Wedding Floral Proposal Process and Client Engagement - Garden Graffiti - Wed.Co Podcast

Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
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Hello and welcome to the word co podcast.
I'm Toga and today we're at Maroon Hill estate.
And I just wanted to say we've got cat on the couch with us.

(00:45):
Garden graffiti.
are you How are you?
Thank you so much for coming out.
That's all right.
It was a nice drive.
beautiful.
I just like all the rolling hills on the way out there and yeah, pretty nice podcast onthe way out.
Yes, I actually listened to one of these ones because I was trying to prepare.
What are you going to ask me?
Yeah, it was good.
I think I got gist of it.

(01:06):
Let's hope it's okay.
Feeling good?
Like typically would kind of start with a little bit of a backstory, I guess, behind thebrand.
You know, how long you've been in the industry and how it kind of came about essentially.
Yeah.
So I've got kind of a long story.
I mean, I've got a bit of time to kill, right?
So I kind of graduated from a Bachelor of Fine Arts, like when I finished high school andthen did the uni.

(01:31):
And then I kind of realised pretty quickly it wasn't really my vibe.
So I went back to TAFE to study floristry and I was able to work with a really goodwedding florist here for that year.
And I know just it really came to me that like this is what I want to do.
So it was a really clear moment and I really, really loved that.
But travel had always been a big part of my life.

(01:53):
And I was like, I think I really want to move somewhere and live in a different city.
So I moved to London and I was like, the flower's going to be awesome.
The variety and the events and weddings there.
So much more people and population and kind of money as well for like the events.

(02:13):
I was like, this is going to be...
really good.
So I moved to London and I freelanced for a little bit and I managed to get like a fulltime job at a florist in East London in Hackney.
And they they could rebel rebel and they had like really awesome brand or some people.
They're definitely more like the wildflower kind of garden picked kind of style.

(02:37):
And I really, really, really enjoyed that kind of style.
That's what I kind of resonated with.
And yeah, had an awesome time.
could go to the flower market and then like pick all these bunches that I wanted and waslike, that's on the tab and like this, pulling out everything.
know looking back now, I'm like, how did they let me do that?
Like, like as a business owner, I'm like, what?

(02:58):
I didn't really have a budget.
Did I like what?
so yeah, that was an awesome experience.
I really kind of felt like confident, in what I wanted to do.
And you know, my visa ended after two years and, the company that I was.
working with in London, they had just opened an Italian flower school.

(03:19):
Um, so I kind of was like, you know what, after my like European summer, was like, I'mgoing to go there and then work and teach at the flower school.
So that was another awesome experience.
It looked like cherry on top of the cake.
So I was just teaching kind of bouquets and installations in Tuscany.
I know pretty cool experience.
So I was like loving it.

(03:39):
And then I moved back to Australia and for some reason I'm like,
I just couldn't call Brisbane like the place where I wanted to stay.
kind of, which is weird because I'm here now.
But yeah, for some reason I was like, no, I'm going to go to Melbourne.
I think I kind of like the vibe of the city more.
So I kind of moved there and I kind of stayed there for like a little bit under a year.

(04:05):
But it was very different like style than I was used to.
And I kind of...
felt like I got into a bit of a funk because I wasn't able to use like the flowers thatLondon kind of provided.
And they're like, yeah, so about half the stock in London, like we can't really get herein Australia.
And it just like really blew my mind and kind of threw me off because I was like, I canmake something so pretty there without much effort.

(04:30):
And were they just local flowers like close to like Europe?
Yeah, I mean, they're right like close to Amsterdam, right?
So like it's that's a huge grower there.
But other than our local as well.
And just like the climate in like England is just a little bit more easier for flowers,especially the delicate kind of flowers.
A lot easier to grow there.
And the heat, the sun is and heat is just too harsh sometimes.

(04:52):
Yeah.
So yeah, I went to Melbourne and I was like, I don't know, the style just felt verydifferent from that English style.
And everything was really straight.
and really stiff and I'm like, I don't know, like I don't, I'm not really loving this.
And it kind of made me think like, I don't know if I can make like anything nice again.
And I was like going through like, I'm like, I don't know what's happening.

(05:13):
And I kind of questioned like what I was going to do for a little while.
And I think after like coming up to a year in Melbourne, I was like, no, I need to likeget out of the funk.
need to just like do something spontaneous, like impulsive and like kind of reinvigoratelike my love for flowers a little bit.
So.
I booked a to New York.

(05:34):
friend as you do, I was like, you know, I think I'm done here.
I'm just like packed up and just like, then just went to New York and I have a friend thathe was like freelancing all the time.
And so yeah, I freelanced there for like the summer, like for three months there andreally loved it.
Like worked on some cool, like amazing events, like Carnegie hall.
We did like huge Hamptons weddings.

(05:56):
Like I did my first like 18 hour shift, which
which was like pretty mental.
But yeah, so love the New York vibe.
I think they really encapsulated something a bit more contemporary and edgy, but then hadlike a lot of the stock there as well that I kind of knew from London.
So I really liked kind of both of those styles.

(06:19):
So I was living in like Brooklyn in Bushwick at the time.
Have you been to like Brooklyn?
Yeah.
And I don't know if like when I was there in like 20, was like 2018, I think.
And it was like very much a hustle culture and everyone is like working on the sidebusiness side hustle.
Everyone's in the cafes, like on their laptops, like working all the time.

(06:40):
And I was like, you know what, like this is like kind of reinvigorated me to like start myown business and like be my own boss.
So I was kind of freelancing and then just being in the cafe and trying to like, you know,figure out what I wanted as a brand and like what names I kind of relate that resonated
with me.
And so I, you know, kind of like this garden style, like from London.

(07:05):
So I kind of wanted to pay like homage to that, English style of floristry.
And then, yeah, Bushwick is like the street art capital of like America.
So lots of murals, street art graffiti on the sidewalks.
And I thought that was really cool and edgy.
So I kind of put the graffiti with the garden and that kind of became garden graffiti.

