The Business & Pleasure of Flowers
Join Vonda LaFever and Lori Wilson as they share expert advice, insider tips, and a whole lot of fun on all things floral. While everyone loves flowers, running a floral business can come with its fair share of challenges that might make you lose sight of the joy it brings. In this engaging and informative podcast, Vonda’s wealth of floral expertise pairs perfectly with Lori’s background in teaching, sales training, and life coaching to deliver valuable insights you can use right away.
From industry trends and the flower shop of the future to overcoming obstacles like boosting sales and building a stellar customer service team, they’ve got you covered. Discover how small shifts in your mindset and approach can create big transformations in your business and life.
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The Business & Pleasure of Flowers
A Blooming Celebration: Wedding Flowers and Design Insights
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Episode 246: Join Lori and Vonda in a heartfelt conversation as they reflect on their recent experience designing wedding flowers for a personal wedding. Though they don't typically work together in this capacity, their shared dedication and admiration for the special couple shine through. Listen in as they share takeaways and tips that are food for thought for anyone working in the industry.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
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Real Life Retail Florist
If my bride says to me, I want you to go out and see my venue so you can see what we need to do. Now I'm gonna have to charge her at least for two hours of my time. Welcome to the Business and Pleasure of Flowers. We're your host, Vonda LaFever and Lori Wilson.
SPEAKER_03And we believe that business and fun are a perfect combination. Kind of like us, Vonda. So Lori, are you rested? I am rested, but I feel like my brain has not shut down from all of the festivities. My body is rested, but keep rehashing like moments that randomly pop up in my mind of these motherfuckers.
SPEAKER_02Well, you have to have those moments because not only were we focused on the flowers, but you were focused on so many other things. I just had to focus on flowers. You just had you had the family dynamics, right? And all the the love and oh everything that went into that, and all your friends were coming, and so much that you were embracing. And plus, you worked for a full day on flowers.
SPEAKER_03For those listeners that are going, what are they talking about? My oldest son got married recently in Ohio, and you, Vonda, flew in and we did the, well, we, and by we, I mean Vonda, did the flowers for the wedding. And we used all flower click bundles, which was very cool. And I'm excited to get those pictures back too because I want to show a lot of our flower click members. Like, look what those bundles made.
SPEAKER_02It really was so efficient. Yeah, it really was. Except for the squatting.
SPEAKER_03That was one thing I just I couldn't believe, couldn't believe sore. You have I have never in my years of knowing you have ever heard you come not complain, but lament about like leg pain or foot pain ever.
SPEAKER_02And even after how many miles I went every day.
SPEAKER_03That's what I'm like, why is she sort of now?
SPEAKER_02And that's what I was trying to figure it out. I'm like, why are my thighs so stinking sore? It was because I kept squatting to pick up the bundle. So we had all the bundles all lined up. So I would go over, squat down, pick up a bundle because we didn't have any tables. So then I would go, go and get another one, go get another one. I mean, oh my gosh. You know, that was gotta be one.
SPEAKER_03It was the squats. I know I need to put squats into wow. But the funniest part was that last night when we were trying to go up the hotel stairs, and you could like you were like an 85-year-old woman. You're like, I and then you started laughing because you're like, I cannot believe my legs hurt.
SPEAKER_02I couldn't believe it. No, and then for two days afterwards, it was just like crazy. Oh, it's like you start going to the gym and doing a high impact aerobic class. That's what it was, and it really was. We just knocked it out, just for listeners. We had 12 boxes of flowers of the bundles, which have an average of eight bundles per box. So we're looking at that, and then we did have a couple of um hundred extra roses and some other foliage that we use to to complete some of the design.
SPEAKER_03Yes, Lori flowered the outline of it, and then one of the event girls came in and helped, right? She don't want. And they were so funny because the last day, or the day of the wedding, I can't remember her name, but Megan's assistant kept going over to check on you, and she'd come back to me and say, I asked her if she needed any help, and she said, No, she's good, no, she's good. She's like, but I want to help. And I was like, You gotta trust if she does need something, she will let you know. She cooked, okay. And then like 30 minutes later, she goes, I'm gonna go check again. Because she, you know, was kind of enamored with what you were doing, and she loves flowers. But I think the funniest part was that Thursday before the wedding, where first of all, we were very fortunate they gave us that big, huge kitchen to work in.
