Fresh off starting up a successful wedding and event planning firm in her early 20s, the entrepreneurial-minded mother of two recognized a need for an upscale florist in the Annapolis and Eastern Shore areas, and didn’t waste any time carving her niche. She’s built her business from the ground up, organizing a team just as impassioned as she is, who somehow finds a way to bring a new level of gorgeous to each wedding they take on. Their signature creativity and polish are stamped on everything from bouquets and centerpieces to stylish tablescapes to suspended floral installations to lighting and custom-built bars, ensuring today’s detail-oriented brides and grooms get an added wow-factor that makes their wedding stand out from the crowd. We recently caught up with Sarah and her team at the company’s Annapolis studio, getting some behind-the-scenes shots as they prepared for a weekend wedding and talking shop. Here are some snippets from our conversation with Sarah.r
Flowers seem to be as important as ever in weddings today. Tell us why it's an exciting time to be in the business.
Blogs have been great for the floral industry. The young and stylish generation is driving the blogs these days, and we are very fortunate that this generation has a love affair with flowers. As a whole, Millennials tend to be a creative generation drawn toward designs that are outside the box and certainly different from what their parents were drawn to. This creativity is what a designer like me lives for. We love to have a couple walk in the studio open to something new.
What are some of your favorite trends or tendencies right now for wedding flowers and event design?
This year, I am loving the garland trend. We are seeing lush green garland being used everywhere from arches and aisles to runners and embellishments on tables. Our sister company Pops of Plum just launched a new garland line that is designed specifically for centerpieces.
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Who in the industry do you look to for inspiration?
My inspiration comes more from “what” than “who.” I am inspired by the runway, looking carefully at what is on trend in fashion to help guide me as a designer. Of course, travel is also something that inspires us. Our team travels to work with new and up-and-coming designers, as well as attends national conferences to learn from the best in the industry.
In this the social media age—with all of the inspiration available through Instagram, Pinterest, and blogs—would you say the constant barrage of ideas has made your job easier or more difficult?
This is a both a benefit and a hindrance for me as a designer. Couples do come to the meetings more prepared, knowing what they want more now than ever before—which is much more efficient for both the client and I. However, this also means we are often asked to design something very similar from week to week, as a lot of the couples ing similar images. My strategy is to take the client's inspiration and ask them to trust my team of artists and I to ing their wedding to life with a few custom details that will make their designs stand out. Sometimes this means adding a flower to the mix that we have not seen done before or perhaps wrapping the bouquets in a custom detail collected from the New York Garment District.
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How do you spend your time away from the studio?
Free time does not come often for a busy “Momprenuer.” But when I do get time to myself, I enjoy spending it with my two children—Skyler, my 16-year-old avid equestrian and member of the Annapolis Youth Chorus, and Camden, my 10-year-old soccer player and devout Washington Redskins fan—and my husband, who believes in me more than I could have ever dreamed and leaves me feeling fortunate every day to have his love in my life. Any other spare moments are spent with my horse Traveler at our stable on the Eastern Shore.