Latest / The Preferred List: A Wedding Vendor Podcast / Episode 47 What A Full Service Wedding Florist Really Does: Everyone Deserves Flowers

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Episode 47 What A Full Service Wedding Florist Really Does: Everyone Deserves Flowers · The Preferred List: A Wedding Vendor Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to The Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm James, a wedding filmmaker.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: I've spent years in the industry working alongside incredible vendors, and this show is all about the real conversations with the ones who make it happen.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Let's meet today's wedding vendor.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Amanda, how's it going?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's going great.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: How are you?
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for being on.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Amanda runs Everyone Deserves Flowers, which, if you can't guess from the name, we're talking florals today.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: We are talking florals.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Just so fun.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to jump into our conversation.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Before we do, though, we're going to talk a little bit about our venue for today, Drewmore Estate.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: Drewmore Estate is a luxury wedding venue located in the rolling farmlands of southern Lancaster County.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: The 16,000 square foot brick Georgian mansion, located on the second highest elevation in the county, was built in 1938 as a party house for newspaper magnet John Steinman.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: It provides robust views of forestry, hillsides, and even the city of Lancaster skyline.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: The estate's long-standing legacy of elegance and hospitality continues to flourish, becoming a place where magical memories are made and couples' most important days come to life.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: It also provides the unparalleled Drewmore Estate experience for weddings and events of all sizes.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: From the mansion and formal gardens to the grand tent and carriage house, every event at Drewmore Estate becomes more than a celebration.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: It becomes a part of history.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: But Amanda, thank you so much for being on today.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to dive into all of the floral things.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: But before we get into some of the tips and tricks and the stuff that you've learned over the years, I'd love to hear more about how this all started for you.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, my first job ever when I was 15 was at a flower shop.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I saw the ad in the paper when we used to read the paper.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And when we used to read the paper.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: That is so fun.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Was it something that you had thought about before?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: You just like, hey, I'm going to try that, and then you realized you loved it.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was in like art classes in school and I lived in New Jersey.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I initially thought that I was going to go to school for fashion and work in some type of art field.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it kind of just was appealing to me to work in a flower shop.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it really, it really does suck you in.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a heavy wedding floor, like flower shop.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that that part of it was super appealing to me to be able to set all of that up and do all the grunt work, even though I was behind the scenes.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: And almost like not getting the chance to see the actual thing get put together, but just doing some of that kind of like behind the scenes work.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, tell me a little bit more about the process that you went through going from I'm scrubbing buckets to I'm arranging florals and and installing I mean, so my first job was when I was 15.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: I obviously had some type of career path.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: I did go to college and I did pursue fancy.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: You wasn't normal adult people.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't just scrub buckets for years and years.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um but I always did flowers on the side.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: So for friends and family, small events, big events, whatever.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then we moved out here to Pennsylvania when I was 21.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I continued to do it for friends and family.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I actually started a uh blog called Everyone Deserves Flowers.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: Oh.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So that blog was just about me being a single mom and the day-to-day things that I did, and I would post flowers that I did, diets I did, whatever.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: And from there, people started contacting me and asking me to do weddings.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: So everyone deserves flowers.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: My blog became my business.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's so fun.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it kind of just was an accidental entrepreneur story.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, what were you doing like work-wise before?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then tell me a little bit about that transition from going like what you were doing to like full-blown everyone deserves flowers business.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I had moved to Pennsylvania, went back to school for business.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I got a job at an insurance company just doing like admin work.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, had my daughter as a single mom.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: So trying to do the nine to five thing, so I was home at night, but then I was realizing as everyone deserves flowers was growing, I was not nine to five.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was nine to five.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was five to eleven o'clock at night, and I wasn't seeing her.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in the midst of all this, I got married and I got pregnant with my second.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I had said to my husband, I can't do both.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: I just, you can't.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I decided to leave the corporate world, which I hated so much.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I am not somebody to sit at a desk in front of a computer.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that was it.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I did that, and I had my daughter on May 31st, and I set up a wedding on June 9th.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And he had to come with me because I couldn't like step on ladders and stuff like that.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say, you're not like carrying the heavy stuff.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: So we had like a full book and I left my job, and that was it, it just kind of happened.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, what was it that gave you the like reassurance that that was gonna work out?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe you didn't have it, but like what kind of drove you to be like, yeah, let me take this leap of faith, leave the steady paycheck, and that's truly what it was.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was a leap of faith.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I had said to him, I'm making two incomes right now, enough that one paid for our wedding, and one was so I technically had two jobs, and we're just gonna see what happens here.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if it doesn't work, I go back to work.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like let's just try it.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um so that's what I did.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And there's years that I don't do as well as others, like COVID.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then you know, when I had a book of 30-something weddings and I was working a full-time job, that was the day that's crazy that I said I can't.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: I have a friend that does Marcus summons films.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: He's he was working a full-time job and doing like 30 wedding videos.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, bro, how are you doing all that?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: With a family is hard, yeah.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's crazy.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but I mean it I feel like it sets you up if you're willing to put the time and effort in to like build two things, and you could put all of your effort into the one thing.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, that's what they say, right?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like you can only be half as good at two things or really good at one thing.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: So how have you seen your business grow from when you first jumped in and did that leap of faith to now?
