December 7, 2023 • 44 mins
Bridal Beauties engagement season is here 🙌 and we are so excited to bring you a new episode with one of our favorite wedding vendors....give it up for Jill Savage, owner of Floral Rhapsody!
Jill has been in the industry for the past (almost) 20 years and has such a wonderful insight to all things florals. Whether you are looking for something timeless and elegant, or something so out-of-the-box that it would make Miranda Prietsly say "Floral arrangements for a wedding.......GROUNDBREAKING" 💐🌹🌸🌷🌼🥀 Well, then this epsiode is for you!
If you are the bride who knows a floral budget is a must for the wedding day, be sure to follow along and don't forget to take notes (or share this episode with a bride-to-be) as Jill will be sharing her thoughts, dreams, expectations for her couples (and prices) on this epsiode.
Links to Floral Rhapsody:
Website: https://www.floralrhapsody.com/links
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floralrhapsody/
Links to us:
Website: https://www.va-bridal.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/versailles_atelier_bridal/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vabridal
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@versaillesatelierbridal?
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/VA_Bridal/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBJqW5cox4z0GqgE9vwRAZA
Rainbow Wedding Network: https://www.rainbowweddingnetwork.com/formal-wear-apparel/ut/south%20jordan/versailles-atelier-bridal
Have questions or episode ideas? Email us at everybodypod@va-bridal.com
Jill has been in the industry for the past (almost) 20 years and has such a wonderful insight to all things florals. Whether you are looking for something timeless and elegant, or something so out-of-the-box that it would make Miranda Prietsly say "Floral arrangements for a wedding.......GROUNDBREAKING" 💐🌹🌸🌷🌼🥀 Well, then this epsiode is for you!
If you are the bride who knows a floral budget is a must for the wedding day, be sure to follow along and don't forget to take notes (or share this episode with a bride-to-be) as Jill will be sharing her thoughts, dreams, expectations for her couples (and prices) on this epsiode.
Links to Floral Rhapsody:
Website: https://www.floralrhapsody.com/links
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floralrhapsody/
Links to us:
Website: https://www.va-bridal.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/versailles_atelier_bridal/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vabridal
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@versaillesatelierbridal?
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/VA_Bridal/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBJqW5cox4z0GqgE9vwRAZA
Rainbow Wedding Network: https://www.rainbowweddingnetwork.com/formal-wear-apparel/ut/south%20jordan/versailles-atelier-bridal
Have questions or episode ideas? Email us at everybodypod@va-bridal.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:14):
Good morning, morning, good morning. We got a new friend here today.
We have the beautiful Jill with FloralRhapsody. So we wanted her to
come in and talk about all thingsflowers because we are not well versed in
flowers at all. It's true,but I'll say I think one of my
first questions for you is, how'dyou come up with the name. Oh
my gosh, I should have knownyou to ask me that. So I
(00:40):
actually I got my business license intwo thousand and four, so it's been
a hot minute, and I wishI could remember more vividly, like how
I came up with it. Iremember like bits and pieces of it.
I just wanted something different, youknow. Yeah, everyone loves to be
(01:00):
unique, right, I wanted tobe a unique girly So I just wanted
it to be like I wanted itto have sort of like a presence.
And it was long before I feellike a lot of people think, you
know how like Bohemian Rhapsody became abig thing. Again, it was well
(01:23):
before that, and I just rememberthinking like should it be Floral Rhapsody or
Floral Rhapsody design? And I couldn'tdecide it actually is floral Rhapsody design officially,
but I never used on all thelegal docs. Yeah, on all
the legal docs. But I justwhen I rebranded myself last year, we
(01:46):
did Floral Rhapsody Studio by Jill Savage, and I don't use that on everything,
but it's there if I want thaton something, Okay, So yeah,
that's really cool. So we wereflowers all the dream? Or did
it kind of just come about asOkay, it did kind of just come
(02:06):
about. The story is I foundmyself. I was a teen mom.
I found myself pregnant the very endof my junior year of high school,
and so I started I needed tomake some big girl decisions and I needed
a full time job. My situationat home wasn't like super like supportive,
(02:32):
and I just knew I needed fulltime work, and so I just happened
upon this floral shop in Provo.I don't know why I wanted to work
there so badly, but I knewI didn't want to work in food,
and so I just called them likeevery day. I did find out they
(02:53):
were hiring, but it took awhile to get all situated with the owner,
and I just I started working there. I worked there for eleven years.
