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Divine Weddings by the Divine

Ya-Yas of Greerw ritten by SHERIL BE NNET T TURNER

If you’ve read the book Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells, or have seen the movie starring Sandra Bullock and Ellen Burstyn, then you already know what a Ya-Ya is. For those of you who must have fallen off the planet, and for you guys who didn’t get dragged to this delightful southern chick-flick by your lady love, Ya-Yas are bosom buddies; lifelong girlfriends who stick together through thick and thin, building each other up in the good times and the bad. Denise DeYoung, Theresa Harvey, and Patti Henson are local Ya-Yas. “My sister, Theresa, and I have always been inseparable,” Denise explains. “We met Patti in 1977 and we all have been best friends since. We also

have a group of girls that, together, are known as the Ya-Yas of Greer. We do almost everything together, all the time. It’s so nice to have such close friends that you can depend on, and that truly support each other.” What’s remarkable about these three Ya-Yas in particular is that not only are they divine to each other, they share their love and unique talents with friends and family, creating the most divine wedding cakes and floral arrangements. Denise is the flower guru, Patti is the wizard of cakes, and Theresa, she helps with it all. Here’s their story.

Q: How did you get started making wedding cakes and

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flower arrangements for friends and family?Denise: I have been doing floral arrangements, really, since 1999. It all started when my daughter was in high school. She was involved in everything at school and we were always needing flowers for events. I would make arrangements for all of her friends’ birthdays and all the guys wanted me to do their corsages or their Valentine’s Day flowers, so I would. The guys still call me today for their Valentine arrangements or special occasional flowers. Patti: I started making cakes when I met Theresa and Denise. They did cakes for family and friends and I loved it. They taught me and we’ve kind of grown since then.Theresa: When we were younger, my sister Denise and I helped my aunt make cakes. The flowers came later when Denise started arranging flowers for some of our friends and family. Denise: Yes, Theresa and I have done many, many wedding cakes but only for family. We were trained at Greer High School by Margaret Mitchell (our home economics teacher way back in late 70s). Also, our late Aunt Frances Williams was a cake designer and worked with us many times. We actually started working with her when we were 14 years old. She had everything. She also made all of her own tablecloths, which we have inherited and still use

today. I was the rose maker. Theresa and Patti did not like making the icing roses for the cakes so I had to do those. I don’t do the cakes anymore, I only assist, which I gladly do for my Ya-Ya sisters. We are really all a team. It takes each of us to pull off a wedding of any size since we all work other

jobs full-time.

Q: So Theresa, you and your sister taught Patti how to make cakes. Was she a natural?Theresa: Yes, Patti is a natural and she loves doing them.

Q: Denise, had you had any formal training in flower arranging?Denise: No, not in floral design. I have worked in interior design at Stevens Aviation for the past 25 years and have been fortunate to have been part of a team of design professionals that set standards for our industry. I do read a lot of floral magazines and books, and I self-train via internet by subscribing to training programs by some of the best floral designers in the nation. Their tips can really save you time.

Q: What types of cakes and floral arrangements do you make, and do you make cakes and floral arrangements for other occasions?Patti: I’m not very good with the character cakes and theme cakes. I do wedding cakes only, except when we

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want something good to eat. Lately I’ve been making a lot of cheesecakes for us.Theresa: I really enjoyed making all of my son’s birthday cakes when he was growing up. He’s 27 years old now. His first birthday cake was a clown and each year after it was whatever he liked at the time, from sesame street to Carolina Gamecocks, etc.Denise: Every floral arrangement I do is a custom design. I like to have a variety of styles for a particular event. I also do arrangements for Valentine’s Day, funerals, proms, anniversaries, dance recitals, aircraft photo shoots—you name it and I will try it.

Q: Theresa, you help with both flowers and cakes. What are you best at—cakes or flowers? Theresa: I think I am best at helping out with whatever needs to be done. Patti and Denise are the experts!

Q: Denise, what are some of your favorite types of flower arrangements?Denise: Roses, of course, calla lilies, Sumatra lilies, all types of lilies. Smell is very important to me when I am designing a hand-tied bouquet. I think about the bride and the bridesmaids when I am putting the bouquets together. I want to make sure that I have the most fragrant flowers closest to them so that they can enjoy the fragrance and get a sense of relaxation while

holding the arrangement. I like to think that it will help them from being nervous.