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I wish I would have taken a little bit more time to figure out that leap or maybe set myself up a little bit more because it was a slow rise.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um slower than I see some.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the way that Instagram is run and the way that social media things are happening for people, that didn't happen for me.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like I started Facebook.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Instagram was when you were still like editing your pictures with Sapia.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like you just wasn't like business savvy at that time.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I really had to work hard.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say that COVID changed the trajectory of how other vendors work together.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: We all, as florists, started a group chat and we were helping each other and you know, leaning on each other.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And prior to that, that wasn't a thing.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like now Florists coming into the game have it a lot easier.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they're freelancing, they're helping other people.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: We just didn't, you know, 15 years ago.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you just had to make it work.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Were you would you say that most of your stuff was word of mouth at that point?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was word of mouth, yeah.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, Facebook, the blog, people's moms knew and would tell their daughters.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I was I'm old, I'm an oldie in the in the scheme of the new vendors.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: You go like 35, 40, 45, and you're like, am I too old to be doing this?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm aging out now.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Hope not.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, hopefully not, yeah.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it is funny though, because I feel like with the age comes more intentionality with the way that you do things.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Has the experience changed the way that you approach your wedding days, approach your couples?
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: In what ways has that kind of really changed for you?
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I will absolutely not have a conversation through DM or Facebook Messenger.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: We're not doing that.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're not gonna text each other at 11 o'clock at night.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas before, I just wanted anything that I could get, and I was responding to people in the middle of the night.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: And with experience, you realize that being available to people all of the time does not necessarily mean being professional.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: So or building a big business or something like that.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: No, like right now, there's no way I could keep up with it, by the way, like anymore.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: But you have to learn your boundaries, and I think that that was a really big part of the experience of building your own business.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, people expect and they respect boundaries.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: It is kind of a weird thing too, because you would think, like as a business owner, you're like, I'm just trying to make the most I can.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just trying to get the most out of all of like the season that I have and the time that I have.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: But there's something to be said where if you're saying no to some things, then you're you're able to say yes to maybe some better opportunities, some more ideal couples.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's totally fine that you have ideal couples or clients that you want to work with.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, take me back to your first wedding, if you can.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: You can remember.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what what was that like?
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: What did you learn from it?