SPEAKER_02Yes, at the facility, we were able to use the whole kitchen for really a day and a half.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that was amazing. And the lady, the owner, even said, had this be a Saturday wedding, you would not be having this. But because it's a Friday wedding, they let us come in Wednesday night and then all day Thursday, just to process the flowers because all of those great. The funniest thing was on Thursday, I think I was on the floor putting water tubes on the roses, and you are up there. I mean, you know, we're all we're filthy. I was covered because you know, you're getting upset, and a woman walks in who is previewing the venue. Yeah, remember she was a girl's mother. The girl had already been out there, they were doing tours all day long. People were coming in and out, and the women started talking to us and telling us more information than we cared to know. But she was like, We get in um 2026, is the wedding, June, or whatever. But and we're like, nah, it's okay, okay. And then she started asking you questions, and then she asked if we were available to hire for the wedding, and I think it's unison.
SPEAKER_02We were like, no, we don't do no amount of money in the world, and that's when we started talking about how much respect we have for florists who are doing these weddings. You know, of course, they're doing them in their shop and they're bringing them in, but it is just it's truly a labor of love.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And so I was wondering for a florist, how many days in advance do they start working on wedding flowers? They told us when we could start. So we were sort of at their mercy. But if we had a brick and mortar flower shop there in town, when would you start working on these things?
SPEAKER_02Well, typically the flowers would probably come in on Monday or Tuesday, I would say, and they'd be processed. And you could make altar arrangements, the table arrangements, everything. You could start working on that Wednesday, Thursday for a Friday wedding. So, you know, we would have if we could have started Tuesday night, right? And had all day Wednesday, all day Thursday, it would have been very of what stressful.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Because I couldn't help you. You know, I did a little bit in the morning, then I went to the bridal suite to check on things, and they threw me in the makeup chair. And I was like, Well, I guess I'm done. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, and also we couldn't get in until nine o'clock in the morning on that Thursday, and we had to be out of there at 4:30. And most of the people who are listening who know me at all, I would have been there at 7 a.m. Yeah, latest, and stayed till at least nine, and we would have been it's like that's comfortable, comfortable. But you know, it's okay. I worked in my room for several hours.
SPEAKER_03The funny part too, when my husband and the boys they showed up and they walked in your room, and Mark goes, Is this what y'all's rooms always look like when you travel? With like, yeah, yours don't. You had machinery all over one of the beds. You had all the frassage stuff in another corner. I mean, you had it. I had my bed, I could still sleep. It was our beds. I'm glad you had two beds. It was perfect. You were up very, very late.
SPEAKER_02Later than when you and I rearranged the line because there was a lamp. It was perfect, actually. There was a nice lamp. I moved it over so I had a nice spotlight on the croissages and boutoners and the garland for the head table, and it worked out.
SPEAKER_03And then we brought you food at like 9:30. So you had a very, very, very late dinner. Yeah, it was it was beautiful. Uh hands down. I mean, wouldn't you agree? The flowers, we were very fortunate. I mean, we didn't have any issues with those boxes.
SPEAKER_02We didn't, I was just like so excited because you know, when you're working on a wedding, and this typically, if you're working in your shop, you get here's the roses, here's the large cremones, here's spray roses, trying to think what was all in that bouquet of the white. Um, so I have all these varieties, and you have to, you know, take some out of each bucket and put them together. In this, truly, one bundle. Actually, I use two bundles per yeah for these larger arrangements. And it was so easy because I didn't have to really think. It was like, okay, all of these and all of these, this is going together. Now I have a beautiful pink and white design. And it's really increased the amount of time it took per design. And I think that's the only thing. So many times as a business owner, you're like, yeah, but it costs me more for this bouquet because it's pre-made and my actual cost is less. But whoo, let me tell you, the time that it took to do them was probably a quarter of the time it would have taken if we had gotten individual things.