(07:26):
Kind of like two different styles.
And I was like, this is it.
And that's kind of where I started to move back to Brisbane with that in mind.
Like when I look at your brand, like it feels very solid.
know exactly what you are.
kind of when you're talking about Rebel Rebel earlier, I don't know that brand, but I feelthe same way.
just hearing that name as well.
Like you're very sure of yourself.
I might back up a little bit.

(07:46):
you went originally, like originally from Australia over to London, you startedfreelancing over there.
Had you built up a little portfolio for yourself here?
Like how did you go about getting a freelancing position over in London?
Yeah, it was a little bit difficult, but I really like I had that work with that floristhere for a year and I was able to use some of those images as well in my portfolio.

(08:07):
But yeah, so going to London, the pay was pretty bad.
I think my first shift was like £7 an hour, which was like $14.
But you know, you just like you just do it right.
So yeah, I was kind of freelancing for different people.
I worked at a few different florists there.

(08:27):
One of the jobs I had was like a Knightsbridge, I don't know if you know Knightsbridge,Mayfair area in London, like it's very posh, very proper, people are spending a lot of
money, but it's very much more like round bouquets.
And I just was not good at that.
Like, I was like, this is not where I am and what I like and what I like to do.

(08:49):
Yeah.
So then I had like an opportunity to like get a full-time job there, a full-time job withRebel Rebel and...
Yeah, luckily that kind of came up and it went in that direction.
But yeah, I had a really good time, really good people and like the style was really fun.
Like we did the BAFTA awards as well.
So we had like some cool events.
But yeah, I think they had more of like that kind of wild style as well, which I really,really enjoyed.

(09:14):
Yeah.
Did you, we'll go forward in a bit about your team, but like, did you learn a lot fromRebel Rebel and the way they ran their team?
Is that kind of, you're using a bit of that?
Definitely.
Funnily enough, they like promoted me to like the shop manager like during this time and Ilike had no obviously experience in managing people.
So that was kind of an interesting experience managing people, right?

(09:35):
That's like a very different kind of like skill set.
But I actually like really liked that part as well.
And I liked having like a team.
And they were also very hands off, which I like.
So they weren't like micromanaging.
which I know, and I try to do that like with my team as well.

(09:57):
Like I'm not going to stand over their shoulder and like relook it in every single thingthat they do.
Cause you need to have that like that trust there, I think.
builds trust in them as well.
Like they're like, okay, I'm going to actually do, you know, I'm going to put all intothis because you're giving that trust.
Otherwise it's almost like they don't take responsibility for their work because you'realways kind of looking over their shoulder.

(10:21):
So then how, coming back, I would have assumed like going to Melbourne, I feel like youwould have had more like kind of edgy styled weddings down there, but that didn't
eventuate.
Yeah, just find this style is different and I think it was just different from the stylethat I was used to here, sorry, in London.
And yeah, the product really threw me.

(10:43):
It really just kind of like, was like, can't, nothing is floating and dancing and movingin the bouquet because the products we had didn't really allow that.
Everything felt very straight stem.
But then over time, I think I have learned that skill a little bit as well.
having your own business, you know, and I think Australian florists are actually likereally good.

(11:07):
And I think they're kind of a bit like ahead of the other people or other peers, maybeglobally, because we have like a reduced amount of product that we need to work with and
we need to make sure we're thinking about each placement.
Yeah.
And being like, guess a little more creative with the product that you do.
So you have to think a little bit harder and I don't think I really thought that hard likein London I was making things because like the flowers are so good It's like you don't

(11:30):
really need to put a lot of thought into it But here it's like you really actually need tothink about it And I think that's why Australian florists actually like very good
Is there a lot like, there be many florists that do really well in Australia and then theydo make the move over to say like Europe or something like that and do really well?
I think so, yeah.
I think that would definitely be a case.
And even I would assume like higher budgets, you were talking in London, you know, you'vegot pretty healthy budgets with the weddings over there.

(11:54):
And then all of sudden you've got this creativity because you can just, okay, we're goingto get this, this, this, this.
Yeah, and I definitely even in New York, there was actually a lot of Australianfreelancers over there and I talked to one of business owners and she's like, yeah, if
you're Australian, like we'll hire you.
Like something about the work ethic and like, like this style that if you can makesomething look good with like limited products, you can make something look amazing with a

(12:20):
heap amount of products.
They even say that with photographers here, wedding photographers, if you can kind of getnice photos in Australia just because of how harsh that sun can be.
And then like when you go to Europe, the sun's going down at like 10 o'clock.
This is the best.
Yeah, it's like, this is the dream.
Yeah, it's like too hot or it's like night.
I missed that 15 minutes on the Coast.

(12:43):
So how long have you been back in Brisbane now after going to New York and then comingback here?
So it's been about seven and a half years since I've been back.
It sounds like a very long time.
Do want to talk about that process since being back in Australia?
Yeah, so I kind of started from my parents' laundry.
Like I'm obviously privileged enough to be able to have parents that I could like moveback, live at home with.

(13:05):
So I did that for like 10 months.
I literally had like zero dollars.
Actually, I might say like there's this program that the government offered called likethe NEIS program.
It was part of like a Centrelink program, like NEIS.
And it actually was really helpful for me because it is means tested.
But basically, if you started a business, I'd pay you like $300 a week to work on yourbusiness for like nine months.

(13:28):
And like that, I it just really helped me, especially with like product for shoots,because when you're signing out, you just kind of need to do photo shoots a lot because
you've got no content, right?
You need to have content to get people to book you.
So I know I found that really helpful.
And like, so if people are signing out, maybe look into that program.
That could be the difference between having to go to, like you said earlier, you're prettylucky or not lucky.

(13:50):
Like you chose like, no, I don't want to work for this person.
Where like a lot of people would just be like, well, I just need money.
And then all of a sudden it's 10 years later and you're still working for that person.
So it kind of gives that opportunity to build your own.
Exactly.
So I did that and I also freelance as well for like, probably up until like four years agowhere I stopped freelancing for other florists.
But obviously you need to do that as well because you needed the extra income.

