Jose Graterol of Jose Graterol Designs has the rare ability to envision life through flowers which allows him to create beautiful weddings with inventiveness and passion. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Jose is a self-taught floral artist and has been working in South Florida for nearly 20 years. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design, in Florence, Italy and has worked extensively in interior and garden design, architecture, fashion design and event design. He created Jose Graterol Designs with the specific purpose or providing a full service, refined, uniquely personalized custom events company.  Known for dramatic lighting and combining textures and colors in unique and vibrant ways; Jose is respected as an event industry guru for imaginative floral and event designs. Jose Graterol’s weddings are truly once-in-a-lifetime experiences and we’re thrilled to have him in the spotlight…

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START IN THE EVENT INDUSTRY?

{JOSE GRATEROL}:  I started in events at a young age, making hand-made Christmas ornaments and planning birthday parties and holiday celebrations with my mother and siblings.  In Florence, Italy, where I received my Bachelor of Arts degree, I produced fashion shows for Fiorucci and created window displays around the city.  When I returned to Caracas, Venezeula, I produced many television shows and fashion shows, while working as a fashion designer.

YOUR FIRM SPECIALIZES IN DESIGNING VERY PERSON, CUSTOM-TAILORED WEDDINGS. WHAT’S THE PROCESS YOU TAKE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN?

I really enjoy talking with the bride and/or groom to extract unique personality traits which I can then translate into a three dimensional reality and incorporate into the wedding.  Sometimes a client will not talk a lot or be very expressive, but I can pick out something she is wearing or her colors to try to make her more comfortable with expressing herself.

HOW DO YOU HANDLE A BRIDE WHO HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE WANTS IN A WEDDING DESIGN? 

One recent bride was reserved and thought she was like every other previous bride.  I said to her “You really are different and you like pearls.”  She said she loved them!  How did I know that?  I told her I noticed her large pearl stud earrings.  So, I incorporated pearls in her Chuppah columns, in her centerpieces, and on her cake stand!  If a bride seems lost I will suggest she looks through some of my coffee table books for inspiration, or stroll through my studio or warehouse to see where her interest or curiosity lies, and then we talk about it as points–of–departure.  I never copy anyone else’s design, famous or not, since it sets a bad precedent and in my opinion is really bad for business.  My clients talk freely and often, together, we design memorable weddings.  It is a process of gathering information, building the ideas, and then I assist with my creativity to invent an amazing wedding.  It is a process.  I have produced a large custom event in less than three weeks, but usually my bride gives me more advance notice!  My proposals are very detailed and take time to read and write, too!  Then, they are meant to be “massaged” and adapted to get to a real, final reality or a final proposal which becomes the actual production document for the wedding.

WHAT CAN A BRIDE EXPECT WHEN SHE WALKS INTO THE JOSE GRATEROL DESIGN STUDIO?

My studio-warehouse is really an “imaginarium”…an environment where your imagination can run wild and freely!  It is 10,000 square feet including a mezzanine with many secretly designed items!  I only allow special people onto the mezzanine!  Clients tell me to pick what I like and they want me to design 100s of parties to use everything I own!  I don’t have typical cylinders or bubble balls.  Most of my containers are unique, many of which I have designed and have had made to my specifications.  My warehouse is always impeccably clean; you can eat on the floor!  It is now color-coordinated, too.  It is a happy place with great energy!  I have so many ideas in my head about how to make other items or adapters to reuse things I have made in the past, in a new way.  I cannot invent the flower.  But, I am helping you, the viewer, to see and enjoy the flower in a new and different way.  It is such a great feeling when I design a container that excites my client and takes her breath away!  Most of my brides are in love with my warehouse and my items since they are truly hand-made and one-of-a-kind!

The common thread in my weddings is perfection–in–execution and amazing attention to detail.  Also, I try to layer texture, color, interesting objects to create exciting environments.  My designs can seem simple, but they are really deep intellectually!  In one recent wedding, I specified relatively simple linens, then designed really advanced floral designs, napkin details, a variety of chairs, chair covers, etc. to create excitement, interest, and an undulating feeling in the room.

I recently designed and produced a wedding with a famous planner from Beverly Hills.  She was so calm and relaxed on the wedding day since she and her team had nothing to do in the reception or ceremony areas.  My team and I take every detail into account.  We fold napkins, steam linens, place everything on the tables, and I personally perfectly align every place setting.  I am there, with my bride, from the initial design inspiration to the final chair placement and napkin alignment…and every detail in between!

WHAT ARE THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS A BRIDE SHOULD KNOW WHEN SELECTING AN EVENT DESIGNER? ?

