Keitha Thomas (Photo by Dominic Hernandez)
Keitha Thomas Designs of Midlothian has been creating and arranging events and decor for years in Central Virginia. A native New Yorker who has brought her individual flair to the region, Thomas utilizes her knowledge of styles and colors in her floral designs and distinguished events.
Bride: What’s the most common mistake people make when looking for floral arrangements?
Keitha Thomas: I think brides don’t have a realistic idea of what florals actually cost, so most of their budgets are unrealistic.
Bride: How do you bridge that gap between a client’s budget and their vision?
KT: We’ll sit down and have a real classroom session where I educate the bride on what flowers cost and, based on the design that they present us, what something like that will cost them. And then from [that initial consultation] it’s their decision if they’re able to [increase] their budget to meet that expectation or if they want to compromise and work together to make that ‘wow’ factor or style that they want [using a plan] that’s more feasible.
Bride: What are your thoughts on DIY flower arrangements?
KT: It’s really more overwhelming than [most people] think. There’s a lot of detail that goes into designing and decorating a wedding, and it's not something that [most] can do by themselves. They can probably help out now and then on the days leading up to the wedding, but for the wedding [day] they need an actual designer or planner or someone there dedicated to [ensuring] their vision is seen through to the end. All the hard work they did up to planning the wedding is so that they’re able to relax and enjoy the day and not have to worry about whether their vision is coming to life behind the scenes.
Bride: What do you mean when you say on your website that you don't design an event, you design an experience?
KT: Designing an event to me is basically just placing a whole bunch of decorations. There's no plan or reasoning behind what you do. You’re basically just choosing a color and running with that color, or choosing a theme and running with that theme. Designing an experience is more [about] the look, the feel, the way a guest feels when they walk in a room.
It is the cohesiveness in [each] touchpoint that your guest is going to experience throughout the whole thing.
“There’s a lot of detail that goes into designing and decorating a wedding, and it's not something that [most] can do by themselves.” —Keitha Thomas
Bride: How much has the art and bridal scene of New York influenced your work?
KT: I feel the wedding industry in Virginia is behind on a lot of trends. With my knowledge of New York events … I get to bring a lot of that new, unique experience and design to Richmond.
Bride: How do you keep up with trends? Where do you find design inspiration?
KT: We still do events in New York. We also look through magazines. ... We’re not just limited to wedding magazines. We also look at Architectural Digest and interior design. We do a mix of not just the wedding world but design in general.
Bride: Were there any weddings that had a big impact on you personally?
KT: Most of the weddings I have done have made some type of impact on me, because I'm still friends with my brides. … We never met before then, but after doing the wedding we [went] on to be such close friends.
Bride: Is it common in the industry to build personal relationships?
KT: When you’re looking for your ideal client, it's based on the connection, especially for millennials. It's about a relationship and how you click with the person you’re buying from.