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: How is it like different than weddings you're doing now?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I did it in the dining room of my house with an air conditioner for a friend of a friend.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I've definitely learned a lot since then.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think we looked at the order and said, okay, we have five bouquets, so let's order all these flowers and play with them, where now everything is stem counted and we have a recipe for everything.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: We know what's going in everything, and everything has a cost where it all of this just kind of happens along the way.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I there's a lot of work that goes into the back end of Floristry that I don't think that people know or understand.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Unpack a little bit of that.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Let us know.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like spill the tea.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean, it starts with a consult, and then there's follow-ups, and then there's all of this inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: So your vision is bound to change.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but from there, we have to source your products.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: So there's wholesalers that we work with and local flower farmers trying to find what you need or what we need to fill those recipes and that vision for you, which is hours of work in itself.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then when the flowers arrive, let's say we we always get our flowers on a Wednesday.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Our flowers arrive on Wednesday and they are dropped off.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: It takes us hours.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I have a team of five of us some days.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, most of the time there's at least three of us working.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it takes us hours just to process those flowers.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Every single flower is touched, cleaned, groomed, cut, put in water, put in the cooler before we can even do anything with it.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that people know that all of that is happening.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: They just think, oh, she plays with flowers.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: They come in buckets, they're already done.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: No, they come packaged and sometimes like cold from the airport to my garage.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like a whole process behind the scenes.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's an absolute process.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And actually on Instagram, I just did a day one, day two, day three, day four, day five series so they could see that it's not just one day of work.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Cause you don't know how often people say, Oh, it must be so nice to work on a weekend day and that be it.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like, no, yeah, no.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Even a photographer, I mean, shows up, they work, but then they have hours of editing and they work on it for a month.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: But it's nobody knows that.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and then on top of all that, you're communicating with clients, couples, trying to create the vision.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: Through the actual work.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: The hardest thing for me is during wedding season, still booking for the following wedding season.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, not only do I have to carve out all of this time to make these weddings happen, but I have to carve out the time to get on the phone with people, create new vision boards, get them out in a timely matter.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because they're booking for this time next year.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: And they want your attention as well.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a little bit of the hardships of business and being in the wedding industry, but I'm sure there's something in there that's like drawing you back, the passion.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what is it about working with flowers, doing the installations, working with couples that just keeps you coming back and keeps you excited and keeps you driven?
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, at the end of the day, we are working with people for probably their most important and exciting day of their life yet.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: So there's that.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I get to go to work and everybody's gonna be happy that day.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that that's such a cool thing.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: We walk in and they're excited to see you, they're excited to see it all come to fruition, and so are we.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we've now had all of these conversations about a vision and we've sourced all of your product and we're sweaty and gross working on the flowers.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: But now we showed up and you get to see all that work come to fruition.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's really cool.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm laughing because the amount of times that I put my video camera up to a florist working, and they're like, no, no, no, no, no, no.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Get out of here, get out of here, get out of here you don't, yeah.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm like, I want to see the process and have it come together on the video in some cases, but it's just funny.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just laughing.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, we never show up looking pretty, it's always like workout clothes and our hair up because we're up and down ladders and we're opening big boxes of greenery, like that is what it is.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm curious when you're when you're talking about style and design and and putting together that vision for couples, is it tough or or how is how has social media kind of changed that landscape of like what you're given as inspiration versus like you getting a chance to kind of just run with an idea?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I have had conversations with other florists and visionaries, and I feel that it's so helpful.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like I genuinely like the fact that you can create a Pinterest board, send it to me, and we're all on the same page.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: I started in a day when we had pictures, like printed pictures from CVS of things that we've done before, and we're gonna sit down and look at this book.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and this is a red bouquet, you know, like it's so much easier to build this vision board.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: I will say AI and some things on Pinterest that are altered give people a false impression, yeah, especially when it comes to budget, and you you gotta know the area that you live in and the budgets that you're working with.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes people will expect a lot more out of their order form than what they can really afford.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you see a big installation, you're like, oh, that's probably not too bad.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, that's a lot more money than what you're doing.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's the whole budget.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Talk to me a little bit about budget.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: How can they invest in their floral arrangements, design, bouquets, and get like the most out of that money that they're investing?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I I always tell them budget is not a scary or a bad word.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is literally the start of our conversation.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna waste a lot of time if we don't have that conversation first.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So whether your budget is 3,500 or 14,000, that's gonna let things flow for us and divvy some things out for us.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean, my advice to them is that the bridal bouquet and the ceremony are the most important parts of the day.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: So the bridal bouquet ends up in almost every photo.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: You're cuddling with your husband, you have your family formals.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing with the ceremony.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Those are the pictures that are gonna end up on your gallery wall.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Those are the pictures that your mom's gonna share as a birthday shout-out on Facebook forever, for years to come.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: So if I'm looking at it from a budget perspective and we're wondering where the biggest bang for your buck should be, let's focus on those items, see how we can repurpose from there to reception and work our way down.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because there's a lot that I've seen as like a not floral person that I'm seeing like, okay, here's you know, some installments that have gone down the aisle that are getting pulled and put over in reception areas or other spaces.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: Is that kind of like is there are there other ways that they can be kind of like repurposing some different um installations?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you have the hands or the florists to help with that, then yes, I mean they can take apart an arch, they can repurpose it at sweetheart table or a mantle, like you said, using these aisle meadow arrangements as tall arrangements.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's such a better word than whatever I just used.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, you don't know the terminology.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm learning, I'm learning.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's definitely a conversation that we we like to have, which kind of is gonna segue into the next thing.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Having a full service wedding florist as opposed to your typical kitchen florist when you are talking about the biggest day of your life.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we are a full service wedding florist.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: There are many full service wedding and event florists that are willing to help with that flip and to talk you through repurposing and different things that we can do.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: And we also offer different rentals that might help, candles and vessels that might help so the bride is not worrying about collecting those things and pick packing them up at the end of the night.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's one of the things that I feel should be one of the first questions I'm asked when I am on the phone.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times it's just about cost.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: How do they ask to figure out like what's the difference between full service and the kitchen sort of?
