…but you might know me as Annie. Anne, if you go way, way back. I’m a little too loud to be considered a chameleon, but I certainly wear/have worn a lot of hats over the years, especially in the events industry. It took me nearly a decade of experience to try on the flower hat, though, and was excited to discover a pretty good fit!

In this post, I hope to avoid writing a manifesto. I want to write about why I do what I do and how I do it (important!), how I got started (in case you ever want to), and talk about my ideal client (in case you happen to be it!). It should be fun, and, at the very least, I’ll include some pictures of flowers so you’ll at least have something pretty to look at. Let’s get into it!

Why I do what I do, and how:

• Because nature rocks. I love this weird human inclination to infuse nature into our most important life events. I also really love events and people and seeing the delight on peoples faces when they see beautiful things
• Because our earth needs help – I’m trying to find practices within my work that can help transform the norm in the floral design industry
• Because, especially during COVID, I realized the importance of community, and I see flowers as a potential (partial) solution. For example, my brides have the option to “flower it forward” after their wedding- which means donating their flowers to any number of worthy folks in our community. You should see the notes I get from nursing homes in particular. Waterworks.

How I got started.

I used to be a measly unpaid intern at a wedding planning company that provided simple floral work for their clients. That’s how I (illegally? maybe?) got access to a floral wholesaler that graciously allowed me to still purchase their products for the next few years as I did the odd wedding here and there. Sickening levels of student debt later, I had my events degree and started working a standard 9-5 while playing in a band to fill up my bottomless creativity tank. After I did my own wedding and those of a couple family members, I decided to quit my job to stay home a little longer with my newborn before reentering the job market. Rather unintentionally, I got more wedding requests and decided it was probably time to at least do things above the table. Call it mom brain, call it unmedicated ADD, but I honestly don’t remember much of the in-between. I have 23 weddings in the works, and somewhere along the way God saw fit to put an idea in my head that was smarter than I possibly could have come up with on my own: I put together a great advisory board who has guided me through putting together a website, a marketing plan, and a vision for the future of Floriography. At some point, I’ll share the iterations of my “business growth plan” because the early versions are 5 bullet points long and hilariously simple.

So where am I now?

Taking a lot of weddings. Bracing myself for 2022, which promises to be one of the biggest wedding years in recent history since the COVID regulations are expected to lift. Learning to say “no,” to weddings that aren’t worth my time or don’t fit my style.

I noticed a few things about my ideal client, so (warning: shameless plug ahead) if you’re engaged and resonate with these statements… please slide into my DMs.

• “I genuinely like things that aren’t for everyone – things in my life don’t feel me if they feel like anyone would buy/wear/display them.” From dried materials to interesting color palettes to unique textures- we love a fun and fresh take!
• “I love a good road trip.” Discovering your flower vision can be a lot like that- looking at some gorgeous nature, a couple good conversations, and some accidental knowledge about what’s important to you!
• “Okay, so my whole closet isn’t from Goodwill… but some of my favorite pieces are hand-me-downs from my quirky aunt or a fun trip to a thrift store.” We love giving things a second life and making weddings and individual pieces have a hand-picked, custom feel.
• “I’ve been called out for over-thinking… maybe more than once.” There are two solutions here: one, let’s put that deep thinking to use! Want to select flowers for their meaning/etymology? Awesome! Want to figure out what you and your SO’s birth flowers are and incorporate that into your wedding? Super cool! Two, take a load off and let me do the over-thinking for you. Tell me all your dreams and I’ll put things into a practical perspective for you and talk through all the steps so you don’t have to worry about any of them.

So that’s a little bit about me and what you can expect from me as a florist. I’m a whole bunch of creative energy waiting to be channeled, with some solid experience and organization to back it up. I am excited to see where this new career path takes me, and really passionate about making every wedding feel like a personal reflection of the couple.

Endings are hard, so… FIN.