SPEAKER_03Because you just had to add no-brainer. Like, here's my new favorite. You just added lapiditium. Woohoo, look at you. I added the lapidium. I messed you up with lapidium. It made every beautiful bouquet, every arrangement just pop with that fresh green color.
SPEAKER_02Ugh. Between the green color and the really light, it lacy look it added. Yeah, I think the combination of the two really did make a big difference. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I also think we were fortunate because we had a bride that was like, do it, whatever. I like these colors, but I don't know anything about flowers, and I trust you guys. That's exactly right. That is a huge difference.
SPEAKER_02Oh gosh. Yeah, yeah. We did not have a nightmare bride. We had a sweetest, uh, most trusting, beautiful bride, and she was and so appreciated.
SPEAKER_03She was just so grateful. She was well, so grateful that we were there to do it, right? What would you say? Because I don't, again, I don't really know the wedding world, the especially when it comes to designing flowers. The amount of arrangements you did for this wedding, would you consider it like an average size, or would you consider it well, these were this was actually pretty small compared to what a lot of florists have to do?
SPEAKER_02I would say it's just because of the amount of space we had, this probably was uh maybe a bigger wedding than a lot of people have okay, flower-wise, okay.
SPEAKER_03Okay, because I guess when I think of it, I think of like people want stuff hanging at the tops and you know well, you're talking about an over-the-top.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, over the top. That's true. Yeah, you're talking about a very expensive wedding.
SPEAKER_03Well, expense all weddings are expensive. Holy smollies. I bet you know that part now, don't you? No, unless you elope, there really are no inexpensive weddings. Because everything adds up, right? You just and and they tried to do it as much on a budget as possible. But yeah, the venue for the reception was massive.
SPEAKER_02It really was massive. It was. It was nice though because it didn't feel like it was so massive that it wasn't friendly.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, sometimes you get a venue that's so big, they're like, oh man, we're sterile. It was actually it had a weird coziness to it, even though it was really big. But I think they did a really good job with the just the way they decorated it. My only feedback to them would be you need acoustic panels. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And they could play those a lot of times because I'm like, it just echoed. It was an echo enough to where I'm like, can you say that again, please? So I think event florists, venue people, that's note to self, check your acoustics. And those, I mean, our old church used to have those, they're just like little panels, they're not even that big a deal, but it would make a huge difference in that room.
SPEAKER_02It was hard to hear those announcements when you were coming in with your family and they were doing those announcements.
SPEAKER_03I'm like, whoo, I can hardly understand what a lot of people made that comment. And at one point I was talking to some of my friends, and one of the guys was like, Am I just hard of hearing? or everything. And I'm like, No, it literally sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher. You know, that and I was like, That's what I'm hearing. You know, it was it was yeah, really strange.
SPEAKER_02But share about the cookies that was our favorite, wasn't it?
SPEAKER_03It was of course it was our favorite. That's my husband. My son married a beautiful girl, Amanda, who is Italian, comes from a very big Italian family, as you could tell. They were very and so they did a cookie bar, which was two massive tables. Her her mom, aunts, everybody, and father, uncles made thousands of cookies, all different kinds of Italian cookies. And I had and Davis Davis helped Davis the taste tester. So he they set all that up, and that was always crowded, like yeah, it really was. You had a big pickup truck, flatbed pickup truck in the venue, also, and the whole back bed was a charcuterie board. I never even went to the charcuterie board, I went straight to the cookies. I never and then when I got home, I'm like, well crap, I never even really looked at the charcuterie.
SPEAKER_02Oh, it was beautiful. Oh my gosh, it was just beautiful. The cookies were too, but the whole thing, I mean, the layout was just so so it was fun and user-friendly, and it had a dig big dance space, which was nice.
SPEAKER_03But it was it was at first when we saw that venue, I think from my eye, my eyeballs sinking flowers. I'm like, holy crap, how are we gonna make flowers like prevalent here? You know, how are they not gonna get lost?
SPEAKER_02But yeah, and we had a couple spaces that really were huge in the limelight, so to speak, that we did have to do something pretty massive.
SPEAKER_03But it just as a florist, if I'm to do a wedding, do I get to go out and preview the venue? Does that benefit me, or am I just gonna wing it the day of? Or how does that work? Do you know?