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um honestly, it's just experience.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Full service florists will know that it is the delivery, it's the setup, it's knowing that they might have to flip and repurpose items, and then there is breakdown at the end of the night, that we're providing all of the vessels, maybe candles, and we're not gonna put any of that on the bride or the groom to pack up to return any of that at the end of the night.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a full service.
• 19:12
  unknown: Yeah.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's um, I feel like there's just so much that couples don't know until they get into it.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like, when would they have ever hired a florist for anything?
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: Same.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: When would they ever have hired a videographer?
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm always like, ask all the questions.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Get even if you don't book with me, I want you to know more about the thing that we're talking about so that you can go and make an educated decision because that's gonna lend you with the right person for you.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: I hate being sales pitchy too.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like I hate being sales pitchy when I'm having a conversation with somebody because I really want to put them at ease.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: And our consultation is a fun one because we get to start seeing this vision and all of these ideas come together within their budget and at their venue.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: So this mood board that I create for them is an experience for them to kind of see that.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want to be like, so you should really look into all of these technical terms.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just definitely not my sell.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, not my way of selling.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: I well, you want them to know all the stuff and make a choice based off of what they see.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's tough though, because they might see beautiful arrangements, but they don't know what it's gonna be like to continue that working relationship with a vendor until they get into it.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what is it like for you working alongside planners, coordinators, venue owners, maybe, or or what's that all look like for you?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I love it.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: I love when a couple has a planner.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna say that every couple should have a planner, um, because I do feel that some venues have a very good grasp on running the day and helping them along.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a great area.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if we should go here.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: But there's always the conversation of are they a venue host or are they a planner?
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: I have that conversation with all the planners.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's so interesting.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I don't know.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you don't.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so you start out.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: And when I first started Everyone Deserts Flowers, I did a little bit of coordination because when we would be hired to stay for the flip and cleanup, I'm like, well, I might as well just get them down the aisle for an upgraded fee and we'll just hang out.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: It ended up being a very long day and a lot more stress than I personally wanted.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, especially as my business grew, I just couldn't do it all.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I literally ask when I have a planner, coordinator, or any version of the two, I'm like, what are you?
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: How are you different than the other things that people call you?
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because again, it's like we said, if a couple doesn't know, they think a planner does X, Y, and Z.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: This person is calling themselves a planner, but they're really like Day of coordinator, yeah, you get yourself into a situation where you think something's gonna happen and it doesn't.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're not sure, ask the questions, just like you said about the full service florist versus sort of the kitchen, or they're just kind of throwing stuff together.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Here's your buckets of flowers.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: You're like, wait, I thought you were putting all this together.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I thought you were moving stuff and hanging out.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you're only gonna get that information if you start asking questions.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in terms of style, do you have like a style?
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: Are you kind of just like I love this question?
