Celebrated Florist Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht Tells Your Love Story with Flowers

The Power of Flowers

Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht shares the art of floral design at Planterra Conservatory

By Mickey Lyons | Photography by Jen Boris

Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht has had a wildly varied life. Born and raised in Detroit, he left at a young age and has since lived on a bus, traveled across the U.S. while performing in the musical Rent, and has lived briefly in New York, Boston, London, and Seattle — where he founded his fantastically successful floral design business, Wild Bloom.

He also served as head judge on the Netflix show The Big Flower Fight, where his blend of on-point criticism and warm hospitality charmed viewers. Griffith-VanderYacht’s floral designs have been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Vogue, O Magazine, and Martha Stewart Weddings, and he frequently makes guest appearances on television shows, including The Drew Barrymore Show and Good Morning America. Harper’s Bazaar named him as one of the top floral designers in the world. 

In January 2025, he made his triumphant return to the area, serving as Floral Director at Planterra Conservatory in West Bloomfield. 

At Planterra, he teaches workshops, consults with business clients, and works with couples getting married at the conservatory. Designing for weddings brings Griffith-VanderYacht a special joy. “The romance of a couple’s story is really the most magical part in our relationships,” he says. “I love being part of that day and helping to tell their story through flowers.” 

Meeting with new clients, he says, is an adventure in discovery. “It starts with establishing a floral vocabulary. Sometimes it’s just a feeling, sometimes it’s a vibe,” he says. From there, he works with the couple to establish a “floral education so that they have the vocabulary to properly articulate, speculate, and express what their dreams are.” 

Having spent more than a decade and a half in the floral design business, Griffith-VanderYacht has seen his share of missteps from a wedding design perspective. His biggest takeaway? “Pinterest is a lie,” he says. He warns couples that “most Americans cannot afford to spend $200,000 on their flowers. They often come to me with these extremely unrealistic expectations for their budget.” 

That said, Griffith-VanderYacht is dedicated to crafting an unforgettable floral experience for his clients, no matter their budget. “As a florist,” he says, “my job is to make your flowers look as beautiful as they can on that day.” Sometimes that means making a few last-minute adjustments; after all, he says, “Floral design is an art, not a science. We also have to be listening to nature at the same time. Sometimes the flowers say, ‘I want to go this way. I want to face that way. I want to open and unfurl this way.’”

For Griffith-VanderYacht, the joy of working on wedding designs is in sharing — and shaping — the story of a couple’s first moments in marriage. “Guests never remember the food. But time and time again, they always remember the ambiance of the day. They remember the décor,” he says.

“If you have gorgeous flowers, transformative flowers,” he says, “the guests always remember.”

Learn more at planterraevents.com