The Power of Weddings: Two Shows At The TSFA Floral Forum
Weddings are a huge source of income for the floral industry. It is not only about the stunning design but how are you inspired to make it personal for the couple. It is not only about the end result but how does your business practices influence the success of your weddings. Read on to learn how this journey to TNSFA brings a wedding business and design program to their members.
This journey takes me to Franklin, Tennessee (right outside of Nashville) to present two shows for the TSFA Floral Forum. When I was invited to showcase wedding bouquets and a business program based on weddings my answer was of course YES. I have been to the Tennessee State Florists Association convention in the past and I know they have an amazing convention. The board works tirelessly and believe that education is the pathway to success.
My first show was about wedding business called “The Path to I Do”. I wanted to discuss the business side of weddings from advertising to completion of events. My stage style is one of conversation. I feel we all learn from each other if we dialogue about topics.
How to attract potential couples
The first items I spoke about was how to utilize opportunities to reach new clients. Without having clients, we can not a wedding division of our businesses.
I then spoke about the consultation process itself. We tend to forget that this is the most important day for our clients. We need to devote the energy and time to making sure it is the best experience for them from the moment the meet with you until the moment they say I Do.
Next, I spoke about the importance of a great contract. Everyone business who offers wedding design needs to have a contract. It does not matter if you do one wedding or hundreds a year. Take the time to write a contract to not only protect yourself, but also to protect your clients.
Below are a few of the contract items we discussed.
The Power of the Bouquet
The first evening was full of knowledge and the desire to be a more successful floral company. The second show was to focus on the wedding bouquet called “The Power of The Bouquet.” Wedding bouquets are a huge passion for me. It is the last item the bride will cling to as she walks towards her forever love. If done right it will showcase their love story and design of the wedding day.
I had an amazing assistant Pattie and FFA students working with me in the workroom. Such a great team to be part of.
Where do you draw inspiration from? Is it magazines, Pinterest, social media outlets, other designers? Inspiration is everywhere all you have to do is open yourself to the possibilities. Below are descriptions of what inspired me as I designed some of the bouquets for the show.
Inspiration: bleached dried materials from Knud Nielsen. I wanted to design a light and airy bouquet utilizing bleached materials. We enhanced the bouquet with wool garland.
Inspiration: Jaime and I were shopping and saw the most beautiful woman with stunning dreadlocks. I wanted to design a bouquet inspired by that strong and stunning woman. This bouquet was created utilizing different yarn textures secured to an orb containing lilies, roses, carnations, and color enhanced white plumosa. The bouquet trailed as she walked onto stage.
Inspiration: Movement was inspiration for this bouquet. The cymbidium florets and dried materials tend to have a static appearance. The lily grass is what provided the visual movement through the bouquet.
Inspiration: the never-ending circle of love. Love can be continuous and strong. The bouquet form was a Styrofoam circle wrapped with Oasis ribbon and bullion wire. The cascade bouquet contained garden roses, roses, stock, gyp, hanging amaranthus and aussie grasses.
Inspiration: Joining of two souls. The two rings represent the two souls coming together to unite as one. The bouquet was created utilizing two gold rings with florets of roses, dendrobium orchids, and salal as accents. The lace ribbon was utilized to soften the design.
Inspiration: Joining of a family. Today we have many marriages that may have a child on one or either side of the union. This design shows the unity not only of the two being wed but also included the existing children. This bouquet was designed utilizing four gold rings with florets of garden roses, cymbidium orchids, spray roses, hypericum, cushion pomps and salal.
Inspiration: Boho chic was the inspiration for this adornment. We utilized a macramé wall hanging as a base for this design. We secured it to a collar that would be worn down the back of a bride as she walks through a field of wildflowers. The floral was glued on with Oasis floral adhesive consisting of asters, pomps, spray roses and gerbera petals down the strings.
Inspiration: I found a candle holder while out shopping one day. There were two bells hanging from the bottom and I loved the idea of a bride walking down and her bouquet quietly chiming as she walked. The floral consisted of roses, craspedia, lisianthus, asters and eucalyptus.
Inspiration: The fabulous door knocker I discovered in a clearance section. We suspended an Oasis iglue from the bottom of the knocker to hold a bouquet of roses, lilies, delphinium, with a salal designed lotus on top and Oasis bullion wire hanging from below with floret adornment.
Hint: always look in the clearance section and let your mind wonder what it all could become.
Inspiration: The strength and line of chopsticks inspired this bouquet. I tied and glued chopsticks (color enhanced gold) to create the armature for this bouquet. Callas and lily grass were utilized in this bouquet because of the dramatic lines they enhanced.
Inspiration can come from every aspect of life. All you have to do is be open to the possibilities. Take the time to design something new.
A great show has many moving parts and I thank all of those mentioned below for your contributions:
Knowing Where It All Starts: Knud Nielsen Design Summit
Invited on a trip to see behind the scenes of a leading floral company is the chance of a lifetime. Understanding the story of Knud Nielsen was a highlight of my career and being able to work with their product was the cherry on top. Join me on an epic journey to Evergreen Alabama to witness the process of how a family has secured their place in floral history.
When Jacob McCall AIFD (Knud Nielsen Co-designer) calls and invites you to be part of the first ever design summit at the Knud Nielsen Co. facilities the answer is always YES! I had absolutely no hesitation to be part of something that was bound to be amazing.
The design summit (pictured) consisted of myself, Andy Hooper AIFD, Jacob McCall AIFD (Knud Nielsen Co-designer), Deborah De La Flor AIFD, and Corey Harbour AIFD.
When we all arrived in Evergreen Alabama we were greeted with the epitome of southern hospitality. The hosts could not have been more gracious. We truly felt like we were part of the family the entire time we were there.
After a lovely lunch and introductions, we were led on a tour of the facilities. I was amazed at how large of an operation it is and how many products they have that I never realized. There is so much history that is part of every item we utilize from Knud Nielsen Co.
The product was endless and my design mind kept racing with ideas. This was going to be a fun adventure!
Design Time!
The stories shared with us about the company were inspiring. This family owned company has been around for decades and still continue to be the leader of dried floral product. Absolutely amazing!
After a day of touring the facilities and learning all about their product is was time to design! They brought us to a room with all of their fabulous product displayed. The instructions were to design and so we did.
The amount of knowledge and experiences I gained from this design summit is incredible. It truly showed me that we all need to learn more about the companies in our industry. Take a moment to understand where our items come from and how history has evolved with them. You will be amazed!
Thank you to the Knud Nielsen family and Jacob for inviting me on this amazing journey!