Bold, textured, and poetic floral artistry. A true Wedding Vanguard.
Based in Lisbon, Oh, Maria Flores has become one of Europe’s most compelling names in contemporary floral design. Founded by creative director Maria, the studio is celebrated for its sculptural, sensorial approach to flowers, a style that rejects predictability in favour of emotion, texture and instinct. Each arrangement feels alive, artful and unafraid of imperfection.
Maria’s process is rooted in storytelling. Before flowers, she wrote with words; now she writes with petals and stems. Her work carries the same narrative rhythm, blending visual poetry with raw, natural movement. Every project begins with curiosity: a feeling, a colour, a fleeting moment of light. From there, the compositions take shape organically, full of depth and subtle tension. The result is floral design that feels more like installation art than decoration, where every stem is placed with deliberate ease.
Photo credits: Lead in image, stairway image and glass house image by The Vernacular Photography – Flora installation image above right by @simao_pernas
Oh, Maria Flores moves fluidly between modern minimalism and romantic abundance, using unexpected combinations to evoke mood rather than mimic nature. Wild textures, asymmetry and shadow are part of the language, balanced by an almost architectural eye for composition. Whether designing for a fashion house, a wedding or an intimate editorial, the studio brings a sense of narrative and modern refinement to every setting.
What truly distinguishes Maria is her conviction that flowers are not static objects but living characters. She treats each arrangement as a dialogue between structure and spontaneity, a reflection of the beauty that exists in the in-between. Her signature style, at once sculptural and fluid, has captured the attention of editors, stylists and brides worldwide. Her work speaks to the same sensibility that drives modern bridal and event design: a desire for atmosphere over excess, meaning over mimicry. Every petal and stem tells a story of nature’s untamed rhythm, of design that feels both intimate and expansive, and of a creative voice that continues to redefine what floral beauty can be.
Photo credits: Top left photo by jchickphotography.com – top right photos by thevernacularphotography.com – Bottom left and right photos by @simao_pernas
When you start a new project, what comes first for you: the emotion, the structure, or the story you want to tell?
The story, always. Then the emotion, structure comes last. In a world where we are exposed to so much stimulation and content, it’s becoming harder and harder to focus and allow yourself to simply create and experiment. Going deep into the story we’d like to convey or want to communicate it’s always the first step. What do I want to say, and how am I going to communicate it through flowers and other natural elements?
You often play with scale, tension and negative space in your compositions. How do you know when a piece has reached that perfect balance between control and chaos?
I never do. I could play with the compositions forever. Knowing when to step back is one of the most complex parts of the job. You always want to keep perfecting it, tweaking it and making it different. What feels good today might feel bad tomorrow, and vice versa. At one point, you just accept the composition and work on yourself to love it, with all its flaws and all. This process applies differently depending on the context. In the studio, it’s about exploring and embracing imperfection. For events, however, I spend a lot of time on rendering and material experimentation to ensure that, on the day of delivery, I feel entirely confident in what my team and I are delivering.
Photo credits: top left and right photos by thevernacularphotography.com – bottom left photo by ohmariaflores.com, and bottom right photo by jchickphotography.com
You move easily between editorial projects and weddings. How do you translate your bold, fashion-inflected aesthetic into designs that still feel personal and emotionally resonant for couples?
I’m fortunate to work with clients who are often artists themselves or have a strong connection to the arts. This means our visual languages often align naturally. My role is to translate and interpret their vision, telling their story through my lens, using flowers and styling elements as my medium. At the end of the day, the projects I bring to life are a reflection of both who I am and the story of each couple, their families, their roots or simply who they are at that moment.. That’s why no two projects are ever the same.
Your arrangements often blur the line between nature and art direction. Where do you find inspiration, in the landscape, in architecture, in light, or in something entirely different?
It usually starts with a play with words in my head or a funny pun when I look at a material that makes me curious. Curiosity is really the most powerful tool we have inside us and what makes us dive deeper into a new material or technique. But everything we see leaves an impression on our brains, which is why we so often hear that everything is at the service of inspiration. So everything you mentioned and a lot more. Everything and the absence of everything, alive or dead, natural or synthetic. Being alive is the biggest inspiration of all.
Photo credits: top left and right photos by catarinainacio.com – bottom left and right images by ohmariaflores.com
What is the most unexpected material, colour or flower you have ever worked with, and how did it change the mood of the piece?
This answer keeps changing every time I try something new; there’s always excitement in exploring materials I haven’t worked with before. If I had to choose one, it would be chocolate. It’s something I had imagined for a long time, and when it finally came to life, it sparked incredibly beautiful conversations with fellow florists and colleagues in the industry. It was so special because it connected me with so many inspiring people, making the project about more than just the material itself.
What has been your favourite project to work on over the past year?
This year, one of my favourite projects was a wedding for a Palestinian artist. The brief gave me the freedom to simply create, to move pieces, textures, and colours in a way that honoured their story and paid homage to their families. Working with Palestinian flora, something I hadn’t explored before, allowed me to dive deeply into research and thoughtfully integrate each element. That trust to experiment and translate their narrative into a visual language was incredibly moving, and the result still makes me so emotional and grateful for the opportunity.
All four photos above are by thevernacularphotography.com
For more information, visit @ohmariaflores and ohmariaflores.com. Explore Oh, Maria Flores on the Together Journal Online Directory.
Oh, Maria Flores
