By Tim McVey, Director of Floral Design — Perennial Gardens Bedford
Crabtree's Kittle House is one of Westchester's most established wedding venues — an 18th-century farmhouse on Kittle Road in Chappaqua, the kind of property that rewards couples who want warmth, intimacy, and historical character over venue-hall scale. Built in 1790 as The Kittle Barn and Carriage House on Ivy Hill, today a farm-to-table restaurant, an award-winning wine cellar, and a bed and breakfast at Lawrence Farms in the Town of New Castle, the venue asks floral design to do specific things. Our floral design workshop has done wedding florals at Kittle House across seasons, and this guide walks through what the venue's architecture and character mean for palette, scale, and installation.
What Makes Kittle House Different
Most Westchester wedding venues are modern event spaces dressed up — hotel ballrooms, tented lawns, or converted barns retrofitted with contemporary infrastructure. Kittle House is the opposite: a working restaurant and inn that preserves its original character. The floral design constraints follow from that.
Interior scale is modest. The dining rooms at Kittle House are sized for restaurant service — comfortable for 60–120 guests depending on configuration, not for 300-person ballroom weddings. Florals need to read in rooms that have their own architectural weight (original wooden beams, historic mantels, period-appropriate light fixtures) without competing.
The grounds carry as much weight as the interior. Outdoor ceremonies often happen on the lawn or at the gazebo. Late-afternoon receptions flow between inside and outside. The floral design needs to hold across both registers — the warm, intimate interior and the natural, expansive outdoor.
The farm setting matters aesthetically. Lawrence Farms and the surrounding Chappaqua landscape set an expectation of garden-integrated floral design. Arrangements that would look at home in a hotel ballroom feel imported and formal here. Garden-forward, meadow-forward, and naturalistic compositions integrate better.
Service flow is tighter. Kittle House operates as a working restaurant outside of private events. Installation windows are negotiated with the venue's operational schedule, and we design around quick load-in and strike rather than multi-day venue takeover.
Seasonal Approach by Month
Kittle House weddings run across the year, and the floral approach shifts meaningfully by season.
Spring (April–May): Tulips, ranunculus, hyacinths, lilac from late April. Arrangements lean into the early-garden palette that matches the Lawrence Farms landscape as it's coming alive. Pastels, soft whites, early greens.
Early summer (June): Peony season. Kittle House's dining rooms handle peony-forward compositions beautifully — the fullness of June peonies reads against the dark wood and historic plaster without fighting. Garden roses, sweet peas, delphinium.
Mid summer (July–August): Warmer palette — zinnias, lisianthus, early dahlias, garden-style greens. Lawn ceremonies in August benefit from heat-resilient stem selection.
Fall (September–October): Arguably the strongest season at Kittle House. Dahlias at peak, chrysanthemums, celosia, amaranth, and the property's own fall color as backdrop. Warm-palette arrangements (rust, burgundy, gold, cream) match the venue's historical character.
Winter (November–December): Sculptural direction. Forced branches, amaryllis, paperwhites, evergreens. The venue's fireplaces and candlelight ambiance carry the design, with florals as architectural accent rather than mass.
For the full seasonal calendar, see our wedding flowers by month guide.
Design Considerations Specific to the Venue
Palette against dark wood. Kittle House's interior leans warm — dark beams, wooden floors, plaster walls with period paint. Certain whites read flat against this palette; creams, ivories, and warmer whites hold their character better. Bold jewel tones (burgundy, plum, deep blue) integrate; pastel cool tones (pale blue, lavender, pale pink) can disappear.
Scale for dining-room tables. Most Kittle House reception seating is at round tables for 8–10, sometimes at long farm-table configurations. Low, horizontal arrangements work better than tall elevated pieces that block sightlines across these tables. Centerpieces in the 12–16 inch range read well; 24-inch-plus elevated pieces can feel performative in a room sized for intimacy.
Ceremony location flexibility. Outdoor ceremonies on the lawn have different design needs than indoor ceremonies in the main dining room. Lawn ceremonies allow larger-scale installations (arches, aisle markers, standing arrangements); indoor ceremonies work with more restrained altar-piece arrangements and intimate scale.
Lawrence Farms integration. The farm setting invites design that references the property. Seasonal herbs from the property's own gardens, branches from Lawrence Farms trees, or even integration with the property's existing perennial borders — all of these can inform the palette. We've worked these elements in on several Kittle House weddings.
