Things I have learnt as a wedding florist .

Dot and the Dandelion is 8 .  Some thoughts on what I have learnt so far ….

Everyone is answering to someone else on a wedding day . 

Whether it be a groom, a church warden, a toddler, God, everyone has someone to answer to on a wedding day, and this can make for a tense atmosphere - suddenly bouquet ribbons being wet or the fact that you have loaded something to the wrong entrance or where you have parked your van is a big, big deal. Don’t sweat it. Ride the waves, be a yes man, everyone just wants to please the couple, and that's no bad thing. 

Dot and the Dandelion floral design .

You are going to get ghosted.

Look, it happens. You make a beautiful proposal, you get excited, think this design has legs, and then… nada. You got ghosted—it sucks. Don’t let it get you down. Unlike dating, it's most likely not because they are just not that into you. It’s most likely because someone has offered them a better price—yes, they have undercut you, and you know what? You have probably undercut another florist for another job. It’s the circle of life.

That or their mother in law has offered to do the flowers for them and well …. we all know how that works out .

Stretch 

Baz Luhrmann famously tells us to wear sunscreen . He also suggests that we stretch and that is solid, solid  advice for a florist. 

I am yet to meet a florist who doesn’t have some kind of twinge or ache. We know that our job is not just ‘playing with flowers all day’.

We gotta stretch folks simple as that . Urns are not getting any lighter. 

You have to go on holiday, probably in January 

There is a high chance that as a florist, you are going to work a lot of weekends, particularly those lovely ones in the height of summer. You will probably miss a fair few birthdays and festivals; even Christmas can be tricky. Then there are all the evening calls with couples to fit around their working days, the ordering, the cleaning. It's a fabulous job, but it's time-consuming, plus florists are all perfectionists and love making a rod for our own backs. 

Everyone needs a break, and January is your time to book that time off. Spent too much on dried limes at Christmas and not feeling flush? No problem. I don’t care if your holiday looks like sitting in your living room watching Gilmore Girls for a week. Just book it off and have a diggi detox. You will come back revived, fresh with new ideas.

Instagram isn’t real

Here’s the thing. We all do it  doom scroll looking at all the florists online who seem to be more creative , more successful , have better natural light in their studio, have time to make their hair look good on install days . It fills you with despair…. but instagram is not real . 

No one is showing you the ordering of cable ties, the unloading of a pack-down, them paying invoices because it's not pretty, it's boring, but we’re all doing it. Don’t be fooled by a reel backed to a song you once loved and now has been remixed to oblivion. It’s not reality.

Use instagram to inspire you, to connect with the floral community and most importantly for the lols . 

If it’s making you feel insubstantial have a break , have a Kit Kat

Dot and the Dandelion floral design .

Take time with your buttonholes 

People , buttonholes are important I know they are not the biggest of the designs but don’t forget about them, give some love to the humble buttonhole!

People don’t know what they don’t know

Ever been told ‘I could grow those flowers instead of buying them’ or ‘is there a way I could have that design but cheaper?’ Or the OG ‘flowers are so expensive’ comments that can really bum you out or, depending on where you are in your cycle, tick you off.

But people really don’t know what they don’t know. People don’t know that a fancy rose can cost £3.31 before VAT—I didn’t before becoming a florist.

My point is that you have to break it down sometimes and explain how it works. How would they know if we don’t tell them?

And finally 

Enjoy it

Is there anything better than looking at all your conditioned flowers and picking those first stems? I think not. 

It’s a dreamy, dreamy job thats probably going to give you sciatica and a life long caffeine addiction but to work with flowers is true joy .

Xxxx