38. Roman Soldier Statue
Flor De Casa Designs
Shanda Zelaya
2026 installation
Outside - Back Garden
The Inspiration
The Andersons' garden was originally adorned with copies of ancient sculpture, including this nineteenth-century English lead statue of a Roman soldier.
The Flowers
Recipe: Carnations
Florist’s inspiration: We have created an opulent and majestic floral cape for the Roman soldier to “wear”. This dramatic cape is made out of all carnations that puddles down to the ground, and is made to look like it is wrapped around the top of the soldier’s shoulder.
THE DESIGNER
Shanda Zelaya
Flor De Casa Designs
Shanda Zelaya is the owner and lead designer of Flor de Casa Designs. Serving couples in the Washington D.C. metro area for over 9 years, Shanda and her team have worked with world renowned production companies to execute high-end floral concepts elite public figures and more. Her work has been published in Black Flora, Washingtonian Weddings, Style Me Pretty and many more.
When not working on weddings Shanda enjoys traveling the world with her husband and spending time with her loved ones. Some of her favorite countries have been Guatemala, France, Ukraine, Japan and Brazil with many more on the bucket list and now with their son in tow.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY
Akbar Sayed Photography
Akbar Sayed is the founder and lead visionary behind Akbar Sayed Photography, a team of wedding photographers in Washington, DC. Revered for his artistry and published countless times, he has over a decade of experience working with couples from varying backgrounds in addition to the sets of Art in Bloom and New York Bridal Fashion Week. With the help of his photography and videography team, Akbar uses a marriage-centric approach to capture couples with discerning tastes on the East Coast and across destinations.
Every day, it is his own marriage to his wife Nadia, and his three boys, that brings a grounding sense of inspiration to his work.
