Hello friend, and happy almost spring! Grab a little cup of coffee, find a cozy blanket, and get to know Gold & Bloom a little better. Back in 2015 I officially started this floral design business–that’s 7 years in business! Over the years so many questions come in on Instagram, while spending time with friends, or while talking over florals with clients. So, here are 8 of the most common questions I’m asked…

I gravitate toward feminine, soft, and romantic florals with lots of movement. My desire for each wedding is for the florals to not only look special, but like they were meant for that space (venue, church, etc). Even when a potential client comes my way with a slightly different style request, such as bohemian or very classic, I work with them on marrying our two styles to create something really special that we all love and are comfortable with.

I began this business when I was in my fourth year teaching. I longed for a career that was creative, and more suitable for my introverted, artistic self. As my husband and I began thinking of starting a family, it became very important for me to be able to work from home so that I could look after my children while helping to support our family. I made a list of possible careers that would allow me to do this, and the one that made the least sense was floral design. Although I do have an artist background, I knew very little about florals at the time. I truly felt God leading me to this decision, and I felt peace about it. I put all of my free time into learning about floral design and all things business, and it took two years of balancing teaching and building a business for me to finally do florals full time. All in all, it took a lot of time researching on my own–Lots of googling, watching videos, and paying for business and virtual design courses online. It was a total leap of faith.

This is a tough one, because it is ever-changing and I feel like there is always room for improvement in this area. Being a work from home mom of 2 is an incredible blessing and truly a dream come true for me, and it is also very challenging. This business is not all florals and sunshine, and it requires lots of paperwork, emails, taxes, cleaning buckets, etc. Basically, there always a mile long list of things to do! I have made some pretty important boundaries with my business such as establishing strict office hours. For example, I don’t offer evening or weekend client meetings, because that is my time with my family. What I’ve learned over the years is that when I allow that boundary to be crossed (sometimes I’ve made exceptions), I almost always end up regretting it. My daily routine revolves around when my children are in school. I work while they are at school, but the moment I pick them up from school my boss brain is turned off and my mama brain is turned on. My laptop is closed, and I spend time with my kids the rest of the day. I also make sure to do things for myself throughout the week–shopping alone, planting in the garden, or coffee dates with friends. It’s so important for me to do these things to remain feeling balanced. The summer will look different while my kiddos are out of school, so my schedule will have to shift a bit, and that’s ok. I like to take things month by month (or maybe even week by week), and adjust as needed.

I completely understand when potential clients come my way with little knowledge on what flowers cost, after all they probably have never had to buy wedding flowers before! Before I start talking numbers, please understand floral cost is different around the state, country, and world. No two floral designers charge the same amount. I like to compare ourselves to artists. Let’s say I was buying a piece of artwork for my mantle, and I was comparing the price of the same size and style painting between two local artists. One was charging $500 while the other was charging $1,000. Neither is wrong in their price, and you best believe I’m not going to try to negotiate or ask for discounts. Each one of them values their art and their time at different rates. One of them might have much more experience, while the other might just be starting out and trying to fill their portfolio. I will have to decide what is important to me–spending more for possibly a better quality painting, or going for the one who charged less and understanding it may not be quite as upscale as I’d wanted (and being okay with it).

Same with floral designers/florists.

Each floral designer values their time at different rates, pays their employees differently, and uses different materials. And then there’s taxes (insert suspenseful horror movie music). Back when I first started this business, I didn’t quite understand taxes, and I had no clue how much to set aside. Boy, was I surprised when tax season rolled around for the first time, and I realized the tiny bit of money I made was gone in a flash. I knew then I had to charge a little more. Each year that passed as a business owner, I learned more about what I needed to charge in order to pay bills. Bottom line, flowers are expensive and truly an investment.

For full service florals with bridal party flowers, a ceremony arch, beautiful table designs, candles, the whole nine yards–you need to set aside at least $5,500. Our average full-service wedding (like the ones you see on our wedding gallery page) ends up costing on average around $7,200.  We do offer small pickup orders at our studio throughout the year for clients who simply want bridal party flowers, which in that case you could expect to spend at least $1,500. Gold & Bloom is known for putting out gorgeous work at a fair price, which is so important to me.

There are so many talented florists in the area, and I can understand that it’s a little overwhelming to find the right fit. We are different from other florists in several ways:

• We take on a limited amount of weddings per month and per year. I don’t want our team to feel overworked or burnt out. Rest is so important. This also helps me give each of our clients the attention they deserve throughout the floral planning process.
• Just as you are interviewing us as your florist, we are interviewing you as a potential client. I choose wisely who we accept as clients, and I will only sign-on those who are trusting, kind, and who give us freedom to design. We truly have the BEST clients!
• We have a mission statement that guides each step of our wedding process from the first meeting to the wedding day designs: Gold & Bloom is “floral artistry with the desire to repurpose God’s creation in a fresh, beautiful, and joyful way.” God is a huge part of my life, and behind everything that has to do with the success of Gold & Bloom. We love and welcome those with different beliefs, cultures, and backgrounds.
• We meet in person (or virtually if you’re out of town) before sending contracts for our full-service clients. This allows for a smoother, more personal first impression. Plus, it allows us to get to know each other so much better!

Yes, we do! We’ve traveled to Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee for weddings and photoshoots. This coming year we are adding North Carolina to the list. We joyfully serve any state in the Southeast!

Pinterest and Instagram are two big sources of inspiration. I follow some designers in different parts of the world whose designs blow me away–@tulipinadesign, @keirafleur, @bowsandarrowsflowers to name a few. I never attempt to copy any design, but I love to look at other designers’ creations, think about what I love about it (movement, color, flower choices, etc.), and try out some new things. When it comes to inspiration for specific weddings, I take inspiration from the venue, the season, the personalities of the clients, their story and I translate all of that into a unique and special floral experience.

Choosing, and putting together a color palette for clients is something I love to do. Freedom within the color palette is a must. Trust me when I say to have a little bit of flexibility within your scheme–it will make all the difference in the flowers I’m able to source for you and the overall look of your flowers. For example, the photo above is from a photoshoot. My original color palette was mauve, green, and white. When I went to the flower market to pick up the flowers I ordered, I saw some gorgeous lavender sweet peas, and some deep plum lilac. I also managed to get the last bunch of burgundy ranunculus as a deep pop to tie in the other purple/plum notes. Now look at it, it’s so much better than if I had stayed within my strict mauve, green, and white palette. Don’t you think?

All of that to say, my favorite color palette to date is one with shades of pink, shades of purple, accents of white, subtle hints of peach, and a light hint of sage green. Something like this wedding of ours from two summers ago. It was a dream!

 

Well there ya go, my friend! If you stuck with me through all of that, you deserve some flowers. If you’re local to Marietta, GA, send me an email and let me know you’d like some free blooms! The next time I have leftover flowers, I’ll set a petite bouquet aside for you.