(14:13):
And then I kind of moved out into like a house in Paddington in Brisbane and some of myfriends lived at the top of the house.
And like I just kind of worked from a big like double garage and there was a big like kindof space underneath for office and studio and things like that.
So I kind of worked from home for like four years.
And then then two years ago, then I like I bought an apartment myself and then you knowneeded a space.

(14:38):
So then we moved out into a studio in Milton.
Yeah.
Have you noticed a big shift since you did have that space in Milton?
Yeah, it's much better lifestyle, but much better lifestyle balance.
Yes, I can come home and then like, yeah, I hardly really work after 6pm anymore.
I used to do it all the time.

(14:58):
I used to always just like, you in my dressing gown, go into the garage and finish anarrangement at midnight and then walk back into my bed.
It was way too close to home.
I'll just do real quick.
I'll just do it real quick.
exactly.
then all of a sudden hours later.
Yes, so it was a lot of that, I think, the first few years.
But now, it's like, you know, I leave and then I go home, like, cool.

(15:19):
And it's like clean.
It's not a mess, which is so nice.
Would you have like brides and grooms coming to your space?
Like do they come in there for meetings at all?
so we can do that.
We've got like an area, I can area up with the couch and everything that people can comeand sit.
I think usually we'll kind of book someone on like a video chat or a phone consultationafter we make a proposal for them or before we make the proposal.

(15:42):
And then they would usually book in and then if they want to come in and chat, you know,before the wedding, then they can as well.
So yeah.
far ahead of the wedding day are you finalizing, say, mean, a lot of florists, feel likethey don't really guarantee flower choices, but when are you locking everything in?
Um, so like we would kind of, um, make a proposal so they can make, they make a depositbased on the proposal and that's pretty like detailed, you know?

(16:09):
Um, and then around two months before we'll get in touch just to be like, do you want tofinalize anything, edit anything, add something, take something away?
And then they can have the come in and chat about it.
But the thing with like flowers, it's like, I've got nothing to show in the studio, right?
Cause it's like, yeah, here's
I just hate PR.
So I'm like, it's kind of empty.
I'm like, here is an empty bench.

(16:32):
And we have some candles that we like hire out.
I was like, here is a candle.
So, but like, of course, if they want to come in and meet and like have a look at thefridge, you know, have a look at some of the vases.
They can, they can do that.
So you're at two months before we finalize everything.
Yeah.
Then, how are most people finding you nowadays?

(16:53):
I think it's do three, four different things.
think stylists, obviously we work with stylists, venues, Instagram, and then like a familyand friends recommendation.
That's probably the main four that we get.
Do you have a preferred, like if someone comes from a venue, is that kind of your bestkind of lead or do you have like a preferred lead that you're just like, as soon as

(17:15):
someone comes through that method, you're pretty solid on it?
Yeah, there's definitely a few venues that are pretty good.
They'll refer us and that's a pretty, an easier client obviously to get because we're ontheir supplier list.
You know, we have a chat, we make a proposal they love.
Like it's kind of an easier kind of booking.
So yeah, I would say venues are probably the easiest.
Yeah.

(17:35):
Even I think talking about that proposal, like as a photographer, videographer, these arekind of the, you know, the collections we kind of have.
If you want less hours, more hours, we kind of just work around that.
Yeah.
I feel like it's a very different story for florists.
Yeah.
Again, do want to talk like what is sending over that proposal?
Like what does that look like?
Yes.
So initially we kind of, like kind of the process is like we have like a wedding guide onour website.

(17:59):
So I kind of want people to download this because there's a lot of information about usbefore they kind of make the next step.
And it kind of just like filters out like people that might not be our client.
So that will have a lot of imagery in there.
It will have like more info and like who we are, what we do, and then have like kind of aguide price.
So these are kind of like general.

(18:20):
pricing, obviously it does depend on certain things.
I'm not gonna say this is exactly this price, but it is pretty correct.
And like, this is kind of what you would expect for this kind of amount.
So I'm hoping that people kind of go, okay, like here's my budget.
I can kind of get some of these things.
Cool.
All right.
We kind of have a similar kind of alignment on budget.
And then they would have a phone consult or a video consult with me or like Mon, one ofour staff members.

(18:46):
And then you make the proposal.
So they were kind of sent through like three to five images and then kind of our job is tolike, you know, see a common thread through the images and then kind of know what they
want and then make the proposal.
It's includes like three page mood board.
There'll be like a styling brief and then everything will be broken down into like yourbridal party, your ceremony and your reception flowers.

(19:10):
Pretty honest about like pricing and being really upfront with costs.
Yeah, so like everything is right there, like you bump in, bump out fee, there's likenothing is going to change or be added to that like at the last minute.
So that's kind of where the process goes from and they would make like a 25 % depositbased on that kind of that proposal.

(19:31):
So by the time you're sending a proposal, sounds like they're at least are a bit more of awarm lead by the time you're getting to that stage.
It's not like every inquiry comes through like here I'm going to spend all this time.
How long?
really try and make sure they're very warm.
Like, proposals are like, they're okay.
They're not the funnest thing to do all the time.

(19:53):
Say it's a hundred person wedding.
We've got 10 tables.
It about two, two hours to three hours.
So it's like if we're doing that for like each inquiry or each person, like it does take alot of time.
So, you know, yeah, we really want them like to be warned before we kind of start thatproposal process.
And I know some florists like will kind of charge a deposit before they make a mood board.

(20:16):
So that's something to think about, but at the moment, I think it kind of works for ustrying to get them as much as possible before they kind of.
get the proposal.
Especially like you said, if they're coming from a venue you work at all the time, youknow, they're paying X amount of dollars at this venue, like realistically does like, and
even just asking the couple, like, does this work within your budget?
And if they're like, yes, it does.

(20:37):
Like amazing.
You know, let's go.
Whereas yeah, otherwise it's like, send it through and they're like, that's nowhere nearme.
Like, cool.
That's probably the worst, right?
It's like when you spent all this time on it and it's like, it's so far out of the budget.
And you're like, okay, well, I just don't want to spend time, a lot of time on things thatI'm, yeah, not really getting the reward from.
It's almost like the client also feels bad telling you like, almost like don't even wantto say like you're way above my budget.