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is another one I feel like couples, especially brides, should look up people's social media and Instagram and see if you like their style.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because every designer just has a different hand in things and a different way of doing things.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I do have a style.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it's pretty classic and timeless, garden-esque.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: And when you open my Instagram, it That's what you see.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's what you're gonna see.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: So if you send me a picture from Pinterest, it's gonna have a little bit of my vibe to it.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to be okay with what I'm producing.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's interesting because I feel like I've talked to some, and maybe not just florists, but just like style questions in general, where it's like, no, I just kind of bend and weave with whatever the couple's vision is.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: But it's almost refreshing to hear, like, no, this is my style.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: This is what I know that I'm really good at.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, don't get me wrong, I could do anything.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I can replicate whatever you want, but I definitely have a style.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: How do you help couples that are coming?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's a gajillion flowers that they can pick from.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure when you start doing the math, I'm sure the math is insane on like the different combinations, colors.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: How do you kind of guide them in that sort of like there's all these different plants that they can pick from, and then there's all these different ways that they can put them together and use them?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, well, most of them honestly have a clear vision or at least a look and feel of what they're going for.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: So they will have a Pinterest board or some type of inspiration photos to send prior to our meeting to give me a good idea of what we're looking for.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um we don't really get into the nitty gritties of growers, wholesalers, and different varieties of flowers only because I have found over the years they don't know flowers the same way that I don't know how to be a nurse.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know healthcare.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like I don't either.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: My wife's a nurse and she says nurse things.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like Right.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Cool, yeah.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like they don't know flowers.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I could show them two roses, one could be significantly more money, and they would pick the cheap one.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because they just it's, I don't know.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: So we don't get into all of that.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um but if you stay out of the weeds, pun intended, maybe pun.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um you're able to bring more clarity in a sense.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we don't get into the nitty-gritties of the growers' varieties, expensive flowers, cheap flowers, whatever.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: We just kind of stick to a look and feel.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say that my business does not, we're not doing mum's carnations, daisies, you know.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're gonna we're I'm a wedding flower, so we're working with Lux Floral.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: So they know what to expect.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's like a wildflower kind of feel.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you're going wildflower, we're gonna give you wildflower that's gonna last.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's not gonna be something off the side of the road.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, your kids pick you stuff off the side of the road, you put it in a vase and it doesn't last.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna give you that look and feel.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's like a blade of grass, like, I got this for you.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: I love when the kids give me a dandelion.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, as a florist, I'm sure that's hilarious.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but still insanely cute.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's I know.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't get flowers, so I like it.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: So you you brought up flowers that last, like they're not off the side of the road, they're they're going to last.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: How do you help couples keep those flowers looking good from the beginning of the day to the end?
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are you doing in your process to make sure that you know they're they're lasting just the day, even?
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, as a wedding florist, we need them to last the whole day, right?
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's at least a day.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but we get our flowers on Wednesday for processing, start designing late Wednesday, Thursday.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: I like to be doing personal flowers, which is like corsages, boutineers, touches, um, the bouquets if I have to, Friday, if the wedding is Saturday.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: If not, I'm doing it the night before.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: But no more than 24 hours ahead of time am I doing things out of water.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have a big cooler that everything stays in.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously, when we deliver everything, it's an air conditioned, super cold as much as it can be.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then just really making sure everything's watered out of the sun.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: We're spraying on site if it needs to.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: We do the best that we can.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: So again, as a full wedding service florist, we are hanging out to make sure that that's we're not just plopping it in the sun, delivering and walking out the door.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna hang out, we're gonna do other things in the reception so we can bring the ceremony out last minute, that type of thing.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Or until the photographer needs us.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's a big part of it.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that actually is a big part of being a full service wedding florist as well, is we communicate with our vendors before the day of.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're making sure that the photographer doesn't need detail photos or flowers for detail photos and that the install is ready for two o'clock so they can do their early reveal.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like that kind of stuff kind of flows with all of it.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious since you're bringing up photographers, videographers, like content creators, what is it like for you?
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of like what other people are seeing could be this like tagged from someone else kind of thing.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: How does that relationship kind of work and like what's it what's it like on your end of things?
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like tagged from a photographer.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so like you're see people are seeing like everyone's deserves flowers is represented by this photographer's photos, and like how does that we love a good photographer?
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's all I can say.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um we're not we like to work with everybody, we love to meet new people.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: We do see a lot of albums and a lot of videos.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um and we always appreciate getting the professional photos because honestly, that's what's all over our Instagram too.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you guys for doing what you do.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's just so interesting to me.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I know you could take your own photos, you can use your phone, but like it's just it's not the same.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's not the same.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a little biased because you know, cameras, but um it just it's so interesting to me for you to have this like sort of reliance on a good photographer doing a good job and representing your product really well on a wedding day.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: And our Instagram will never be completely consistent because it's filled with so many different edits, and you just got to get over that.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, but yeah, there's you know, great photographers out there that do amazing work and give us all of the content that we need.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure that part's nice.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's wonderful.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what would you say is one thing that makes a floral installment, or you know, if you're thinking like the entirety of the florals for a wedding day, what's one thing that makes it truly unforgettable?
