Who doesn’t love flowers?!

This time of year, everywhere you look we are seeing Summer in FULL bloom so I am super excited to share this week’s #weddingwednesday Coffee Chat Blog is a Q&A with Kristin of Pickell’s & Posies! I got to know Kristin this Spring and she is a gem. Grab a cup of coffee & enjoy this chat – it will inspire and remind you of all the good things in life that flowers bring, and especially what they bring to a wedding! Enjoy!

First, meet Kristin!

Thanks for including me in this Coffee Chat!  So let’s talk about flowers and a little bit about myself and this journey I’m on with Pickells and Posies! I’ve always had flowers and gardens in my life which I give credit to my Grandmother and Mom.  Growing up they both had such beautiful gardens and were always creating arrangements for dinner parties with friends and family.  Having this influence constantly around me got me to start making arrangements for my friends and family.  As I went through my twenties and saw how many people needed flowers for wedding showers, baby showers, birthday parties, etc I kept taking each job as they came. 

I got my Floral Design Certificate from Temple University and started to get serious with designing flowers.  A couple of good friends trusted me for their wedding flowers and that’s when I started taking this ‘side gig’ to the next level. The feeling I felt after completing a full-service wedding by myself was just the BEST!  The confidence and feeling of accomplishment was something I had been missing since working in corporate America.  I don’t limit myself to just weddings,  I try and take advantage of every job that comes my way to keep growing and learning.  I specialize in floral design for any occasion because I love the ambiance a simple arrangement can make to any space.

Most popular question you get from brides?

I have to say the most common question I get is ‘can I get all of this for $1500?”.  Truth is, the bigger the wedding party the harder it is to keep your flower expenses down.  How many centerpieces?  That can add another big chunk of your total expense.  Arbor? Ceremony? Yup, add all that in.  Most arbors and ceremony installations are completed on-site so that takes a good amount of manpower.  Any extras, just keep adding up.  Budget is always a big topic for both the Bride and the florist so it’s good to start that conversation right away.

Let’s talk Seasonal! Best flowers for a Spring or Fall wedding?

I love doing seasonal flowers whether it’s in the Spring or the Fall.  There are so many options to pick from anymore!  I always like to include a statement flower in my bouquets, which is your peonies or dahlias.  Being in the suburbs of Philadelphia, both peonies and dahlias are grown locally which helps keep every sustainable.  Peonies have such a quick season in PA, but when I get to work with them they always steal the show.  Not just the pinks or white peonies, but the beautiful coral peonies.  Dahlias have been gaining so much popularity that they have become a great staple in Fall flowers.   These flowers can be spotted in many backyards, but cut flower farms in the area are growing all sorts of varieties.  Then there are all the filler flowers that are grown locally each season.  Throughout the Summer and into the Fall you can spot cosmos, zinnias, celosia, sunflowers, coneflowers, etc blooming all over.  All of these flowers add such beautiful color and texture to any bouquet.  These are also some flowers you can grow in your gardens!

Tell me about centerpieces – what is your favorite kind, or the most popular flowers to use?

 Just like I said above, I love to have at least one statement flower in my arrangements.  That can be a peony, dahlia, garden rose (check out the David Austin Juliet Garden Rose!), hydrangeas, sunflowers, and so on.  These flowers offer such a wonderful texture and occupy a lot of space with their big flower heads.  To accent these statement flowers, I love to add spray roses and ranunculus.  They have become such a staple for me while designing, they’re easy to work with and add a great look to any arrangement.  Astilbe wins the show for me, it’s so fluffy and feather-like, but it can be tough when it doesn’t have enough water.  But my favorite flowers, or shall I say greens to work with, is a mixture of all the green foliage. The many types of eucalyptus are always something people are asking, silver dollar, gunnii, parvifolia, seeded.  I love mixing these textures with other greens like Italian Ruscus and asparagus ferns.  Greens are the most fun to work with and can save a lot of money!

Let’s chat Bridal Bouquets! Do you have a favorite trend or a favorite you’ve created?

After figuring out my own style I’ve come to realize I make bouquets that are garden-like, flowing, but tight and lots of greens!  I love designing new color combinations that Brides challenge me with.  The most fun is when I get to work with a Bride that has a color theme but lets me run with the design.  Those kinds of bouquets have been the most challenging to design but the absolute best when they come out!  My last wedding before the quarantine was a moody and deep red color scheme with accents of succulents.  It was such a jump from light and airy colors that I was nervous to see it come together.  It turned out even better than I thought and is definitely one of my top favorite bouquets!

Last question: WHY go with a professional and not your friend who offered to do your flowers?

Before I started doing wedding flowers I would have answered this question and said to use a friend.  But let me tell you, there is so much more that goes into wedding flowers than just designing.  The designing is the fun part, and everything else is the hard work.  Because you are dealing with one of the biggest days in someone’s life, you want to make it right.  The stress of that day alone can make people go mad, but that’s why you leave it up to the professionals.  We’ve done it before, we’ve seen what can happen, and we’re able to make sure the day goes on without any problems.  We can literally make your dreams come true through flowers.  Yes, flowers are beautiful no matter what you do to them, but they can be transformed into such beautiful statement pieces that can change a room instantly.

I told you you’d enjoy Kristin! Be sure to give her a follow, and if you are a bride in the city-Philly-Central PA region, you know who to call!

@pickellsandposies