SPEAKER_02Well, a lot of times you've probably already seen the venue, you know, because you're in that area, you're familiar with it. If not, it depends on cost. I mean, because you think, especially that venue, Lori, it was 30 minutes out of town. And so if my bride says to me, I want you to go out and see my venue so you can see what we need to do, now I'm gonna have to charge her at least for two hours of my time to go out and to do that. So I'm now there's a hundred bucks really for me to go use my car, timing and everything. It has to be at least a hundred dollars for me to go then, take a look at that venue, unless you just want to do it for yourself because you're gonna continue to serve that venue.
SPEAKER_03I don't know, I was thinking about that. I was like, what would I do if I had never been out here before? That would be a hard venue to design if I'd never been out there. Because you know, we even took pictures and I was like, wait, I'm still not grasping. The ceremony place was pretty easy, like one room with the big window.
SPEAKER_02Right. And we knew the arbor, so we knew what we had to do there, so that worked out just great. That was not a problem. But the space was much larger when you got there than you thought it was gonna be.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, I agree. I agree, agree. So here's my question to you. If you could do any of it over again, the the design, everything, are there things you would do differently? I don't mean like specific way a design was, but is there something you would have done differently? That's a really good question.
SPEAKER_02I would have just had a few more flowers, I would have something on the entrance more so. One of the things I love to do and is have something on the doors, like you used to be able to get suction cups that you could use before the entrance, which are really cool. But that sign that her dad had made was just so special, and I you had to be careful not to take away from that. So that would I have to balance that part. But more flowers on the bar. People kept coming up to the bar. Yeah, he had the two designs. That bar was massive, it was massive, and in the pictures, it didn't look massive.
SPEAKER_03No idea until we got there, it was that long. And we had you had two really big things on there, but we could add five.
SPEAKER_02Right, right. That's where it would. The tables I think looked good. That was super easy, and especially people if you're working on a table that you just have bud vases you have to fill. Those mixed bouquets were so easy because I would do like, okay, here's 10 bud vases, and I'm gonna fill those with a mixed bouquet. And you just it was great, Lori. You were getting your hair done and doing everything you needed to do. Your sweet mark comes over, he says, Can I help you? I have two hours. No worrying about you. Okay, Mark. Yes, you can, because you could tell he really wanted to, he didn't have anything that he was doing, and so I would do the things on the table and he'd wheel them out and put them on the middle of the table. Then he'd come back and he'd grab another one.
SPEAKER_03He told excited about it, and he made sure to tell his mom that he helped, you know. No matter how old you are, you still want praise from your mother. And he said, I did this. So the other thing that made me giggle when he came over and said he's got two hours, his choices were to go help you or to stay down in the little groomsman thing and talk about feelings. So he's gonna go. He's like, uh, I'm gonna go check on Vonda. So he left.
SPEAKER_02There you go. Okay, I got now. I understand why I was the troll.
SPEAKER_03But no, he was very, very excited to tell people that he helped you. And he wasn't saying it in a boastful way, but he would, you know, and he was like, gosh, she's so fast. Like I go out there and I'm trying to put those down. I come back and she's already like two ahead of me in those because we were putting what 12 on each table.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we we brought it down to only eight because then we ran out of butt bases, they had all of those at the facility, but then we're like, Oh, well, we need to just kind of thin it out a bit, but it was it was still plenty on the table.
SPEAKER_03Well, and that was one thing we were absolutely grateful for is this venue had two big rooms, storage rooms of stuff people have left. And she's like, You can use whatever you want, and so to be able to recycle those bud vases, you know, that yeah, time and time, time and time again, and then we wash them up, put them back. I'm like, this is so good, sustainability, right? Like, we're it's really and we have we borrowed big bases, we didn't have to purchase mini vases.