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, honestly, just remaining true to the couple and things that are meaningful to them, even when it comes to flowers.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: So over the years, I have seen so many trends come in and out, and couples go with a trend as opposed to what they're into, like the boho trend.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not boho, I'm not outdoorsy, I'm a Jersey girl.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: That would, it just doesn't fit me.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but I've seen it happen.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I have a feeling that some people might look back and be like, that was silly.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: Why do we have all this pampas grass?
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: But I just think that remaining true to who you guys are as a couple and your style helps bring it all together and unforgettable.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: And also there's just like maybe religious factors or memorial factors that you might want to put in there.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: I love the idea too of it being like a pass or fail based off of how true to yourself it was, and not just like, oh, we followed the trend and it was fun and cool.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, what are you gonna want if you look back on these florals in 10 years or 15 years?
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: You'd be like, oh, that still feels like us.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: And not just like, oh, that was a weird, why do I why do we do that?
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: You just hit the nail on the head.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: That is one of the conversations I have with almost every bride on the phone is are you gonna look back at this orange and blue wedding in 10 years and wonder, did I really love the Knicks?
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, and they're like, you know what?
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's where this year, yeah.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: They won.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they really like them this year.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, cool.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: I don't basketball.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, that's where I'm like classic and timeless florals are definitely something that I fall to my own trend with.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: This has been so good.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: I have a couple questions left.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a little bit more of like forward thinking on one of them.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, where do you see everyone deserves flowers going in the future?
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like we're really at a comfortable spot.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um like, don't change a thing.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's great.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we we have a full book book for the past few years, and we are very grateful for that.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: I have amazing freelancers that work with me um to help me because there's this is not a one-person thing at all.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm very grateful to have like built this team and we all work together, we help each other.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: So right now I feel like we are at a very comfortable spot and we have the systems and the processes in place.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what that means for me.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's always been a dream to have a storefront, but then there's days that weddings just take up so much of the time.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how I would do it.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it'd be a whole different venture.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's a whole nother thing.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe one day.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, okay, two more questions.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: One's a fast one.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: What's your favorite flower to be working with right now?
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like this right now.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right the second.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right the second.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, well, peony are my favorite flower.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: Which I feel like every girl says that.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I actually chose to get married in June in the middle of wedding season myself because I needed peony everywhere.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I love orchids.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: I really do.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that everyone deserves orchids should be my new mantra.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: Just change your whole brand because of the one flower.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's so fun.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, last question.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's been so fun.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what do you hope that people experience by working with you and your brand and everyone that's like associated with everyone deserves flowers?
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I just hope that they're comfortable.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, honestly, when I'm on the phone with them, I want them to be comfortable.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me exactly what your budget is and what you're looking for, and get off the phone with a sense of relief.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like, wow, I was really nervous about this, but now I feel really good about the vision and bringing it all together.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just that's and at the end of the day, if the review says she put me at ease, I'm like, got it, got it.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this has been so fun, Amanda.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: Hearing your story, hearing more about everyone deserves flowers and the heart behind it all, where can people find and follow along with what you're doing?
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, Instagram is a Rolodex of our work, and I try to be pretty vigilant with keeping up with it.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: So at everyone underscore deserves underscore flowers.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then we have Facebook and my website, everyonedeservesflowers.com.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: And if you didn't catch any of that, all the links will be in the description below.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: You can just click and connect.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but if you've made it this far in the episode, I really appreciate you tuning in.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope this episode has brought a ton of value hearing Amanda's story, hearing more about florals, the do's and don'ts, all the tips and tricks.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's been so fun for me to learn more about you and your business.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's been fun.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_01: If you know someone who's getting married and they need flowers, share this episode with them because they might learn something new about florals that they didn't know before.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the whole goal with this podcast is connecting vendors, getting their story out there, and allowing them to use their experience, like you were talking about, and help couples learn what they don't know because they don't know what they don't know until they realize they don't know it.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, honestly.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but thank you guys for tuning in to this episode.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: We will catch you next time on the preferred list.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you.