(21:03):
Like they don't want to offend you.
Just tell me, let me know.
like we have like brackets like on our website a little bit, you know, in terms of likebudget.
So kind of like, what are you expecting to spend?
And then we kind of kind of work towards that as well.
People kind of always choose like a certain bracket and like kind of always go over.

(21:23):
So that's interesting as well.
So, yeah, I think, yeah, trying to not spend as much time on proposals.
And I know like, okay, so we're in 2025 now and I know the cost of flowers obviously inthe last couple of years have changed dramatically.
Do you want to talk about like say, I don't know, like would you talk Russ rough bouquetprices or like, you know, what would be almost like I say, a minimum of spend that you

(21:47):
would expect on a wedding these days?
Yeah, so our, we have a minimum spend of like three, five plus GST.
I would say majority of clients, like the kind of majority are spending 5,000.
That can go between like five to 10, I would say pretty easily.
You know, if they like one bridal party, nice ceremony, you know, maybe welcome sign,maybe two aisle arrangements, some table arrangements as well.

(22:14):
They're probably pushing, yeah, in like your seven, eight kind of mark.
but most people kind of we find a kind of in that like five to seven, five to seven mark.
Yeah.
So I would say your bridal bouquet, you know, maybe two or three maids, your buttonholes,maybe like a few corsages or something like that.

(22:36):
then you'd have like a kind of a statement, like ceremony piece, which is probablysomething that I would say you would want to put your budget towards.
and then yeah, you'd have like maybe two aisle arrangements.
welcome sign arrangement and then you might have a variety of like some bud vases and somefuller arrangements for your tables.
And then are people repurposing the flowers?
Yeah, yeah, currently.

(22:57):
we do that pretty much every wedding.
Yeah.
It kind of makes sense.
Like you're spending the money at your ceremony.
You want to kind of enjoy at your reception.
So yeah, I would definitely say if you want to spend money, put it your bridal partyflowers and then your ceremony piece as well.
And even like you see, I see a lot of florists these days, like having these statementpillars and stuff like that, where they will, you almost don't need as many florals back

(23:19):
when it was like the big arch, and you kind of need floral everywhere.
Which now they've got these beautiful pillars with kind of florals on top there.
Do you, I know you work closely with stylists, do you try and get these pieces yourself aswell, or will you kind of keep that set?
Yeah, so we, guess we're definitely not as stylist.
So we're just a florist, but we do have some stock that kind of come with our flowers.

(23:42):
So we have arbors and we have plants.
They are all complimentary with our florals.
So we don't charge for them.
But they're just like part of our booking because they're going to obviously make ourpieces look nice.
And we have that stock.
So all our arbors, structures and our plinths are all complimentary.
All our vases are complimentary as well.
Like we're not going to charge extra for a specific vase.

(24:04):
We do do candle hire.
So that's tapers and pillars, but we don't do like linen napkins.
Like we're not going to go full styling on everything.
So yeah, it'd be fine.
Like for some venues, the flowers and like the candles are enough.
Especially like the beautiful venues you're working at.
Yeah, exactly.
Like you don't really need a lot, especially if they've got really nice tables.

(24:25):
They have a nice table linen already.
They've got a nice napkin.
They've got nice cutlery and plates.
Like you don't really sometimes need a huge amount of extra styling.
Yeah.
Yep.
Do you want to talk a little bit about the process of working with a stylist, like say ona bigger wedding where in we do have a defined stylist and florist.
Do you want to talk about that relationship?
Yeah, so I guess they would extend through a brief and then, or like what the clientwants, they've kind of made up the whole brief, they've made the mood board and they've

(24:55):
kind of said, want this, this, this, this, this, this.
So then you go and you make your own proposal based on that brief and then you kind ofquote it up and then you kind of send it back.
And I'm assuming the stylist as well as getting a few quotes from other florists as wellin this process.
And then, but basically which kind of we're making towards the stylist brief.
Yeah.

(25:15):
So you want to make sure like that is executed well.
Yeah.
you find your stylist, they will know a certain style and they'll know like this is
Yeah, I think so.
Yeah, I think so.
Do you find any less creativity or more creativity when you're working with a stylist?
You're talking about say, I'm not going to say stylists are going to micromanage, butlike, you have this feeling of them looking over your shoulder?

(25:37):
Or is it kind of like, no, we've hired you for this job and we trust you to do this.
find that I felt like that, like it's like they trust you to do the job.
I think I haven't really felt like too much.
No.
So I think I've heard of a few, like I haven't dealt with, but a few other florists I'vedealt with some stylists who have been a bit like that, but luckily I haven't really come

(25:58):
across any in my line of work.
So that's good.
But I kind of like working with stylists.
I, sometimes it's nice for someone else to like think of the brief.
Like I kind of like it and like, yeah, cool.
Sometimes I like being creative in like a guideline.
So I kind of enjoy it, getting a different brief from people.
We like, it's not the same, but like even with video editing, we kind of get the videos tosay 85 % where an editor will do that.

(26:22):
And then you can kind of come in and give like the little creativity on top of that.
And I feel like it'd be the same for you.
Like, cool, this is a brief and you're like, cool, cool.
And then you can work around that and elaborate.
Yeah.
Yeah.
do you want to talk about flower markets say here compared to London, New York?
do you, there much of a difference?

(26:42):
Like obviously floral choice is a big difference.
but was in much more difference between the two there.
in the London and New York market.
Yeah, I think they were pretty similar.
think you could definitely London, New York, where like you get lots of amazing flowersthere.
But yeah, here definitely I can Brisbane as well.
I think Sydney is a bit of a different story.
I never worked in Sydney though, so I can't really test that.

