Here is a blog from my team member Louise, where she finds out about the upcoming trends for wedding florals, and has a peek behind the curtain at a day in the life of a wedding florist. . . .

"Introduction to Steph Lovell (Steph Lovell Flowers)

Looking at the local college brochure and thinking about what she liked doing, Steph wrote down her career choice criteria; no office job, something creative and varied. Having helped her Nan arrange the church flowers on occasion and enjoying it she decided to undertake a floristry course and completed a one-year apprenticeship at Longacres Garden Centre which taught Steph all the basics.

Steph’s style developed over the years, when training she learnt the Longacres way and then each shop had its own style. As soon as she started working for herself Steph had the opportunity to create her own style which came naturally and is more organically wild as opposed to compact and uniform.

Steph loves creating flowers for individuals, funerals, offices and also her favourite area weddings.

Steph sources her flowers primarily from a local wholesaler Flower Vision, who are based near Heathrow. The advantages of using Flower Vision are that they will deliver, they are really reliable, and they source a majority of their flowers from Holland. If you provide 48 hours notice the flowers can be ordered and delivered at fairly short notice.

Steph has developed and crafted a good relationship with them and considers the quality to be of a very high standard.

 

 

So, what happens when a bride, groom, or couple, contact you?

“It's really important for me to respond quickly to enquiries as it’s such a significant occasion, you want them to feel special. I normally email and arrange to speak to them either over the phone, zoom or my favourite, in person.”

 

 

Can you tell me what the process is from your perspective?

“It’s all about building relationships and connecting with the person’s vision. People want different things; some have a very large budget whilst others are more conservative, but I still want them to have the flowers of their dreams. I spend between half an hour to an hour talking with them about their vision for the wedding flowers. 80% of enquiries become orders and the average spend is between £2000-£4000 currently.

I am prepared to travel anywhere dependent on travel costs, but I mostly work within half an hour to two hours away and have had several in Gloucestershire this year. I am interested in developing higher-end floral wedding displays as that feeds my creativity and floral artistry.”

How long in advance should they book a florist?

“If it’s possible I generally recommend 18 months, so I have quite a number of bookings in already for 2025.

The majority of the wedding flowers are for Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday’s but other days are becoming more popular as the venues are less expensive, and I have had a few Monday weddings this year.”

 

 

How long do you spend creating content for social media to promote your business?

“It differs each week according to my workload, but I probably spend at least five dedicated hours a week. People often think I am just on my phone when in fact I am posting Instagram posts of flowers and weddings, as it is so important to keep visible.”

What flowers are currently in season?

“It’s that time of year for the wedding favourite the peony in all its wonderful colours and frilly petals. They have a short period from late April to June and then you can’t get them.”

What shape of bouquets do you make and what are your favourites?

“My favourites at the moment are the big bouncy look with heavy flowers and blooms, wildflowers, and greenery. This wild free-form bouquet and floral arranging goes against all the principles that you learn at college but gives you freedom and lets your creativity come to the fore. The long-stemmed bouquets are currently very popular with either ribbon, natural ratafia or string wrapped around them for a natural look.”

 

 

Which flowers do you recommend for winter, autumn, spring and summer weddings?

Winter – “It’s all reds, especially red and white roses, silver foliage, eucalyptus leaves, lots of textures with greenery covered in berries like Ilex or the other trend is for pure white bouquets and wintery white flowers like a snow scene.”

Autumn – “Here I love to add in grasses like papyrus, flowers like dahlias in oranges, reds and yellows, amaranths trailing down in hues of greens or pinks. Autumn can be really vibrant and bold; the range is vast!”

Spring – “Is all about new life and delicate blooms like freesias, sweet peas, and the more sentimental flowers. The flowers are daintier with shorter stems like tulips, miniature daffodils, anemones, hyacinths often in smaller bouquets and arrangements.”

Summer – “Here the bigger blooms come to life, hydrangea heads, large garden roses with beautiful scents, cala lilies, cosmos, delphiniums, lavender, daisies, stocks and lupins.”

Which season has been busiest this year?

“The summer season all the way through to December is really busy this year but next year I am very booked up in the Spring so you can never tell!”

 

 

How do you transport all your flowers and arrangements to wedding venues?

“I have access to a very large van, and I have a big car which can transport lots of flower buckets and displays. I make up the floral arches and swags on site but do any preparation in advance to ensure that the set-up goes as smoothly as possible.”

What is the most challenging floral display that you have done for a wedding?

“I love the challenge of the larger hanging displays for marquees. I did one in a huge marquee and had to stand on an extended ladder creating and hanging swags, that definitely challenged my fear of heights, but the results were worth it. I use other freelancers to assist me at big weddings and other florists that I know as we support one another.

In the future, I would like to have a dedicated team of freelancers.”

 

 

What are the wedding floral themes for this year?

“There are a lot of long-stemmed white flowered bouquets for brides, big bouncy bloomed bouquets, and arrangements. Neutrals are very popular, classic whites, green, pink, and nude hues.

Many brides have a mood board and I send them small mood boards as well. This is an area I am developing. I am going to be creating a PDF with lots of mood board inspirations for my clients.”

What are the trends for next year?

“There is a trend moving towards more vibrant blooms, oranges, fuchsia pinks, and the long-stemmed flowers are still on trend.

The wild bouncy bouquets are moving more into the brighter flowers and unusual grasses and foliage.”

 

 

What are the trends for buttonholes?

“Buttonholes either have clusters of small flowers wrapped in twine or single rose heads with greenery. Quite often now the groom has something different to the rest of his groom’s party.”

What has been the highlight for you being a wedding florist?

“I think it’s the high afterwards when you have set up and created the flowers for a wedding and decorated the venue. The satisfaction of the accomplishment and receiving the happy messages from the clients afterwards is amazing and keeps me smiling all day!”

What has been the lowest point for you being a wedding florist?

“Not really a low point but when I first set up on my own it was quite scary knowing that everything depended on me, and I just had to get it all done.”

 

 

Where would you like to see your floristry business going?

“I currently have a large outdoor summer house that I have made into my floristry studio however, I would love a much larger studio and to have a refrigerated large van. I also see myself employing 2-3 people part-time to cope with demand at busy times and have my own small team of dedicated freelancers who understand and are familiar with my style. I’d also like to branch out and do some destination wedding flowers.”

Which are your favourite wedding venues for flowers?

“Generally, I love all the venues as they pose different aspects for me to display my floristry creativity, but the grounds of Bury Court blend in with my love of large, wild bouncy bouquets as does Millbridge Court and Old Gore Barn in the Cotswolds.”

Being a Funeral Celebrant as well I know many brides ask to have a sign of remembrance in their bouquet for a loved one who sadly can’t be with them on their special day, have you done any of these?

“Yes, I have made quite a few bouquets some with a hidden dark red rose or flower in the bouquet only they know is there.

Etsy does some lovely charms with a picture that I wrap around some brides’ bouquets. There are lots of lovely ideas which I can incorporate to make the bouquet really personal.”

If you were getting married, what flowers would you have in your bouquet and why?

“It would very much depend on the season; I’d probably go for a summer or autumn wedding. I love the contrast of red and white, as I think they look timeless, and I’d go for large blooms like a big red flexed rose bouquet with white orchids.”

 

 

It was great chatting with Steph about all things floral and hopefully, you’ve gained some insight into the life of a wedding florist.  Steph, we hope your business continues to bloom!

Louise

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