SPEAKER_02We didn't, no, very few, very few vases, and then we have bought some of the containers we used in the aisle, those aisle containers, and we were gonna ask her, can we just leave these? And she said, Oh, yeah, absolutely. Somebody will use them later. So then that's a nice thing that people donate things, and then they're there for the next group. Yeah, yeah, it was it was really great. The other thing when you talked about the Italian cookies, you you shouldn't mention, and and I guess you wouldn't because you didn't have any. The wine that her father, how was that? Lori, your friend went and got me some wine, yeah, Tom. Truly wine. He's like, I got you the local wine. This is the stuff that your dad made. I took three sips of that wine and I was like, whoa, it's like three times stronger. Oh, it was so strong. It I mean, it was so good, but it was so strong. I'm like, this is all I'll have this whole long time. Wow. And then he also made lemon cello, yes, which as you know, I love lemon cell. It was so good.
SPEAKER_03I looked very, very down to the left of our table because you know, we had these long tables, and you and Bailey, my daughter, were sitting on one side, and then I just looked down to the left. All of the women had lemon cello, and they were like, This is good.
SPEAKER_02Like it was it was. Was so good. And Davis and Amanda gave me some to bring home. So John will have to share it. We will. We will. It was good. But it was very interesting. It was to me as someone who really wasn't involved, right, in the family dynamics. I know you and I'm Davis and Amanda and you know Bailey and Reese and Mark, but I really didn't know anybody else in that facility. And so it was kind of interesting to be not an outsider looking in, but kind of. And to watch the dynamics. It was really cool.
SPEAKER_03So what did you figure out by watching?
SPEAKER_02Well, the Italian family, which we could tell the closeness of that. And they all kind of were hanging together. And and you and Mark and your friends were hanging together. But what was so encouraging and heartwarming is Davis and Amanda. It could make me cry, really. The love that their people have for them. I mean, their friends and the youth grows kids. Oh my gosh. They absolutely, their friends adore them, respect them, set them at such high regards. And they love each other and they love God. Yeah. You know, and and it was just so heartwarming. You're like, oh my gosh, you know, everything's gonna be okay because these I call them kids, they're not, right? These young people really know what love is about and about caring about each other. They so care about each and every one of them. Yeah. I mean, that's that was what was so great to watch Davis and Amanda walk around that room, embrace those people, and the respect that I could see for each other in their eyes.
SPEAKER_03I was just like, this is so beautiful. So beautiful with you on part of that because you know he's lived in Cleveland this whole time. And so I don't get to see him in his role. He was a youth pastor, and he sent me a little video, not the real good video, but a little preview of people taking videos in this in the ceremony when Amanda's walking down the aisle. And you can see the students, because they invited quite a few of their youth group who were like, if whether you invite us or not, we're coming. We have to see this because they have been trying to make this match for years. Because Amanda also helps a new group. Anyway, to see the looks on the young this high schoolers and college kids that have come back for the wedding, like the girls were in tears when they saw Amanda, who had been their Bible study leader for years. Um, it was like it got me, right? These kids get this, like they they're seeing a pure love here that Davis and Amanda are modeling. So anyway, that was that was pretty cool. And then of course, at the reception when they all got out and danced, I just thought was so funny. They were having the time of their life.
SPEAKER_02They were, they were, but I was outside of I wasn't dressed and ready for the wedding, so I didn't hear the wedding, which was a cost. I was still working, but I stepped outside and all I heard was yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03They were just like cheering after the school kids rooting for them when they were married, so yeah, it was good. It was it was really fun. It rained for like a hot minute.
SPEAKER_02You probably didn't even know it rained because you were in oh, I did, yeah, it was coming down like crazy, and everybody was standing waiting to go across to the ceremony building stressful, but the you know, I think by that point, Amanda and Davis were like, eh, whatever happens, happens.
SPEAKER_03It doesn't matter. We can't control the weather, right? And so it was good, it was a good, but I tell you what, you absolutely were the star of the show, and I'm not just saying that to make you feel funny, but everybody was talking about the flowers, everybody was talking about you. The flowers were just really the hydrangeas were perfect. Like I really figured like we'd get about 30% brown, which is sometimes normal.
SPEAKER_00That's an shout out to Amy.
SPEAKER_02They were from I told her, Did you let those ladies at the farm know?
