Kelly and Paul, Plumpjack Squaw Valley

Dahlias and lisianthus headline this rustic bouquet

I have to take credit as more than just the florist for this beautiful mountain wedding.  Some co-conspirators and myself introduced Paul and Kelly at a Christmas party and before we knew it, we could add matchmaker to our list of talents.
When Paul and Kelly announced their engagement, all of their friends were so excited for the Canadian bachelor and his sweet spunky architect fiance.  I was not expecting to be asked to do their flowers just because I was their friend but was happy to oblige when Kelly asked if she could come by the shop for a consultation.
At first I thought it would be easy to be the florist for a friend's wedding.  I had known the groom for over 10 years and Kelly and I had become friends in the years Paul and her were dating.  Then it hit me.  All of a sudden, I doubted every aspect of my design capabilities.  When making her sample bouquet about a month before the wedding, I fiddled with it, looked at it from every angle and made sure it was perfect.  Once she saw it, loved it and didn't completely rip it apart, my doubts were squashed.  I had this huge burden lifted and I had to remind myself this is what I do for a living.  With the wedding being someone I know I worked myself up and doubted my capabilities for nothing.
Fast forward to the day of the wedding.  It was at Plumpjack Inn in Squaw Vally, a quaint little inn at the foot of the ski slopes.  The couple is  not originally from this area so family and friends came in from all over the continent, from Canada to Connecticut.  I arrived early to allow ample time to set up and then go to my room to get ready to enjoy the party.  The flowers were fantastic, in my humble opinion, but the entire wedding was magical.  The setting was by itself gorgeous.  They got married in a little alcove next to a babbling creek with the Sierras as a backdrop.  Besides the venue, Paul and Kelly paid special attention to entertaining their guests from far and wide.  They set up an entire weekend of activities, rafting one day, a relaxing beach day another.  Once the party started, I was just a guest at one of the most beautiful weddings I have been to.  It could be I am a little biased because it was the wedding of two very special people to me but I think I would stand in my opinion even if I was just the florist.

All Photography by Bret Cole, bretcole.com

Hidden Solace in South Lake Tahoe

I get the opportunity to visit some of the event venues we have in this area pretty regularly.  Last week we went to a gorgeous location right on the banks of South Lake Tahoe.  You wouldn't know Lakeland Village was there just by driving by, it has a sign but is surrounded by trees and a fence to help keep the traffic noise to a minimum.  They offer beachside weddings and have an entire condominium complex for guests to stay.  They also have an outdoor patio on top of their clubhouse with phenomenal views of Lake Tahoe.   
I am partial to this little piece of heaven because I have had the luxury of staying here on a few occasions, for a wedding where we got to enjoy the gorgeous reception area overlooking the lake and also during Super Bowl weekend when a bunch of friends get together in #633 to watch the game and ski.  Well they ski, I am not crazy so I stay at the condo and get the food ready.  My buddies at the Victorian House are already planning vacations and even a retreat!  
Prices are reasonable and guest wanting to stay there for a wedding will get special pricing.  As far as the facilities manager told me, they do not have nearly the amount of weddings they should.  They have everything from one bedroom lofts with kitchenettes to 5 bedroom lakefront townhomes that will make you feel like P Diddy (or is it Puff Daddy this week?  I digress)

I just hope the people on charge of Lakeland don't get any crazy ideas and do something crazy, like raise their prices or close the pool in the winter. Oh, I didn't mention that? Yea, they keep the pool open All. YEAR. LONG. You're Welcome!

The Victorian House: Great Concept, Exceptional Professionals

Fate can sometimes throw you a screwball.  While working on my business plan for the upcoming year in December of 2010, one of the avenues of my business I wanted to expand was the wedding business.  I was contemplating joining some local business groups that focus on weddings and thinking of ways to expand our reach from just The Carson Valley to all of Northern Nevada and California.  About 2 weeks before Mother's Day (a horribly busy holiday for all of you non-florists,) I get a call from a great friend that thought of me when a spot opened up at The Victorian House in Reno for a florist.  Mind you, we were already planning a shop move but this was an oppurtunity to great to pass up.

The concept at The Victorian House is to have a place where couples can come and have reliable event professionals all in one place.  There is only one professional per category and we all have space in beautifully decorated space near Downtown Reno.  Now, the idea is not that we only refer to each other, we all work with a variety of vendors from every avenue of an event.  It is just to make a couple feel confident in the professionals they book and to save them some time.  We have all been vetted and not just anyone can become a part of the house.  An added benefit is that we work together well and can coordinate with each other without having to bother our brides and grooms. I for one would have loved a place like this when planning my wedding!  I am in the wedding business and had multiple vendors at my wedding that were not honest and did not produce what they had been contracted to do.  Every facet of your wedding is covered at The Victorian House: cake, catering, photography, event planning, invitations, hair and make up and of course, FLOWERS! 

So, I have been a member for six months and my wedding business has expanded but even better, I have a better understanding of the wedding business as a whole and have gained priceless knowledge and ideas to sustain my entire business.  I am excited to see what the new year brings and ready to jump in with both feet!

Is Wedding Season Over Already?