When a bride or groom selects a wedding designer, it is a big step!  My opinion of the 3 most important qualities in selecting a designer are:

1.  Follow your feelings!

Trust Them!  They are always right!  If you “hit it off” with the designer that is key!  The designer is your most important confidant and friend.  You have to have lots of great feelings about him or her!

2.  Ask for proof to explain how your designer is creative, different, uniquely designing your wedding.

Ask to see something he/she recently designed for another client.  Ask to look at the drawings or sketches of some designs.  I am not talking about looking at a television screen or photo albums full of past weddings.  There may be a different designer who designed those images.  Is the person to whom you are talking a designer, or a salesperson, or an owner, or a spokesperson for the designer in the back room, whom you will never meet?  Look around the space and come to some quick conclusions about who is doing the work, taking the credit, and is it truly unique and customized?  If you get to an appointment and the sample is pre-made, but they will change the colors to your colors, run away…and run fast!!

3.  Look into the reputation of the designer.

Google them, ask friends, ask local industry vendors, look online and try to determine what the reality is of the person you may book your most important day in your life with!  Knowledge is power, so try to be as powerful and prepared as possible!

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST OR MOST MEMORABLE WEDDING DESIGN THAT YOU CREATED, AND WHAT MADE IT DIFFERENT?

A recent mother-of-the-bride called me after I designed an older daughter’s wedding 3 years ago.  The mother is a highly respected designer who was very specific in her last daughter’s wedding details:  no linens, but warm, one flower type, but not minimal, a buffet that could accommodate 450 guests, yet you cannot smell food in the reception, and a stunning memorable, artistic, modern feel to the entire wedding with a famous musical guest for entertainment at 2 a.m.  Immediately, the intrigue and challenges were set into motion in my mind.  I chose the mini calla lily, designed extraordinary high and low centerpieces and entire tables for them, and placed the 98’L buffet behind curtains that opened for dinner, closed for resetting and a reopening for dessert and breakfast.  My reputation was sealed with the perfection of this wedding!  It was a magical night with a white–twinkle–LED dance floor which no guest or I will ever forget!

IS THERE A “SURE THING” FORMULA FOR A WEDDING DESIGN SCHEME?  

The sure-thing formula is to let me design the wedding with your personality infused in it!  You will naturally love it!  Every wedding I design is truly unique.

NAME ONE ACTION OR DECISION THAT HAS HAD THE GREATEST IMPACT ON YOUR SUCCESS? 

I never repeat a single arrangement or Chuppah or item.  So, each wedding is truly “owned” by the bride and groom.  That is always guaranteed success!  And, I always produce more and better weddings than my clients have imagined!  It is not good business or fair for your wedding to be replicated 1, 2, 4, 6 months later, even in another venue.  You have paid for it, it is yours, and it is unique since every personality is unique.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE A NEWLY ENGAGED BRIDE ABOUT HOW TO BEGIN HER WEDDING DESIGN JOURNEY? 

There are so much free, easy information and pictures available.  Start a file, notebook or folder with inspirations.

AS AN ARTIST, WHAT INSPIRES YOU? 

I am inspired by everything…and I mean every thing.  Sometimes, I will wake up from a nap and draw in my bedside notebook.  I have notebooks all over the house, in the bathroom, kitchen, in my messenger bag, by the pool!  I walked in a church in Boston and got my  idea for the structure of my Chuppah!  Go figure!  I am inspired by people, clothing, fashion, jewelry, store windows, kitchen stores, the supermarket…orchids growing in my trees.  Inspiration is all around you, but sometimes you don’t notice it or know how to adapt it to your needs.  I see things differently than other people.

WHAT IS YOUR PERSON “CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT” WEDDING TOOL/ACCESSORY?

My personal tool at every wedding is my book of drawings.  I hand-draw every design and calculate every detail, flower head, votive candle, etc. in my book!  You can peek in it and see the proof of my creativity and unique designs!

THERE’S NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER, BUT IF YOU COULD BE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD DESIGNING A WEDDING RIGHT NOW, WHERE WOULD YOU BE? 

I want to share my talents and designs with any client who wants to expand his or her experiences.  I would like to go as far as the client will take me.  I have two hands and a broad, open mind with a keen sense of design and vision about weddings and flowers.  I want to produce weddings in New York, California, and the Middle East and Far East, so clients and guests can be in awe with the designs and items that I invent.

Jose Graterol and his award-winning team’s attention to detail is unsurpassed and his clients share Jose’s passion, excitement and sensitivity for the fine art of entertaining.