A few words about weddings, etiquette and magic. We recently did a wedding at a really spectacular setting for a super sweet couple. This is where the magic ends. I wasn't sure whether or not I would (or should) share with you my feelings about weddings and more specifically this one particular wedding, but I think I should. Maybe someone else (you) could learn from our experience. Always trust your gut. Always.
I am reluctant to do floral work for wedding ceremonies. Not all of them mind you, because the ones I have done in the past have had a spectacular essence to them. But I am aware of the excessiveness that certain weddings carry. I don't want to contribute to the waste of flowers and water. The stress is usually high and the sleep very little. The focus on perfection is relentless, the work strenuous. It is a lot of prep work and a lot of caffeine (and time away from Aele). I much rather be in a field picking wildflowers with my girls and Aele in my arms! This particular wedding was something that I have so fortunately avoided all these years. We worked with an event company, not the bride and groom. As a general rule I like to meet the person who I am creating for, see if we connect (or not) and feel out the vibe. There was a lot (a lot) of negotiating and going back and forth with what we were presenting and what the event company wanted, not with what the bride wanted. Wait a minute, whose wedding is it anyways? Already at this point we had our doubts. There was a lot of pressure and questioning of everything and not a lot of trust in our abilities. This is something that we have never experienced. I need to trusted, to be given the space to both create and to allow my
floral magicians working along my side to do the same. To do what they
do best (there is a reason I work with them after all). Positively
and encouraging, I take care of my team and in return they work above
and beyond. I am grateful and trusting of my team. I could not
do it without them (Alana I hope that you are reading this). We are a
family and approach the work in front of us with excitement, enthusiasm
and most of all, love. I digress, sorry. Back to this wedding. After every email or phone call, I would feel the magic of what would usually be something wondrous and delicately beautiful, slipping away. It dwindled until finally there was none. Zero. There was no room for any creative whims. Nothing wild and free. Our hearts were not in it. I'm not sure what we were really hired for? At this point I realized that we just needed to put our heads down and get through it because we had committed, not to the event company but to the kind couple that was getting married - this is not the way I want to work. I also tend to have a rebellious spirit when put in micro-managing working conditions. I cannot explain it but I start to stubbornly work against the flow. This is not what I want. Not what my team wants. This is definitely not what the event company wants. Long story kept short, the flowers turned out beautifully and we not only held our own in a rather unfriendly and oppressively hot working environment (over one hundred degrees that weekend), but we managed to help the event company's team finish up their end! We never received a thank you, a gracious nod of acknowledgement, or a simple smile. I was dumbfounded. A lesson in manners: always take the time to acknowledge hard work and say thank you. That is pretty straight forward, right? All this really made me feel this upset. My dream team did not deserve this and I think my inner motherhood came out to defend. And so I share all this here with you.
OK, all this to say dear reader, TIGERS to LILIES will do weddings. But we are selective. I hope that after reading this you too will understand where we are coming from. Creating the festive magic that only flowers carry for a ceremony of love is as dreamy as it gets. I would love to read your thoughts about this subject if you want to share.
