venue, Anthony’s Pier 9,” said Recine, who is one of the house florists for this caterer. “They (the production company) were scoping out the venue and we were setting up for a big holiday party. They absolutely fell in love with our work. When we were told about the premise of the show and about this couple serving in Iraq, I wanted to be a part of this. Their story was so compelling. I wanted to be a part of creating something amazing. It sounded like a really cool design experience.”
Good for business
Recine was equally comfortable in noting his third reason for wanting to be involved.
Christina Fanitzi, granddaughter of Monroe residents Eileen and Joseph Nash, and her father Anthony prepare to walk down the aisle for her winter wonderland fantasy wedding at St. Mary’s Church in Marlboro, created for her and fiance Shawn Fitzgerald by the new TNT reality show, “Wedding Day.”
This floral display featuring real green apples, which were hand-dipped into fantasy blue apples, filled St. Mary’s Church in Marlboro and was among the lavish floral pieces created by the floral design team at Flowers by David Anthony in Monroe.
“The business side of this is that it will shed some really cool light to prospective clients on the types of things we can do,” he said.
Being a part of this fantasy wedding included Recine contributing his floral studio’s time, talent and picking up the tab for his work.
“We paid for everything,” Recine said, noting he received no compensation for the show. He estimated the retail value of the flowers and design work donated to the show to be between $15,000 and $20,000.
“We do have clientele who spend money like that, but not as often as you’d like,” he acknowledged. “But everything can be tailored to someone’s wedding. It’s always a compromise to make it a palatable price.”
Recine and his design team met with the show’s production company plus an event management company and a creative team to discuss the floral components to the wedding.
“They had a certain look they wanted to accomplish,” he said. “There were time constraints and we were not used to having so many people involved. There were a lot of chiefs to keep happy. But they did give us a lot of creative license.”
‘Very rehearsed’
After the floral designs were finalized, Recine had about a week’s time to secure all the materials he would need, including hundreds of orchids flown in from New Zealand.
On the show, Recine, who’s described as the “dream team florist,” even gets his own 10 seconds of fame, talking about how thrilled he is to be a part of giving this military couple a special fantasy wedding. Viewers will even hear him good-naturedly reminding the bridal attendants they “have a lot of work to do” hand-dipping 200 green apples into fantasy blue apples as accents in high-end white floral displays lining the main aisle of the church and its alter.
Recine and his team also helped to create the winter wonderland motif at St. Mary’s Church in Marlboro by creating faux snow to line the aisle for the bridal party, the bridal and attendants’ cialis online bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres as well as florals at the reception hall.
“The church was just amazing,” he said. “But the reception hall was just incredible. To keep with the ‘world travel’ theme, the event company staged it to look like an old world hotel. There was even an antique suitcase wedding cake.”
Until the publicity launch for the show began, Recine was prohibited from talking about his participation. “We haven’t seen a thing,” he said. “I know there was a lot of footage of our team and how the family was involved. The one thing I learned is that this puts reality TV into a new light. It’s almost not reality. It’s all well-planned and well-thought out. It’s not like it just happened. It’s all very rehearsed.
“This buy Benicar online experience was good for me,” he added. “It made me know we could do something on a really short notice. It was so ‘over the top,’ so out of the norm. This had to equal a $1 million wedding.”
TUNE IN
“Wedding Day,” a new TNT reality series, premiered June 16. Watch for compare prices cialis the episode featuring the floral work of the design team at Flowers by David Anthony in Monroe on Tuesday, June 30 at 8 p.m. Check your cable system for TNT’s channel number.
Source: The Photo News
