The Straits Times - October 15, 2021
Flower Power: Elevated creations by The Floral Atelier
SINGAPORE - Elaborate weddings may have been muted by the pandemic, but that does not mean one has to forgo luxury.
That is the sentiment of Ms Lelian Chew, the Singaporean founder of wedding planning and floral design studios The Wedding Atelier and The Floral Atelier.
Ms Chew, who burnished her credentials as a high-society wedding planner, believes her company's floral designs, which she calls "elevated event floristry", can provide "little luxuries" for pandemic weddings.
"Our elevated event floristry plays up the exquisiteness of flowers and foliage to add luxury regardless of budget constraints," says the former investment banker with Goldman Sachs who is in her 30s.
After spending almost a decade at the firm in Singapore and Hong Kong, she wanted to challenge herself more.
"Floristry was of particular interest as it allowed me to combine my commercial know-how with my personality. I'm a hopeless romantic and am always inspired by love."
Ms Chew, who married an American Chinese in Hong Kong in 2012, founded The Wedding Atelier in 2013 in Hong Kong and launched The Floral Atelier in Singapore two years later.
In 2019, she set up The Atelier & Co here, which serves as the global headquarters for her events and floral services.
The 7,000 sq ft premises at Delta House in Alexandra Road features a glasshouse with temperate blooms and foliage freshly shipped from countries with cooler climes such as the Netherlands, Kenya and Colombia.
"Having planned and designed luxury weddings around the world, we felt that floral services would be a natural expansion of our business - not just for weddings but also for lifestyle events, spaces, homes and gifting," says Ms Chew, whose roster of clients include Forbes A-listers.
She has worked with global luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Tiffany & Co, as well as VIPs like former United States President Barack Obama.
From a one-woman show in 2013, she now has a team of more than 18 designers, event planners and floral artisans.
"The Floral Atelier offers more than just flowers," she says. "We also provide custom styling, luxury gifting, masterclasses and more."