(27:06):
But yeah, Brisbane, it's just, yeah, some of those, some of the flowers that I worked within London just aren't here and like they just can't grow here.
And
I like sometimes I'm like, my God, I'm forgetting the names of like so many flowersbecause I haven't used them in like eight nearly eight years now.
And I'm like, my flower knowledge is probably like.
You need go back over there for a couple years again.

(27:28):
That's what that was.
But yeah, you kind of, in a way you do get used to it, like you kind of figured about it.
I think it was just a shock when I kind of initially came here, but now I'm kind of usedto it I'm like, okay, this is fine.
Let's like work around this.
And there is nice product coming through, you know, things always change, they get better.
I think it has gotten better as well, like over the last, you know, eight years.

(27:51):
But yeah, I definitely found like, just this like delicate, like this like a flower calledlike Fritillaria.
And then like, where is it?
Like, it was so beautiful.
And it's just, I've never seen it since.
And like chocolate cosmos.
I'm like, I've never seen that like here.
Yeah.
So like little things like that.
I'm like, I just really miss them.

(28:12):
But you do just become kind of like, okay, this is what we're working with.
And it's like that creative mind, like how can we like use these flowers to the best oflike our ability?
And that's where, I think going back to that Australian florist, I think we've got areally good like creative mind and like, it's more about like,
the depth of the arrangement, I think as well.
Like I think that's really important.

(28:34):
Yeah.
And like the asymmetry and there's a lot of other things that we can like make interestingabout an arrangement that isn't just about the flowers.
That makes sense.
Yeah.
Do you feel like you are doing your kind of ideal weddings currently?
Yeah, I think so.
And I was kind of saying this before.
It's like we do have a certain like umbrella of like brand like garden graffiti.

(28:54):
Like it's like romantic, but like more than at the same time.
Like we're not going to do anything like traditional in that sense.
But I do actually like doing a variety of briefs and of like colors and of styles.
So, you know, like, you know, like two weekends ago, we did a Summer Grove wedding and itwas like really bold red.

(29:16):
really contemporary, really modern, kind of like on trend at the moment.
And then like we go to Braeside the next week and it's like, you know, French provincial,white and blue, green, very like kind of gardeny and cute and you know, and then like a
few days later, then we do like something really autumnal, really like burnt like colourswith like lots of texture and lots of like berries and foliages.

(29:39):
This week we've got one at the refinery.
It's like en masse baby's breath.
So like all of those weddings like.
couldn't be more like different, I guess, to the client.
But we like it because it like we can do different things all the time.
And it gives that variety.
Yeah, exactly.
So it's like, and it's all about like the couple really at the end of the day, like, it'stheir style and what like speaks to them as a couple, right?

(30:05):
And like their love story, their colors, their style, what they really want.
And then where does that like elevate that brief?
So that's kind of why I'm like, kind of like doing different styles and then differentcolors as well.
Instead of just being like locked into like, is what we do.
then all of sudden you're like, cool, we're doing this again.
I think I get bored of that.

(30:27):
I think I would get bored of kind of do the same thing like over and over again.
And I know like some florists do that and like that's like their vibe as well.
But I've been like tossing up, like, do I like, do I kind of knuckle down into like acertain style?
But I don't know for me, like I think I kind of enjoy it.
I think I enjoy my work better when I have a different brief coming up like every week.

(30:50):
Especially coming back to like you said, you love traveling and you love moving around.
I feel like, you know, if all you want to do is work at this one venue, these two venues,and then all of sudden you work at them a lot and you're like, cool.
I'm ready to travel.
You know, I'm ready to do something different.
Exactly.
And I love having like, yeah, like they're all different venues, like every week.
It's like different.
And I really enjoy that.
And it's a different venue style as well.

(31:11):
So.
So, and do you want to talk a little bit, we talked earlier about your team.
I'm always interested in this.
Do you hire a lot of like say freelancers or do you have like full-time staff?
How do you work with them?
got like two girls who are like a regular.
They've been kind of been with me for like three years now.
So they're kind of pretty much like all year round.

(31:32):
And then we obviously have freelancers and contractors.
We have the same kind of pool that we kind of go back to, you know, every year.
Again, they're kind of being around for like two, three years.
So like every, know, March, April, May.
You're like, Hey, cool.
on, get them rusted on.
And then same, you know, throughout like August, September, October.

(31:52):
So we definitely have like, yeah, kind of the two like main girls who work with me andlike one of the girls that's a social media and marketing and she's doing some ordering
now as well.
Um, and the other girls also like doing quotes and consults as well.
Yeah.
So that's like really good.
We were talking about like travel earlier and like, I was able to go like to Japan andSouth Korea for like three weeks, you know, like a month, a few weeks ago.

(32:16):
And Mon did like six consults and like six proposals like in that time.
And like everyone said yes.
And I'm like, I need to go way more often.
Like that's a way better like a hundred percent hit rate.
Like I don't think I've ever done that like six in a row.
Like I don't think I've even done that much.
Now Mon is full time and she's quoting everyone.

(32:37):
And like, what did you say in the console?
So I think that's also good, kind of slowly like, you know, upskilling them and like kindof letting like delegating that and then kind of moving away from this.
Cause I think that would be so appreciated by, you know, those people too, is that yeah,they want to do the flourish.

(32:59):
Do they want to do that?
But then also learning that part of the business and feeling more valuable and havingthese other skills.
It's so much more rewarding than, rock up on a Friday and we're to do flowers.
And that's kind of it.
So yeah, just like integrating them into your business.
Yeah, and I think they kind of feel like more like pride around the business as wellbecause I've kind of like, you know, like when we get to these ones, she's like, oh, I

(33:21):
knew that bright like I'm the one who spoke to her like I'm the one that like, you know,has seen it through the whole time.
Like done the proposal and then a year later, like, cool.
now we're doing this wedding.
Yes, exactly.
And yeah, just, I assume even as far as being able to get those freelancers on board afterthat point, you're like, oh, it's, know, it's that wedding.
They're going to be more excited to kind of with you as well.
So yeah, I've got a good team.

