In addition to the many hours we spend planning the flowers with the bride and the actual designing of the flowers, we have countless hours that we spend writing recipes.
My son is always scolding me about my blog because I love everything: I love my brides, I love my flowers, I love my kids, I love my bouquets, I love, love, love everything. Not true; I actually hate calculating how many stems I will need for each wedding. This is not to be confused with the part I love, which is writing the individual recipe. I close my eyes and imagine holding my brides requested flowers for her big day. I actually design the bouquet in my head: we will need 9 of this, 12 of that , what about this, let's give her some of that and so on. I then move on down the line: the maids will need 7 of this, 5 of that, and then I have to multiply each item by the amount of maids I have. Every single item has a recipe. The recipes then have to be consolidated into one big flower request. If we miss one line item, the count is off and everyone is in trouble.
The recipes usually end up looking like a paper that your English teacher graded. Everything gets crossed out and added to or deleted, depending on the final amounts you need. In addition to the totals, you have to figure out the smartest way to buy. Some flowers come to me in bunches of 10, some are in bundles of 25 or 50 and some flowers you purchase by the stem. It really is beyond complicated. I do love my brides, I do love my designs, so I have to struggle through this heinous job every week. We order the flowers for each wedding a week or two weeks in advance. In truth, if we could do it earlier, it would be better. This is where those dreaded RSVP's come into play. Guest counts even affect the florist. My poor brides are often unsure of their guest counts all the way up to the end, leaving us questioning how many center pieces we need to make.
So I don't love everything, but I do love a lot. Here are some pictures from the flower shop this week, and guess what: I love them.
Don's Dahlias, I love them.
Loved this piece for Tuskies Restaurant; this is for their weekly flower delivery.
Fiddle Head Fern, we really love these.
Love this picture of my girls Debbie and Louise. They are amazing.
Love the color. Love the shape.
An amazing specimen brought in by one of the designers. I have never seen anything like this. And I love it.
Holly
Love it Holly! I think you need a nifty little spreadsheet to tally up your recipes! Call me! I’m an Excel goddess.
Oh my word! The last Lily has incredible color. Wow!
Hello, fellow floral designer and business owner….
I love your work, your site and your blog. I am cracking up over your entry about your “recipes” and how you despise them so. I, too loathe this (and really only this) part of the job and struggle with the moment that I can no longer put it off for another millisecond- and truly appreciate your post on the craziness behind creating an event. I had to share it with my husband, whom often comments on the fact, or idea, that there must be an easier way! We can only dream! 🙂
Kind regards,
Holly (yet another similarity!) Turville
Holly Fleur Ltd.
Reno, NV
Holly,
Thank you so much for commenting on my blog. Only another suffering designer would truly understand this post. What we do is extremely complex, which sounds hard to believe. You would think we just would get to play with flowers all day.
I love having comments and feedback on this blog it makes all of the hard work worth it.
The other Holly In VA.
Holly,
Hi this is Margaret’s mother. I loved the flowers you designed for Margaret’s wedding. They were really special and so right for Margaret. Thank you so much.
I also loved seeing all the flowers for the other weddings y ou have done recently. They are all beautiful. I envy your talent. I love flowers and how they make us feel. I would love to recommend you to another bride or to someone who needs to perfect flowers for a special event.
Sincerely,
Renee Stewart