What Do Florists Bring To a Wedding?

How do florists set up a wedding?

When I was first starting my home-studio floral business almost 20 years ago, I often felt like I was pulling a rabbit out of my hat on the day-of a wedding. I was passionate about weddings and flowers and running my own business, but I was still “new enough” that I was making a lot of it up as I went along. Sometimes, I didn’t know if I’d even finish setting up on time. Luckily I always did, but the pressure is real when you’re a wedding pro because there are no do-overs (and we are expected to make magic)!

As I gained experience, I developed systems to streamline my wedding-day set-up, as well as my entire week-of-the-wedding prep, and I know that whether you’ve been a wedding florist for 1 year or 20 years, you’re always learning something new! For example, over the last several years I’ve been working to cut out floral foam in my weddings and that’s changed my day-of and week-of prep!

FYI I’ll be sharing my recent #foamfree wedding mechanics and week-of tips inside my Patreon Creator Page this month. Patreon members get access to my best tips for booking weddings and you can ask me anything so if you have questions, I’ll answer them here! I’ll be taking members inside my week-of prep for an $11,000 wedding including the foam free mechanics I used (and then reused the next weekend, too!). Click here to access my Patreon page!

Today, I want to share this behind-the-scenes look at my “bag of tricks” so you can see what I bring with me to every wedding day set-up. It’s so important to have the right tools for the job–click to see what’s in my bag!

Remember: I’m continuing to answer the question: “how do you actually do a wedding” for the florists on my Patreon Creator Page, and you’re invited to join me there! Access starts at just $3 and you’ll unlock a ton of tips and lessons on how to book better clients, build a strong brand, and design beautiful weddings! Click to join me.

Patreon is a place where artists and teachers create content for their Patrons. There is no obligation–you can cancel your subscription any time. Hop in to grab the tips you need, hop out any time.

Do you have questions for me? I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. You can learn more about me here.

xo. -Alison

Additional Resources for Florists:

Find more tips on Wedding Day Prep HERE.

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Successful Floral Business Tips

How do you define success in your business?

This is not a trick question! And there isn’t one correct answer, but it can still feel tricky to answer for yourself!

Every florist must determine their own version of success, but what does that really mean in your business? Let’s talk about it!

Click to watch a replay of this livestream from my Facebook group that I hope will help you define your own version of success!

FYI you’ll find the infographic I mention in this video below! And you can click HERE to read the full post on Running A Successful Floral Business!

Looking for More?

Grab my Business Plan Jumpstart HERE for just $20.
Join me on Patreon HERE for as little as $3.
Learn more about Alison HERE.

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Running A Floral Business

As a floralpreneur® who’s been running my wedding-based business for over 19 years, I know that there isn’t 1 right way to become a successful florist and everyone’s road looks a little bit different. Running a floral business–or any business for that matter–isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s hard work. There’s risk and uncertainty. And owners are often overworked and underpaid when they’re just starting out. But business savvy florists build businesses they love.

I’ve worked hard over these last 2 decades to create a business that I love. It suits my life and allows me to feel creative and turn a profit. I enjoy my business and my life because I set my goals with intention and develop reliable steps that streamline my workflow.

I love my customers, I consistently turn a profit, and I design work I’m proud to deliver.

That’s how I measure success. What does success look like to you?

Here’s a breakdown of what it takes to run a successful floral design business (see infographic below):

It’s not easy to grow a business when you’re on your own.

That’s why I founded a free Facebook community, Real Flower Business with Alison Ellis, 5 years ago, so that I could share some of the systems I’ve created and the lessons I’ve learned to help encourage and reassure floralpreneurs who are on your own floral journey, still carving a niche and finding your leadership role.

When I realized it was the group’s 5th anniversary, it felt like something to celebrate! There’s no other group that nurtures florists’ success quite like this one. I’m so honored to be a part of this community that includes highly experienced florist, aspiring floral designers, wholesalers, farmer-florists and home-studio side-hustlers who are dedicated to lifelong learning and sharing with their peers.

It’s a privilege to be part of a community that’s been growing together for 5 years! If you’re not already a member of my free group, click here to join and make sure to answer the questions for speedy approval.

I Can Take You Further. Take Another Step With Me:

If you’re a florist who wants to book more weddings, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You can eliminate price shoppers and book customers more quickly by employing a few simple and proven strategies I teach in The 3 Keys to Booking Great Clients. You can get access to my tried-and-true booking shortcuts, as I walk through The 3 Keys to Booking Great Clients by joining me as a Patreon member (click here to join!).

I’ve been booking weddings for 19 years and I’ve been perfecting my booking systems all along the way. When you join me as a Patreon Member you get the most up-close-and-personal access to me and my booking process.

Plus you can “Ask Alison Anything”. I’ll answer your question and probably even turn it into a video lesson so that you can watch or rewatch anytime you want. You can send a private message so your questions remain confidential. This Patreon membership allows me to answer your specific questions in depth.