Q: What is the strangest cake you’ve made? The prettiest? Your favorite?Patti: The strangest cake I’ve made so far was the upside down wedding cake for The Vintage Jewelry store. The prettiest, I’d have to say my niece’s cake first because I loved it, but Laura Beth Hix Szabo’s is high on my list of favorites. When I say favorites, the cakes were beautiful and I felt good about making them. I was very proud of myself. Theresa: Yes, I’d have to say one of my favorite wedding cake, too, was Laura Beth’s which we helped Patti do in August of last year. It was huge and beautiful . . . with lots of live gorgeous flowers.

Q: Do you see any trends in regards to wedding flowers and cakes? Denise: More than likely we will start seeing lots of color in flowers. The growers are developing many, many new varieties and I think that we will start to see a lot more bright, brilliant true color as the years come.

Theresa: Wedding cakes today are mainly for show with fake layers and lots of live flowers. The real cake is usually sheet cakes served from the kitchen. As far as flowers go, it seems like all of the brides now like the flowers with ribbon.

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You don’t see a lot of the old timey traditional bouquets anymore.Patti: Everyone likes fondant. I don’t know how to make fondant (yet). No one that I truly love has asked me to do that, yet, so I haven’t learned or experimented.

Q: Patti, speaking of bridal requests, has a bride ever asked for a cake and you said “Oh no! That looks complicated!” And if so, did you try it anyway?Patti: Yes, Laura Beth Hix Szabo. Laura wanted a very tall cake. The bottom layer was 16 inches. We used a lot of Styrofoam layers and it was probably the most beautiful cake I’ve ever done. Laura’s choice in flowers was the icing on the cake (no pun intended). We used massive quantities of live flowers of all colors.

Q: Denise, would you ever go in business doing flowers? Denise: Yes, actually it is even possible as early as later this year. I have my design company established, Designs by Denise, LLC. I’m just not sure how much time I am willing to devote to it right now. Family, friends, and true enjoyment of life have to come first; we have fun doing events and it does not seem like a job. Floral design takes a lot of time, but since we all love and enjoy the creative side of one another so much—and of course we are almost always together doing the events—it is just awesome. We have a lot

of fun with it. If I ever decided to open a full time business, and can handpick my partners, it would be a great adventure.

Q: How about you Patti? Would you like to bake cakes for a living?Patti: Maybe if I had of started doing wedding cakes for a living awhile back. Now, I’m not so sure.

Q: How about you Theresa, would you like to bake cakes or do floral arrangements for a living?Theresa: Yes, but only if it were full time. It’s hectic doing it after work and on weekends.

Q: Ladies, do you have any funny stories to tell?Theresa: Once we were delivering a wedding cake from Blue Ridge to Greenville. We backed out of the driveway, which was on a hill, and the cake slid to the very back of the station wagon. That was the last time that happened. Now we lay out the cake layers on a rubber pad so they won’t slide. But, I can still see that cake sliding to the back of the car. It was intact, but

some of the borders were mashed and we had to redo them. It wasn’t funny at the time, but it is too funny now!!!!Patti: Yes, the wedding reception that had no air conditioner! I’ve never had a wedding cake melt and I don’t think they will unless it is unusually hot. The house where

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the reception was being held did not have air conditioner and it was awfully hot. I sat the cake up and went outside on the porch to get a breath of fresh air. The bride’s mother came outside and told me the cake was melting. I thought she was kidding. When I went back into the house and looked at the cake, it appeared fine. When I turned to walk off, though, I saw the borders falling off the back of the cake. It was melting faster than I could pipe the icing on.Denise: Freezing the flowers. Last May, I flew down to Litchfield with all my boxes from Carlstadt’s to put together arrangements for Neal and Jessica Bruce. I had the whole airplane loaded down with flowers and supplies. Once we got to the house, I opened the boxes and started preparing the flowers for the water and nutrients prior to the next day’s arranging. I put a large bucket of calla lilies in the downstairs refrigerator and did not think to look at the temperature setting. We all went to dinner and when we got back, the flowers had frozen. What an ordeal. I was so upset and had no clue what to do. Fortunately I had some really nice silk callas with me and I was able to put a few in the bridal bouquet to make it work. Funny thing is, Jessica was not worried. That event was all about a fun, memorable moment. Lesson to be learned—always check the temp! And so, to all you brides-to-be out there, remember that Ya-Yas— not diamonds—are truly a girl’s best friend. Cheers to your own divine wedding! d