[Bride Meet & Greet Week] Becky

Just last week I sat outside the aforementioned Caribou (noticing a pattern?) enjoying a mild Minnesota weather. I was waiting for local bride Becky, and as it turned out, she and I had just passed each other in the process of getting our beverages of choice. Once we realized we were looking for each other, we shared a moment of giggles and official greetings.

Becky and I had been working together since May. In fact, you may remember me sharing about my excitement in creating her flowers a few months back. Well, with 3 weeks until her big aisle walk, Becky was excited to see the finished products. Even though she supervised the design process from start to finish through e-mail and pictures, we all know there's nothing quite like holding the bouquets in your hands for the first time. Her enthusiasm was contagious and she couldn't stop saying "Thank you, they're perfect!" When compliments via e-mail get communicated in real life, that's when you know you interpreted those emoticons and exclamation marks correctly.

Becky's monochromatic orange palette was actually a fun way to re-invent the bridal bouquet. It's a little more challenging to bring out each flower type, texture, and shape and that much more fun to see everything come together. Her clear ideas and directions helped me create exactly what she was envisioning. The tulips, roses, and callas were different choices than the initial idea of roses, poppies, and callas, but she actually liked the final choice better than the original inspirations. The classic stylings were coupled with a more contemporary addition of bear grass which really put the "cherry on top."

Becky and I had a warm and friendly meeting filled with wedding talk, shared excitement, and the personal chit-chat that comes from months of talking and working with each other. Though I had never met Becky before today, I felt like we had a connection through this big event she was looking towards and I'm honored to help her make her dream wedding a reality. Thanks Becky and many blessings in your new marriage!

Check back tomorrow for the big reveal of Becky's finished flowers.

[Bride Meet & Greet Week] Natasha

Back in May, Illinois bride Natasha met with me and brought her fiance' along for our initial consultation that resulted in the order for their Minnesota wedding. The inspiration for their colors came from their invitations that they helpfully brought along. Natasha gave me a heads up prior to our meeting as to what direction they wanted to go with colors and flowers so I was able to have a few samples at the ready. Their vibrant palette of purple, spring/lime green, and white came to fruition via classic white Garden Roses, whimsical lime Button Mums, and rich purple Anemones.

We worked on the bouquets together to decide on the flower placement: random and bunchy vs. orderly and neat. With a winner chosen, I got to work setting the designs and shaping out all the bouquets. Because she's from Illinois, we relied heavily on pictures where words wouldn't do justice. When Natasha was able to come to town, her time was full of taking care of other wedding details, so it was that much more important to work through everything virtually.

When everything was finished up, we coordinated a time to meet the next time she was in town. Showing up at a local coffee shop (ahem, Caribou Coffee I love you) was a seriously exciting experience for me. No, not just for the delightful beverage, but for the fact that Natasha brought 3 of her bridesmaids along. Giddy after coming from her bridal shower, Natasha introduced me to her friends and we got to the real heart of the matter--the flowers! Smiles shown all around as I carefully took out each bouquet and presented them to the guest of honor. Natasha had already seen her flowers in a series of e-mailed pictures, but the smile on her face told me she was happy and excited and satisfied with what I brought that afternoon. And then another thing happened, Natasha had to actually correct one of her maids impressions by telling her that the flowers were silk. *Sigh* That was a truly great moment for both myself and Natasha because we had accomplished one of our goals, creating beautiful and realistic arrangements.

As I drove home that afternoon, sipping my strawberry-banana smoothie, I felt satisfied in having met and surpassed my client's expectations. Thank you Natasha for being easy to work with, for sharing your vision with me, and for letting me be a part of your big day!

Check back tomorrow for pictures of Natasha's flowers.

[Bride Meet & Greet Week] Intro

One of my favorite parts of being a designer is when I get to personally deliver my brides' flowers and get to experience the moment when they see the finished product for the first time. I can say with confidence, that it is always such a delightful experience to unveil those custom-designed beauties and just watch my client's face light up. Recently, I had two opportunities to hand-deliver wedding flowers and come face to face with the brides I had been working with for months. Over the next week, I'm going to share a little bit about how those meet-ups went and show you some snapshots of their arrangements.

I have to say that it's always a little conflicting for me to send the flowers off whether by mail or in person. Not because I want to keep them for myself...no no, trust me, I have enough flowers to keep me cheery. But it's because I spend a lot of time communicating with some of the happiest people on earth. They are getting married and are excited about this new adventure in their life and I get to share in it with them! Working with each bride becomes one extended conversation that often leaks over into the personal and in that way I feel like I make a new friend each time. So I'm sad because it's like the conversation has come to an end. But then the best part is, a few weeks or months later, I get that unexpected e-mail with to-die-for pictures of beautiful brides with the biggest smiles on their faces and an exciting story to share. And because of that, it's with joy and happiness that I drive those flowers to the post office or to meet you at a coffee shop and send off my creations with happy wishes and marital blessings to those awesome ladies I've come to know and appreciate.

For those of you I never get the pleasure of meeting, check out my testimonial page to see some of the responses to working with me long-distance. So near, far, wherever you are (thank you Celine) your perfect flowers are just an e-mail, phone call, or Jpeg away.