Seriously, it’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet of booking and branding tips starting at just $3!

Here’s just some of what you’ll unlock as soon as you become a Patreon Member:

How I booked 3 new clients in 1 week
Wedding Week Prep: See my entire week’s prep in 15 minutes
How to Handle Price Increases and Flower Substitutions
Foam Free Floral Arbor Recipe & Profit Breakdown
How many revisions do you make to a proposal?
Should Florists Charge for Proposals?
Tips on Sending a Non-itemized Proposal
Walk through a customer’s Inspiration board and then, see what I made in real life
#1 Tip To Stop Writing Quotes For Clients Who Cannot Afford You

Join Real Flower Business as a Patreon Member today!

Patreon truly is like a buffet of booking and brand building tips, but you can choose the membership tier that works best for you.

Breakdown of Patreon Membership Levels:

The most popular membership is the Marketing Maven Tier at $29. You get access to every single lesson ever posted, plus a Transcript of a Real Wedding Consultation so you can be a fly on the wall for an initial call, plus monthly blog and social media prompts to help you post with intention and attract the best clients. Marketing Mavens get 5 Blog and Instagram prompts on the first Monday of every month!

Consultation Closer at the $19 Level get access to everything in the above tier, minus the monthly branding prompts.Patreon Members at this level can also access:
- A Transcript of a Wedding Consultation
- Over a dozen videos on the 3 Keys to Booking
- 5 Website & Branding Tips
- Build your dream into a business plan: LIVE session replay
- Blog Challenge (Days 1 & 2 PLUS Workbooks)
- Tips on Creativity & Discipline
- Replay: Live Chat on Setting Minimums

Members in the Booking Basics Level at $9 can access over a dozen video lessons in The 3 Keys to Booking Great Clients Series, and access all new monthly lessons.

For just $3 Floralpreneur® Foundation Subscribers can access the first 3 videos in The 3 Keys to Booking Great Clients Series, plus you get limited-time access to new monthly behind-the-scenes lessons.

A few notes:

You can upgrade or downgrade your subscription at any time and there is no obligation, so you can cancel any time.
New members are billed on the day you sign up and then on the first day of each month moving forward.
When new lessons are posted, you’ll get an e-mail notification so you can click over to check it out and there’s even a mobile app for easy access to your Patreon feed from anywhere.

Whether you join me as a Patreon supporter or you continue to partake in my free resources here on my blog or over in my Facebook group, on YouTube or Instagram, thanks for being on this floral journey with me!

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison

Learn More About Alison:

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How Long Do Flowers Last?

Even talented floral designers can sometimes miss the fundamentals of floristry.

Whether you learned in a traditional flower shop, graduated from floristry school or you’re learning on your own as you go, every florist has more to learn. That’s why I’m spending the month of April answering questions from new florists (aka “newbies”). Today’s question is on flower longevity: How long do flowers last?

A florist wrote to say: “Thanks for the doing the newbie Q&A’s. I have a question. Google seems to give me all sorts of answers. How long can flowers and greenery stay in the cooler before they are not good anymore and I need to throw them away? Thank you!”

There are a few things to consider, of course, so click to watch my answer below! (And click HERE to submit a “newbie question” for me to answer this month!)

A few things I mention you should consider around longevity:

Season. Is this flower in season right now?
What’s its nature? Is this flower more delicate or fragile (ie spring blooms like tulips, daffodils and lilacs)? Or is it more hardy (like Italian ruscus, or a tropical orchid or anthurium)?
How old is the product when it got to you?
How did you care for the flowers once you received them?
Certain flowers and greens can be stored for longer periods of time if they are dry packed (ie not in water).
Ethylene gas causes flowers to mature more quickly AND fruits and flowers both share the same chemical makeup.
I also mentioned apical dominance, which you can see in action in my video, 2 Gladiola Tips on my YouTube channel HERE!

Thanks so much for tuning into my newbie tips this month.

It’s fun to answer your questions and share what I’ve learned over nearly 3 decades in the floral industry. I’ll see you all week long on Instagram with more Tips for Newbies!

To learn more about me, click here to reach my bio and click here to download my FREE eBook, Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business!

xo. -Alison

P.S. A few people I mentioned in today’s chat include:

Watch a tour of Ben Cross in his sustainable alstroemeria nursery HERE.
Mountain Flower Farm grows and ships beautiful peonies HERE.
Follow Francoise Weeks for inspiration on using unique botanical materials.
My tee shirt, No Rain, No Flowers, is available on Botanical Brouhaha HERE. (I really love this tee shirt!)

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Should Florists Charge for Proposals?

A question I’ve seen florists ask more often than usual this year is: Should I charge for proposals?

This is a BIG question and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer, but in today’s livestream I tackle some of the things you’ll want to consider before implementing a new proposal fee. Click to watch!

A few key points to consider:

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