Carson City Foothills

It feels like the Sierras just got warm enough to thaw out and all of a sudden we are faced with chilly nights again.  We have had a busy summer, we moved to a smaller shop in Carson City so we could open an event and wedding workplace in Reno.  We also have been busy with the wonderfully rustic, elegant weddings we get to do in this part of the world.  I was racking my brain trying to come up with ideas for another post (a friend of mine said I have to do at least one per week which sounds like homework to me) and I thought, " Why not a little something about how awesome it is to live and do weddings here?"  The best part about this area is the variety of wedding locations.  Lake Tahoe is a big draw for local couples and as a destination wedding for visitors.  Reno has a few beautiful venues for weddings as well as casinos that have recently renovated their wedding chapels to get away from cheesy silk flowers and gaudy gold.  Virginia City is a great place for western themed weddings while the Carson Valley offers panoramic views of the Sierras at about half the price. This summer we have had a rustic wedding in Tahoe, an ultra chic and contemporary in Genoa and a backyard, simple wedding North of Reno.  They were all beautiful and vastly different.  That what makes my job so much fun, I get to meet with couples and find out what their style is.  It makes my job easier because all of the weddings we do are so different from  the ones we did the week before.  I don't have to sit at my work station and do the same style, the same way every time we have a wedding.   We live in one of the most beautiful areas in the world and I feel so lucky that I get to be part of some of the most beautiful weddings here.  Now, if I can just figure out how to use my cellphone...                          

Dragged Into Cyberspace Kicking and Screaming

Alright, alright, I will make an effort to join the rest of my generation and start a blog. What makes this blog about the adventures of a thirty something florist any different from the thousands of other flower blogs? Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I would love to say I am an evil floral genius, poised to take over the world one stem at a time but I am not.  I am just a girl who would rather slave over the menial tasks of cleaning up the shop, washing buckets and comparing prices by night just so I can create something beautiful or make a wedding day special during the day.  That sounds way cheesy but weddings make me cheesy. And for some reason I feel the need to share it all with the world.

  There is something to be said for all of the hoopla of a wedding.  The atmosphere is usually accompanied by spectacular scenery or amazing architecture, guests and participants usually take a shower and run a comb through their hair, and love is in the air.  The bride and groom stand in front of their friends and family and profess their undying love for one another, vow to spend the rest of their lives together and have the glow if two people so happy and in love.  It is all so cheesy and it makes one believe there is still something pure and good in this world.

   I am relatively new to the wedding floral industry but have been a florist for seven years, having worked for my Sister-in-law in the retail floral business.  We have done weddings but I want to get a bigger piece of the wedding pie.  I am of the opinion that I employ two of the best designers on God's green earth and I need the world to know.  I watch Oprah, I have seen what some of those high falutin florist do and I am of the opinion that Reno, Lake Tahoe and the surrounding areas deserve Oprah flowers.  Spectacular, creative and the perfect accompaniment to someone's perfect day.

           So enough with the fluffy wedding cheesiness, let's get to the real reason anyone starts a blog, to talk about themselves.  Like I said, I have been in the business for seven years, having purchased Alie's Flowers & Gifts from my sister-in-law almost two years ago.  I had been looking for a way to work long hours for very little money and I found it.  The great part about my job is the creative aspect and of course the fact that I can proclaim that I am the boss and that my way goes.  Not that The Girls pay any attention to me but I can proclaim my rank nonetheless.  I think outside the box and like to think I come up with some pretty beautiful creations that are not average.
   Aah, The Girls, how I heart them so.  Holly and Meaghan are a mother/daughter duo I picked up in Wichita while attending a floral convention in '86.  Actually, Holly came with the place and Meaghan joined the team a little after I started and I was 8 in '86 but I really want to take credit for these two amazing designers.  They are fantastic at what they do and they love what they do.  Sure, they complain like a couple of four-year-olds but at the end of the day, they don't want to have to report to an office either.  Holly is the one we have to watch, if I let her, she would burn the place down without Meaghan or I there to supervise her.  She started with Alie's 15 years ago and we can't seem to get rid of her.  She threatens to retire, I threaten to jump off a bridge if she does and the whole thing gets swept under the rug for another day.  Her designs are contemporary, creative and crazy enough to be cute.  She is my mentor and well, she had Meaghan for the sole purpose of continuing a floral legacy so there you go.  If I can ever figure out how to post pictures on this new fangled contraption I will put a picture of their smiling faces up for all to see.

    Then there is Meaghan.  Meaghan is a foul mouthed former punk rock kid that makes the most delicate, fantastic designs.  She sometimes forgets to comb he hair but Holy Mackerel she creates some really feminine, beautiful bouquets.  You really need to see her corsage bows too, they look like Cinderella's mice crept in and worked all night they are so small.  All kidding aside, she is the cog in the Alie's machine that makes it run as smoothly as it does.  She does the boring stuff like paperwork and she organizes like no other.  Anything from office supplies to vases, she can't help but make the shop a big ball of organized chaos. 

   If anyone has stuck around long enough to get to this point, Thanks.  I hope to be able to put some poignant and cohesive thoughts together for future posts but I feel like the first blog has so many directions to go.  I want you all to like me so I need to talk about how awesome I am so you will come back but I also need you to know what we are all about and how awesome our flowers are so you will feel like your time is well spent and you come back.  Seriously, quit putting so much pressure on me.