What’s the Difference Between a Florist and a Floral Designer for Weddings? | WDP Ep 64

🎧 Listen to learn:

• What’s the difference between a florist and a floral designer
• How designers pivot when weather changes wedding day plans
• How a floral design studio approaches weddings differently than a flower shop
• Why timeless wedding flowers matter more than following trends
• How sculptural floral installations transform ceremony and reception spaces

In this episode of Wedding Day Podcast, host Sonja Babich, CEO of Iron Diamond Media, and co-host Alexis Sanabria, Publisher of Oregon Wedding Day, Washington Wedding Day and California Wedding Day, sit down with Summer Robbins, owner and creative director of Bend-based floral design studio Summer Robbins Flowers. Recorded in Lake Oswego, Oregon, the conversation explores the artistic and intuitive approach behind her sculptural wedding florals.

Summer shares how her background in fashion design and the experience of designing her own wedding in 2015 led her into the floral industry. She explains the distinction between a traditional florist and an event-focused floral design studio, emphasizing a design-first mindset rooted in collaboration, seasonality and personal connection. Rather than replicating Pinterest trends, she studies each couple’s broader aesthetic world to create florals that feel timeless and uniquely theirs.

Together, the group discusses editorial installations, working directly with couples, managing unpredictable Pacific Northwest weather and how creative pivots often produce the most memorable results. The episode closes on the emotional significance of delivering the bridal bouquet—an intimate moment that transforms anticipation into presence and makes the wedding day feel real.