Installation Logistics
Kittle House weddings require coordinated load-in. The driveway and parking are modest for a busy Saturday. Load-in windows are typically negotiated with the venue's event staff and work around the restaurant's operational hours.
Our typical Kittle House installation runs as follows:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 4–6 hours before ceremony | Advance team arrives with non-perishable structural elements |
| 2–3 hours before ceremony | Main floral delivery; table arrangements placed |
| 1–2 hours before ceremony | Ceremony pieces installed (altar, aisle markers, arch) |
| 1 hour before ceremony | Bouquets and boutonnieres delivered |
| Post-ceremony | Arrangements rotated from ceremony to reception as appropriate |
| Reception end | Strike team returns; table pieces either stay with venue or go to couple |
The Society of American Florists publishes industry guidance on installation logistics at historic venues, and Kittle House fits squarely in that category.
Coordinating with the Wine Program
Crabtree's Kittle House is known for its award-winning wine cellar, and many couples lean into the pairing of wedding florals with the wine program. Practically, this shapes two floral decisions.
Palette coordination with the dinner service. A wine-forward reception dinner has a specific register — warm whites, aged-wood bar tones, stemware that catches the candlelight. Florals that integrate with this palette (garden roses, eucalyptus, muted autumn tones) feel continuous with the meal. Florals that contrast sharply can feel separate from the dining experience.
Scale for table wine service. The restaurant's dinner-service protocols include active wine pouring throughout the reception. Low, horizontal centerpieces leave room for sommeliers to reach across tables; tall elevated arrangements can interfere. We calibrate centerpiece height to accommodate Kittle House's specific service style.
The venue's event team is happy to walk through these details during site visits, and we often align floral scoping with wine program decisions from the first consultation.
Working with Kittle House's Wedding Program
Kittle House runs a dedicated wedding program with their own event team. We coordinate directly with their coordinator on logistics — load-in windows, storage of floral supplies during the event, placement preferences in specific dining rooms — and defer to their operational expertise about the venue's rhythms.
For couples considering Kittle House, our Chappaqua florist guide has more context on the broader Chappaqua/New Castle floral scene. For general vetting questions before hiring any wedding florist, see Choosing a Wedding Florist in Westchester.
Common Questions About Kittle House Weddings
Can you work within Kittle House's preferred vendor list? Yes. We've handled weddings where the couple was referred to us by Kittle House directly, and weddings where the couple found us independently and wanted to confirm we could work with the venue's protocols. Both paths work.
How far in advance should we book? For peak-season Kittle House weddings (May through October), twelve months ahead. Off-season and smaller ceremonies can book closer in.
Can florals flow from ceremony to reception? Yes — and we recommend it. Ceremony-to-reception repurposing (arch installations becoming sweetheart backdrop, aisle markers becoming bar arrangements) is both cost-effective and sustainable. At Kittle House specifically, the indoor-outdoor flow makes this particularly practical.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Perennial Gardens regularly design wedding florals at Crabtree's Kittle House?
Yes. Kittle House is one of the venues within our delivery and installation radius (Chappaqua is about twelve minutes from our Bedford workshop), and we've designed weddings there across seasons.
How do florals change for a Kittle House indoor vs. outdoor ceremony?
Indoor ceremonies work with more restrained, architectural altar-piece arrangements designed for the specific dining room. Outdoor lawn ceremonies allow larger-scale installations — arches, aisle markers, standing ceremony pieces — and palette can lean more garden-forward and abundant.
What's the best season for a Kittle House wedding aesthetically?
Fall (September–October) is particularly strong. The dahlia-forward palette, warm autumn color, and the venue's inherent warmth align beautifully. June is a close second for couples who want peonies as signature. Winter weddings work well for couples drawn to candlelight-and-fireplace intimacy.
Can we repurpose ceremony florals at the reception?
Yes. This is a common and recommended approach at Kittle House given the ceremony-to-reception venue flow and the fact that ceremony installations can be moved with relatively low disruption during the cocktail-hour window.
For wedding florals at Crabtree's Kittle House — designed to respect the historical character, work within the venue's operational rhythm, and integrate with the Lawrence Farms setting — Perennial Gardens' wedding floral practice is where to start. Reach us through the contact page to schedule an initial consultation.