(33:41):
They're like really good.
And yeah, I really couldn't do it without them.
So I should say it more.
So always like, you know, you need to compliment us more.
I'm like, fine.
So here we go.
Everyone, you're great.
And that's the, feel like small business owners, never really get to that stage where theycan, you know, it's so hard when you build it yourself and you're kind of building up this

(34:05):
thing to actually step away.
How was it the first wedding when you weren't there?
Like to kind of hand that over, you know, to your other team.
Definitely.
think it was, it probably took me like a while, I think about a year, I reckon.
It probably would taken me for them to come on site with me, do everything.
And then I feel confident for them to like go out and set up the wedding themselves and dothe oboe themselves.

(34:30):
And now it's like second nature to them.
Like they've been doing that for three years now.
So.
Yeah.
As a business leader, like, was that a conscious effort for you?
Like, okay, this time we're going to do, you know, the arbors, you're going to just kindof learn the arbors.
Like, was that a real kind of almost like a training moment for you?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah, the arbors are definitely like the big moment, right?
I think that's like the big piece, the big focal piece of the wedding.

(34:53):
So that's, think, the most important piece.
So yeah, it was definitely like going on site all the time with me making the arbor andthen doing it a lot and lot and lot until you feel like you're comfortable enough.
yeah, I'm sure like, like how I felt when I first did my first arbor, you know, and I wasspending a year, you know, working with this wedding florist and she's like, finally like,
yep, you can do the arbor.

(35:13):
I'm like, yes.
I don't think people realise like as a business owner, like at the start when you'regetting people to help you, you probably don't even need their help.
Be like, cool, I'll bring you along because we're to kind of teach you.
But at the same time, it might've almost been quicker for you just do it yourself.
But that's like you're investing in yourself and your business three years ago.
So now you can go to Japan for two weeks.

(35:34):
Exactly.
That's exactly right.
Yeah.
So now it's like, you slowly kind of give them more and more, right?
Like more jobs and more responsibility in the business.
So now it's like, could just go.
I could just go on holiday like all the time.
Cause I know now like every part of like the business now.
Didn't I mean?
And I'm like, yeah, so bad at the social media.
So I'm so glad that I'm, likes doing that because not my

(35:58):
No, not at all.
a lot of your weddings local around this area now?
Yeah.
Mainly Brisbane and Gold Coast Hymn's Lair and Synegram.
That is definitely the majority of where we go to.
Would you look at doing any further field just even if it was like one or two a year justto change it up?
Yeah, like maybe I think I'd be open to it, but also like, I think it would be alogistical nightmare.

(36:22):
And I know I think there's other florists that do this constantly.
And I'm kind of like, they know what they're doing.
You know, they have the experience like to go, you know, Heyman Island and things likethat.
And like, I don't have a huge like want to kind of get involved with those kind of bigweddings, like transporting the flowers is to be so stressful.

(36:44):
Cause I'm like, what's going to survive?
you know, and then how you're to get more flowers and yeah.
So I think I'm OK.
Just like.
If you go on a Tuscany, you're going just for holiday.
This was a whole thing because my cousin's getting married in Tuscany in a few weeks,right?
And I'm like, I just don't really want to do the flowers.
Like, and because, you know, I have clients in May and they're my priority and then mypriority to make sure that they're all looked after.

(37:06):
So like, I don't want to be stressing about another wedding that I have to do in Tuscanyand like buying, like I just don't have the knowledge really to buy from the farm there.
so I ended up getting rebel rebel actually to do the flowers for her.
Amazing.
kind of come full circle.
So I'll get to see them all again.

(37:27):
So they're going to do the flowers and I've kind of just been over like more of thestyling element for her just in terms of like stationary and napkins and stuff, which I
don't usually do, but I will.
Yeah.
I'm kind of doing that with her, but so yeah, that'll be fun.
And I can really enjoy my trip and I can just go to skinny and not stress.
And meanwhile, the team will, you they'll do 20 proposals and you'll get all of them.

(37:48):
And I'll come back and be like, cool, awesome.
I to go away.
It's like an incentive.
Do you to talk?
So, I mean, I don't really want to bring up like the economy, you know, much, but likepeople they are hurting a little bit.
Yeah.
Are people kind of coming to you and asking for advice like, hey, we love your style, butlike, how can we save a little bit of more money?

(38:11):
Like, do you have advice for them at all?
Yeah, I think it's just more about prioritizing what you really want.
So that's why I would say, look, if you really had like, really wanted to come with us andwe have that three, five, like minimum spend, which is probably be at 4,000 for them with
the GST added on.
It's like, okay, well, tell me that and then I will kind of create a proposal based onthose figures.

(38:35):
So that's kind of where that would sit.
So then I would say, yeah, let's focus on your bridal party, focus on your ceremonyflorals.
make that impact, then we can just do blood vases for your reception.
And it still look impactful because you've got your serum in it and then we can move thatin.
So yeah, I think if people want to go with me, it's kind of like, cool, you've got yourown minimum spend, that's fine, we can work with that.

(38:56):
We'll just kind of tell you what you can get in a way.
feel like a lot of couples are, like you said earlier, they're booking the venue and theyknow they can almost have it bare bones, but it's still going to look really beautiful.
Like a lot more couples are kind of going for that now.
so like, just like minimalist, we don't need, you know, $50,000 worth of florals, but theactual architecture of the building and everything is going to do the work for you as
well.
Exactly.
And it's like those photo moments at ceremony.

(39:18):
Like that's kind of the key thing, I think, that you really want.
Yeah.
And like those bridal party photos as well.
Like that's kind when you need the nice florals really.
and move them into reception and you're good.
then you're fine.
You got your big impact piece in reception and you got some bud vases and you know, a lotof people have feasting style now anyway, for, so it's like, you know, having big stuff on

(39:40):
the table and feasting style is, you know, the venue hates you.
The venue like absolutely hates you.
So just don't do it to them.
Especially if want them to recommend you.
Yeah, exactly.
know how many times it happens and you're like, I didn't realize that was feasting style.
And then you're like, the staff just like iron you off.
And you're like iron them off.