SPEAKER_03These were fabulous, they just and the one bouquet of ours. Which one, what's the name of the one that has like had the really hot pink that we were like, oh, that's almost too pink. That's Florence. Those in that box yeah, even the men were like, Oh my gosh, that's beautiful. People were taking pictures of it when they before they walked in the ceremony, just people I didn't even know, they're like, Oh my gosh, and and taking pictures of it. So I was like, That's awesome.
SPEAKER_02Well, Bruce, he is so cute because he had it sitting there for a long time, and then he came in and I had it done. He goes, Did you just do that? And I said, I did. And he's like, That is so beautiful. I mean, he was just and he's like, Do you know what it cost me to make that thing? And I said, I have no idea because he's Italian. He's cracking him. He's like, It was only $19. And I'm like, No way. He goes, Oh, yeah, you know, because there was something wrong with the wood wood, and so what they said, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_03That is such a this is Amanda's father who is hysterical. I love him so much. I love her mom.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I would just love to sit down with him with that glass of wine and wouldn't you love it if we didn't have to drive anywhere. Oh my gosh. He's uh yep, we wouldn't have to drive to stay right there. And then but it was a beautiful, beautiful time, Lori, and you should be very proud of Davis and Amanda.
SPEAKER_03They live in three weeks, so move away to Ireland for a year. So that's the other part. This was like that's the last time I'm gonna see him here.
SPEAKER_01You know, till you go over sometime next week.
SPEAKER_03You you've gotta go visit them in Ireland, Northern Ireland, right? Northern Ireland, Antrim, Ireland is where they're gonna go. And they're very excited because they both, you know, he spent time there. They both have been there prior, so they know what they're getting into. And the the pastor of that church, you got to meet him, John, he flew over for the wedding. I know, it was so nice. And that Irish blessing, I think was you didn't get to see that. I didn't see it, but you've never heard it before. You have? I've heard the Irish Blessing before. He stood up and he said the Irish blessing. Um, and he talked about how back in the day when people would get when bride and groom they would get married, the families came up with a sword and a shield. And that is to protect with the commitment to protect this couple at all costs. And so that's what we were anyway. I was like, that's amazing. That's so very, very cool. And we were thrilled that he came over to kind of bless this marriage, and then he even said in the ceremony he was made sure everyone knew that your loss is my gain, is our gain. Your loss of Davis and Amanda is Ireland's gain. So that was cute, but it was great. It's over. Time to move on, it's time to move on. We have an event in Omaha.
SPEAKER_02We do, yes, and we should make sure everybody knows that. And please, if you can, make it over to Omaha, Nebraska to the Bill Doran Company there. We will be there on the 17th of September. And it'll be starting at 3:30 in the afternoon. So if you get there at three o'clock, we Damon and I will be doing a program to start with. Then Ellie's gonna do something in Lori. So it's a lot of information. It'll be live, it'll be fun. It's Christmas, Canva, and cash is what it's called. So it should be fun. Please try to do it. If you're gonna go, call the Bill Doran rep right away because they really do have a limited seating. But we would love to see you and you just have to come up and say, Hey, I listened to your pod.
SPEAKER_03Now let me ask you a question. If they are not Bill Doran customers, can they still attend? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Yep, just call Bill Doran Omaha and let them know. You do not have to be a Bill Doran customer, give you an opportunity to see the facility there if you haven't been there and and meet us.
SPEAKER_03So and I would say bring your employees because a lot of what I'm talking about, all employees would benefit.
SPEAKER_02And even Damon and I and Ellie, because sometimes what Ellie's doing, one of the employees might be able to do more so than an owner. Yeah, the canvas stove. So yeah, getting stuff ready for social media, all that.
SPEAKER_03I know crazy. So it'll be fun. I hope to see you guys there if you have any questions about it and you don't want to call Bill Dorn, just email me, Lori at flowerclick.com, and I can attempt to answer them. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoyed spending time with us because we enjoy spending time with you. If you did, make sure you hit that subscribe button or add the business and pleasure of flowers to your Google morning routine or your flash briefing on Alexa. We look forward to seeing you next week.
SPEAKER_02So please come back and join us and discover how a bit of knowledge and one small change in your mindset can take you to new levels in your life and business.