Wow, so I did get mybusiness license while still working there,
and yeah, also the rest ishistory. Well I love that you just
had like that inkling, like thatlittle voice bee, like this is where
(03:15):
you're supposed to be. It isweird looking back, like, how because
I'm not a pusher, and sothe fact that I found out I was
pregnant the day after I turned seventeen, So I'm a seventeen year old like
making all these phone calls like beingpersistent, Like that's not my nature really,
(03:35):
So it is kind of funny tothink back, like, wow,
I really wanted to work there anddefinitely wasn't looking for like a career path,
but I guess I was in asense. You know, you probably
had all those adult thoughts running throughyour head of I've got a little person,
I'm going to take care of.My life is changing. I need
to think I wanted to do somethingthat I liked doing. I knew that
(03:59):
I knew that much, which isgreat. Yeah, and that's the hope
I think for everyone that they canfind passion and something and I want that
for everyone, honestly, Like Ilook at what we do and how like
we are in the business of celebratinglove. Not a lot of people can
(04:19):
say that, and so I wantthat for everyone. I want everyone to
enjoy what they do to an extent, you know, Yeah, I love
that. I want to know whatis the worst flower to work with and
the best flower? Okay, Iwould say worst flowers to work with are
(04:42):
probably ones that are really thirsty,that just poop out really quickly off the
time. Well, and then there'slike flowers that I just don't care for
visually. I guess I would saysay things like I'm not gonna say hydrangea
(05:03):
because that's actually one of my favorites. But let's say let's say hydrangea for
instance. It's so thirsty you can'tdo a lot with it. It needs
to be in water. In thewarmer months. I actually tend to not
use it at all, which isreally sad because I really do love it.
(05:25):
My favorite flowers to work with areactually I love roses because they do
better if they need to be outof water. There's a lot you can
do with them. I feel likeroses. I know they can be cliche,
(05:46):
but I love them so much becausethey can take on different shapes.
You can manipulate their shape They're verybold and they're kind of in your face.
I love it. That's what Ilove about them. When I felt
like you did that when we havethe Edison househoes just like some of those
flowers I had no idea were roses, and the way you had opened them
up and like aged ash, aren'tthose those areas? Love? I love
(06:15):
those two. The color of theYeah, it's just so unique. They
have a high pedal count as wellas the play a blanca, which is
like an ivory rose, a creamrose. Anything with a high pedal count
is easier to manipulate that way.Yeah, that makes sense. Well,
here in Utah we are always knownfor like certain trends. I feel like
(06:38):
we just we have like and I'msure everywhere has it, but we have
such cliches with everyone kind of copyingeach other doing a lot of the same
thing because the same color, samedress. People get inspired by what they
see, and so I think it'sjust always a repetitive thing because people feel
safe and like those little boxes oflike, oh, I know that will
look good, So I should juststick with that instead of exploring not what
(06:59):
it is at least I see,Yeah, what is it? I that's
always been my perspective is here,I feel like we live in such a
bubble and it's easier to be inthat bubble where it feels safe and familiar,
rather than exploring all these other possibilitiesand wondering if it works out or
not. I love to explore andlearn new things, like so when I
see people just in their little box, I'm like, it's okay to step
(07:21):
outside of it, let's try newthings. It's okay, yes, But
in the in that concept of florals, do you get requests for a lot
of the same thing or is yourideal client more adventurous and wanting to do
things different? So I do geta lot of both, and it does
it It kind of breaks my hearta little bit when I get the clients
(07:42):
that are like, oh, well, my best friend just got married and
this is what she did and Iloved it, and they're you know,
they show me. And this isn'tto mock you know, any any of
my clients. I love them somuch, but it does drive me a
little crazy. Or oh my sisterdid this, my cousin did this,
and instead of because I'm thinking thenext sentence should be, well, my
(08:05):
best friend just did this at theirwedding, so I want to do something
different, and they want the samething. They want what their best friend
just did with their florals, andI'm thinking, well, no, make
it you. And I obviously likehave my own style as well. But
one of the biggest compliments that I'vegotten is, you know, like we
(08:30):
we do a big installation, wedo the ceremony, reception, whatever,
and let's say the groom walks inand he's like, oh my gosh,
this is so Nicole, or themom walks in, Oh my gosh,
this is so Ashley, you know, like we just like the personality.
Yes, we made it. Wemade it hers. We made it her
(08:52):
wedding, and it's her vibe andthat and it's still our you know,
our style, our but we didstay true to what she wanted as well.