(40:00):
don't move them.
We talk a little bit on here to help kind of couples out and then also we have a lot ofvendors asking questions too.
You talked about say venues being a really good source of leads for you.
How did you go about I guess nurturing those relationships with those vendors?
Yeah, like it does take time.
I think that's a big thing.

(40:21):
It doesn't just like happen overnight.
So I think originally it's more just maybe reaching out, doing styled shoot there.
I think it's just literally, yeah, kind of investing in shoots at the venue to createimagery for them.
Or if they have like a tasting night or a showcase or something, then like offer to like,you know, do the flowers for the tasting night or, you know, kind of just putting yourself

(40:46):
out there.
Yeah, we have the wedding guide that we've like sent around to all a lot of venues atstart of this year.
We kind of do that every year once we kind of finalize the pricing for that year.
And we find that like really good.
Just kind of keeps people like forefront of their mind.
They get really pretty imagery.
And yeah, it is because we go to so many different venues.

(41:09):
kind of you might not see them like very consistently because I don't think we have fullconsistent like, you know, every week we're at the same venue.
we do like really kind of spread around a little bit.
So you might not see them in like a month or two months or something like that.
So it's just, yeah, it takes time.
But I think the initial thing would be to do shoots and like offering to like invest moneyinto like photos for their business.

(41:33):
For their advertising, for their marketing to help them grow.
I think like with refinery, I think at the start, they were having these brunches again,this is back in like 2019.
And then I'm like, okay, like I'll do the flowers for their brunches.
And you know, after a while, it's like cool now, like where their preferred supplier andthat's, we get like a lot of bookings through the refinery.

(41:55):
I think that's, but again, that's taken like, you know, how many years, like about 2018.
So I don't think it's like.
It's something that can just happen overnight.
It's really like a relationship that's built like over years and years.
I think even just like talking to venue owners, venue managers, like they are humans aswell.
And even like I speak to at the end of the year, I'll kind of go through and work out howmany, you know, weddings I shot at each venue.

(42:19):
And then even just be like, I like, I'll just give them an email.
Like, Hey guys, I just let you know, I got X amount of work because of you this year, youknow, that that helped pay for my family and everything like that.
And I think just sending those emails, showing your appreciation to that.
And it's probably, I mean, photographers like, Hey, do you need head shops for your staff?
Do you need anything?
and just trying to think outside of the box because there is, I feel like there's so muchtake, take, take in this industry.

(42:43):
So I'm trying to think of like, well, how can we do something different?
It's not that hard to stand out, I don't think.
And I think like even the end of the year, like a nice Christmas card and some likecookies or something, you know, something like that, like a scent.
So we do that as well, like at the end of every year.
But yeah, it does like, yeah, it's a long process and you need to kind of let it bepatient.
You know, you don't want to be like pushing or anything like that.

(43:04):
That's yeah.
Not really.
I mean, you might do like one a year potentially.
It's just such an outlay for florists.
So it's like, if you're spending like 1500, $2,000 on flowers for a shoot.
Yeah.
It's like, it really kind of needs to be like worth it.
Like, I know.

(43:25):
So it's kind of like, so it depends.
I think if someone like, I probably wouldn't, um, organize on myself, but if someone likea stylist that I really wanted to work with or a venue I really want to work out, like,
you know, pitch something then like, then I'll think about it and do it.
But I definitely like, it's a lot more considered than it used to be.
I think at the start I was like, yeah.
Stalled shoot, stalled shoot, stalled shoot.

(43:46):
All the time.
And now, like you said, if a venue does come to you, you are almost reciprocating like,yes, thank you so much for all the work you've said to me.
I'll put money back in and just kind of keeps going back that way.
Well, Jem, any other exciting plans for the future?
I think, it's just like, I think I'm kind of like a slow and steady approach to like thebusiness.

(44:08):
I am kind of just about like getting kind of like a 1 % better like every day.
And I don't know if you listen to the podcast, like CEO.
Yeah.
So like, obviously like he's kind of like business philosophy is like 1 % better likeevery day.
So it's like slowly improving your business, making processes slightly better.

(44:29):
So.
you know, over the year, then you have like a better business and a better like lifestylethan you did have a year before.
So I think we're kind of like, you know, we kind of go, okay, maybe the proposals shouldinclude this.
Okay, let's like add that in as a template.
That's what we'll do today.
You know, we're going to clean up the imagery in our Canva, you know, to make it easierfor people to access the right images, just things like this.

(44:55):
It's just like a slow process of like getting better.
So I'm never like a
that's like rebrand and completely change everything and offer this and offer this.
I think I'm more like a, that's like take it one day at a time.
That's like slowly improve our processes for our business and for our team and for ourclients as well.
So that's, yeah, I guess I would kind of move with that kind of philosophy in terms of,you know, scaling as well.

(45:20):
Like I'm not like, I'm gonna take over the world and I'm like happy and okay to kind of goat this pace and.
I'm like, yeah, excited that we've probably, we had about 60 weddings booked last year andwe're probably on track to hit like 80.
And I think like, I'm pretty happy with that.
Like, I don't think we need to like really get more.
Like I'm okay with the growth that we're at the moment.

(45:43):
Yeah.
Yes, actually.
So that's true.
I did hire a business coach at the end of last year just to kind of, I hadn't never spentany money like in the business.
And I like, probably time.
For like seven years in, like, and I like having like a good, like healthy contingency aswell.
Like, so I'm like, okay, well, probably should spend, I can probably spend some of thiscontingency now on a business coach.

(46:07):
So yeah, that's been like really interesting getting a different like perspective inrelating to like finances as well.
And also about processes and like making the website way more like user friendly and likethings I wouldn't have like thought about.
Has there been like one bit of knowledge you've gained from this person that you're justlike, aha, and it's changed a lot?

(46:28):
Um, I think it's more like generally like for like the website, I think we were trying tomake it very aesthetic, right?
But then it's like, it's a little bit clunky sometimes because like not a lot ofinformation on it because it's so pretty and so image based, you kind of make it really
aesthetic.
But like there's not a lot of information on there.
So they were like, no, you need to kind of have be a little bit more easier for people tolike see where you're at.

