We’re so excited to continue our behind-the-scenes series on our blog, and we’re letting you see all the work that goes into your wedding day, including your floral design! Our amazing Lead Planner, Shelby tells us in her own words how she prepares for your big day:
A Little Background
Before I jump into all things floral design, I thought it would be a good idea to share a little bit about my journey on Marylee’s team and how I ended up working primarily on floral design! Back in 2018, I started as an event stylist working with other lead planners to assist them in bringing the day to life! I loved this role so much and learned so much from Marylee that in the spring of 2019 I approached Marylee about starting my own planning business. She was so incredibly supportive and helped me get started, and I’ll never be able to thank her enough for her time and generosity in teaching me literally everything she knows!
I stayed on with Marylee, lead planning for her team while I was growing my own business until I reached a place in my business until I could take it full-time. Because of this, my role within the team shifted to primarily being focused on floral prep, design, and decor rental. I still lead plan with the team from time to time and LOVE doing that, but recently I’ve been helping during the weekday hours with all things floral!
Let's Get Started
As you all know, Marylee Marmer Events moved into a new space in the early Spring, The Brickhouse RVA. Well, did you know that the downstairs of The Brickhouse RVA is Marylee Marmer Events central?! It’s where all things floral prep, design, and decor take place! This space has been a game changer in creating beautiful floral designs for weddings and acting as a cohesive space for the team to work together!
Clean and Reset
The space downstairs is prepped and cleaned on Tuesdays to prepare for that week’s incoming floral delivery. Floral buckets are scrubbed and filled with fresh water, countertops are wiped clean, and the floors are swept. This reset also includes cleaning and restocking any decor from the previous weekend. This can consist of reshelving signage, cleaning out vases, and replacing burnt candles with fresh ones.
Floral Delivery and Processing
Depending on the date of the wedding, flowers typically arrive between Tuesday and Thursday. Most of the time they are delivered on Thursday and are processed that same day. What does processing flowers look like? I’m so glad you asked! Processing flowers consists of opening each bunch of flowers, cutting fresh stems, removing leaves and thorns (ouch, roses!) and placing them in freshwater. Depending on the size of the flower delivery, this process can take multiple hours with multiple team members working. A lot of love goes into making the flowers look their best so they can open and bloom just in time for your big day!
Design Time
Marylee provides detailed instructions to the team for the items needing to be designed for a wedding. These instructions consist of the number of bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, centerpieces, etc. and come with inspiration pictures provided by the couple. While Marylee builds the bride’s bouquet, the team gets started on the other items and it truly is a joint effort to bring these beauties to life! There are times when certain designs have to be built on-site, such as arch installments or greenery runners. We prep the flowers as much as we can beforehand and make sure to pack all necessary tools (like shears, zip ties, and floral wire) to take to the venue. When I say that no two weddings are the same when it comes to flowers, I mean it! From all white flowers to bold, bright colors, each wedding is unique in their own way and each speaks to the style and vision of the couple. Seeing what color palette each couple has chosen as we unbox flowers each week is always so fun!
Dress it up
Marylee’s inventory of decor is out of this world! From lanterns and signage, to cake stands and votive candles, she has it all! Along with most floral designs we also have a rental order for decor. On that same list of detailed instructions, Marylee will list what's needed for the team to pull from our inventory room. We locate the items, make sure they are clean, have fresh candles if needed, count and double count the quantities of each item, and then box them up for easy transport. If there are multiple floral designs and decor rentals in one weekend (which happens more often than you think), we make sure to place items in designated corners of the space so we may keep everything as organized for the lead planner responsible!
Final Touches
With that, the weekend is here and your flowers are ready for your big day! We will install any pieces at the venue as required, ensure that all flowers look fresh and intact (no thank you, windy day), and then take a few pictures for our future couples to use as references of our work for their weddings.
Seeing the designs come together and then ultimately seeing the beautiful images captured by the photographer is always a rewarding experience. As I mentioned above, a lot of hard work and passion goes into making each wedding’s flowers unique and special and to know they will live forever either framed in your home or within your wedding albums gives us the warm and fuzzies!
Interested in hiring us for your floral designs on your wedding day? Contact us here to learn more!