And I do think people shouldn't beafraid to be more unique and more
individualized with their wedding flooral I agree, Yeah, I mean, flowers really
(09:16):
set a stage, you know whatI mean, Like for me, like
obviously a venue for the most part, at least with what I feel is
here in our state, it's verymuch just clean plane and like four walls
and you just have to go inand create a whole vision, which as
a venue is great because if they'renot suck on a certain aesthetic, they
can appeal to more. But atthe same time, I don't think a
(09:37):
lot of people realize how much effortit is for you to go in and
take a you know, blank spaceand make it vibrant. And same with
the wedding planners who have to thinkof all the meticulous details and in that
vein. And another thing that justkind of drives me crazy is when the
client will say like, well,you know, this space is sou a
(10:00):
full on its own. We don'tneed much. And I'm like, girl,
I am, I'm a moreas moregirly, and there is so much
you can do with this space.We don't have to leave it four walls
and a ceiling and a floor,you know. But I feel like that
happens a lot of times where I'vegone to some you know, years past,
(10:22):
where it's just cute, tiny littlethings on tables and then that's it,
and I'm like no, And Imean, I know people are going
to prioritize what's most important to them, and especially the budgeting so true.
It's so true, and definitely florala full service wedding. Floral is a
luxury. Yeah. But you know, anytime I see those aesthetic videos,
(10:46):
whether it's TikTok Instagram, like theweddings where they have flowers hanging from the
ceiling and there's like all these spaces, like the whole places flowers, I
just and I am see like Isaid, I am a mouras more like
if there is is room and thebudget, like, yes, let's style
the stairs, let's style the ceiling. Let's style the DJ booth. Let's
(11:07):
put put it everywhere. I loveit. I do too. And with
pricing, do you guys have aprice that you start at. Do you
have packages? Yeah, we dohave a minimum. It's forty five hundred
dollars. I kind of put things, you know, everything is I don't
do packages. Every wedding is sodifferent, yea. I've kind of divided
(11:33):
it into tiers, okay, wherewe say, you know, like let's
say the tier is like forty fivehundred dollars to eight thousand. That's kind
of like our lower tier. Andthen let's say like eight thousand to fifteen
thousand is like a mid tier,and then anything you know above fifteen would
be like a higher tier, andthat's when we can talk about more of
(11:56):
like the multiple installation. Your firsttier will get you like one, maybe
two installations. The second tier isgoing to be maybe like two or three
installations with like elevated center pieces,and then obviously the higher tier would be
like multiple installations, you know,full aisleway florals, things like that.
(12:24):
And I'm glad you do it thatway, because you know, I don't
even know how my wedding floorals werepriced. I had Robert from every blooing
thing. Oh he's seated my wedding, he said, I love him,
but it was one of those Iowawas the bride of I don't know flowers,
like I know the basic ones thateverybody knows, and that's about it.
Like I'm not well versed. AndI said, but I'm having a
(12:45):
nineteen twenties wedding, so like whateveryou think aesthetically will match that. Oh,
but he loved it. He lovedit, like he and he had
his like booklets out showing me things, and he's like, well, what
do you think about this or this? And I said, honestly, I
trust you can you just do whatyou think? Because Gray said, here's
my wedding, this is my dress, this is the venue. Whatever you
think would be best, just gofor it. I love and that's that's
(13:07):
I think everyone's any wedding vendor,oh, I think that's their dream.
And it was easy for me tobe that way just I worked on the
dress side, so I knew myselfpretty well. And I'm one of those
if I love something, I'm notgonna go out to price match and search.
I'm gonna do searching ahead of timeand be like, you know what,
I really love this. They havea price range that seems reasonable,
(13:31):
so I'll just go to them andsay here's my thoughts. And if I
exceed said price range because I'm doingtoo much, I can say, okay,
do I want to reprioritize where Ispend the money or do I just
at that point say maybe that's alittle too much. Can we scale back
slightly? But like that is thevision, you know, I'm But I'm
not someone that's gonna drive around toevery place, because yeah, my time
(13:52):
is which money is my gass?Is money smart? It's smart. I
I do wish more people would lookat it that way. And it's not
that I want to just hit theground running doing whatever I want for a
client. I do want to getto know them and their vision. Like
I like to have them send metheir stationary suite. I do like them
(14:13):
to send me their gown, anyother clothing that people are wearing, obviously,
like pictures of the venue if I'mnot already familiar with the venue,
anything, what they're doing for theirlighting, obviously they're linens. That's a
big one. Just so I canmake all these mental notes of like what
(14:35):
this vibe is and how we canenhance it and really bring it to life.