(46:53):
What do you do?
So we kind of have
added a lot more information onto the website.
We've kind of put processes in where like they can download the wedding guide, send theman email and now we have like their email addresses.
So then we have like, that was like 250 people now who's like downloaded in last likemonth.
So now we're like, cool.
Our next step is then to like retarget with like, like we've made a seasonal availabilityflower information sheet for people.

(47:20):
So that's in the process of being made.
So we'll send that out as an email to everyone.
And then we might like just every month just start like implementing a blog about like arecent wedding that we've done and kind of retarget like a lot of the people that have
downloaded this this booklet to be like, you know, if you want to book a consult, thenbook in a consult.
So I think that is more of a more of like a thing of just like kind of capturing yourclient a bit easier.

(47:45):
Yeah.
And then like we've been tracking a lot more of like how many proposals proposals thatwe've been doing and how many have been converting as well.
Weirdly enough, we have seen like an increase in our conversions.
I'm not really sure why, but I just tracking.
Yeah, we're just tracking a lot more of the data, I think.

(48:06):
And I think that will help make better business decisions.
That's amazing.
Yeah.
That's so cool.
How something like that.
And like, it takes you seven years on the same where you're just like, all of a suddensomething happens and you're like, I need to do this now.
Yeah.
And then all of a sudden it's just exponential growth again.
Yes, exactly.
Yeah.
So just implementing all that and yeah, doing paid marketing for the first time.
We haven't done that before.

(48:27):
So we're just seeing how the results go with that as well.
To see if like Instagram is where it's at or Google is where it's at.
At the moment, I'm thinking Google isn't really where it's at.
I think because it's too cold.
I think the consumer is too cold.
So they're kind of just typing wedding forest and they don't really have an idea of yourbusiness, what you do, what your minimum spend is, where you service kind of thing.

(48:49):
So I think probably Instagram is a bit more beneficial for us, but it's just testing thatand getting more data.
researching who our client is and try to knuckle down on that.
Do you coach any other florists or no doesn't interest you at all?
No.
Okay, because I feel like after this episode you might have a few people asking you somequestions.

(49:10):
Yeah.
Okay.
You can, sure you can like, you know, email me.
I might be able to respond, like.
Yeah.
depends if you're overseas, you know, for looking about.
Exactly.
Awesome.
Oh, do you have any, we've been almost an hour now.
Do you have any kind of final hints and tips for couples at all on that side?
Yeah, think just, yeah, kind of looking at your, you booked your venue, look at yourbudget and kind of really assess like where your priorities are.

(49:40):
I think that's like really important for couples.
And then it is a thing, I think, of going on Instagram and then seeing the florists thatyou're like vibing with as well.
Really getting that information from like these guides.
A lot of florists like have them or if you contact them, they will send you like a guidepricing guide.
I think just like trying to get information before you kind of make that initial inquirysometimes.

(50:05):
Yeah, I think that's kind of...
even tell couples like, don't like choose three florists.
Don't go crazy.
Like, don't, like, don't you're to overwhelm yourself.
And then even like, I, I noticed a big one.
Like when I get inquiries, I will literally book between like 24 to 48 hours after thefirst, like the inquiry, anything over that, like the chance of booking is kind of gone.

(50:28):
And so like, I'll say that to couples straight up.
was like, look, you know, most of my couples will book between this timeframe.
because they know like I am the one for them.
And like, if this isn't the case, like there will be someone for you that does happen toyou.
So it's like, yeah, don't get overwhelmed.
Just choose three that you love and approach them and then kind of go from there.
There's a lot of people on Instagram right now.

(50:49):
know there's a lot of content going out and obviously like, the venues obviously have, Ithink that's a good starting place as well, right?
And then just having a look and then, yeah, contacting them.
I've, I think I've been like a lot quicker with communication this year.
So I think that's also been something that I've realized is really important.

(51:09):
So like instead of like, you know, we have so many things on so it's like always I'm notalways on the computer because I'm actually making things and delivering things and
setting things up.
So, you know, I always say like, you know, within like 24 hours.
So I'm really trying to get in that 24 hour and if I respond on the same day, it just kindof creates a little bit more trust, weirdly like straight away that they know like they

(51:34):
can communicate with you and get back to them really quickly.
still toying with the idea at the moment.
I've been like for about a month, I had like an automated email like, hey, just let youknow this is automated.
I don't know if I'm available yet.
But then I also found like the actual saying thing bookings off those leads drops, whichis strange.
because I feel like once you want prices and everything like that, you kind of just wantit now.

(51:55):
But then if I don't send that email, like a lot more people will book, even if they haveto wait 24 hours, but then a lot higher, like book then.
So it's so weird like to know what to do.
Like everyone's like, you've to get back to people straight away.
But then also, I don't know.
Yeah, I know it's always hard to know, I think.
We've even just like added like a consult, you can book in a consult through the website,like, calendarily, like we hadn't used that before.

(52:19):
So that's also been kind of interesting as well, because people have been like, you know,set like, you know, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, like 10 to four, like our consult times.
And people have been using that function.
And that just stops me from going, when are you free?
You know, sending that when are you free?
I know this happens all the time to me.

(52:40):
It's like Monday at 6pm and I'm like, Oh, can't do it.
Can we do Tuesday?
Oh no.
Oh, Wednesday.
Oh, no.
Okay.
Yeah.
So it just cuts that out.
And I'm like, maybe that is helping as well.
So yeah, I think that'll be interesting at the end of the year to try and be like whathelps.
Exactly.
Like you said, 1 % every day.
Yeah.
Perfect.

(53:00):
All right.
And then where can people find you on websites, socials, all that kind of thing?
so on Instagram we're garden.graffiti and our website is www.gardeningrafiti.com.au.
Amazing
for having me.
That was fun.

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Wedding Floral Proposal Process and Client Engagement - Garden Graffiti

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Wedding Floral Proposal Process and Client Engagement - Garden Graffiti