I love that. I love thatwell and to ask for so many
moving pieces so that you can keepit cohesive. Because at least when I
got married a decade ago, wedidn't do photos of like the invitations and
the flowers and the ring box andall of that, Like that was that
(14:56):
wasn't a thing, like yeah,you know, I'd see it in magazines.
But now it just seems so commonfor people to do really, so
I never would have thought about matchingflorals to my invites, and right,
no, I definitely think it's it'simportant to like just I just say,
like, send me whatever you wantme to know, you know, whatever
(15:16):
is inspiring, you send that tome as well, so we can get
SYNCD up that way. Yeah,and how many, like do you meet
so many times before or do youhave like the initial consultation, get all
the info and then you start workingon stuff and slowly email them. Waits,
We don't meet a ton honestly.Obviously, the initial consult where I
(15:39):
meet with the bride and it,you know, depending on the situation,
whether it's the bride and the planner, you know, the bride, the
planner and the mom, the brideand the groom. And then once in
a while, we'll do a walkthrough of the venue. Depending on the
venue, Like if I'm already veryfamiliar with it, then it's not very
necessary. If it's a venue thatI would like, I would feel comfortable
(16:03):
going and doing a walk through andkind of looking at some of the mechanics,
we'll do that. And then Ialways tell them, you know,
keep a log of things you wantme to know. It does get a
little overwhelming if people want to emailme constantly, absolutely, and stuff can
definitely get lost in the cracks thatway. But I kind of let them
(16:26):
know, like keep a log andthen send it all to me at once,
especially once you have your Usually venueswill have a four like a four
week finalization meeting, and then that'sa really good time to touch base with
me as well. One thing inparticular that tends to happen is they'll either
(16:48):
add tables or take away tables,depending on their RSVPs. The much worse
scenario as if they add tables andthey don't let me know and then we
show up and we don't have enoughcenter pieces. That makes sense, yes,
so yeah, well we'll usually dolike a four week three four week
(17:10):
out finalization and then how long aheadof time would you like your clients to
reach out to start initiating this relationship, Like is there an ideal amount of
time? Is there a non idealtime? I would say the more time
the better, right, But Imean, people are planning their weddings way
(17:33):
further in advance they than they usedto do. I'm sure you guys are.
Ever since COVID. I just feellike people are they're in it for
the long game, and so we'reI mean we're already pretty booked out for
next September October I would say ayear's is becoming more typical, but it
could be six months. It couldbe three I mean we're in Utah,
(17:57):
it could be three months. Couldyou get stuff done in three months?
Could you get flowers ordered? Icould? I definitely could. I could
do I could do six weeks.That's crazy. I mean, if our
schedule allowed, I honestly could dothree or four weeks, you know,
I mean, that's that would bekind of crazy. Elect I'm sure.
(18:22):
I'm sure we've done that though.I'm sure we've had those moments. Yes,
those last minute I think everybody hasthose stories where you're like, I
don't ever recommend that. If wehave to, we'll make it happen,
but it's gonna cost more and thestress levels are going to be through the
room. Yes, yep. Yeah. Well, when someone comes to you
(18:44):
with a vision, if they aren'topen to like suggestions, like say they
want a certain flower, and you'relike, it's just not in season,
you know, how do like,how do you work around that? Because
where people aren't burst in floral.Oh, it's a flower, so if
I want to, I can getit. But I know, yeah,
and people are usually actually really reallygood about it. I've been so lucky.
(19:06):
I've just had the best brides.Like I really honestly couldn't tell you
many horror stories when it comes toyou know, personality conflicts or you know,
a bridezilla like I honestly, Ijust really haven't had that experience too
much. Kno, gone Wood.I just as long as you are being
(19:29):
transparent. I love being transparent aboutthings like that. I love being transparent
about money and the and the actualfact that we are dealing with mother nature.
People are very understanding of it onceyou kind of remind them of that.
There's only so much that anybody cando. There's only so much that
the growers can do. There's onlyso much that the wholesalers can do.
(19:55):
There's only so much that I cando. I mean there are things like
you know, like if something comesin really bruised, I don't know if
you'd notice, like at the atthe grocery store like Trader Joe's or whatever.
Like a lot of the times theblooms will be like creased and bad
and bruised. If they were tocome in to me like that, I
(20:15):
can send them back and say,no, this isn't okay, Like that
with the product. Yeah, andthat's I mean, that's the value of
having good relationships with my whole sellersas well, is they kind of just
I mean, they're not going tosend me that in the first place because
we have a great relationship. Theykind of know that like what my standard
is as far as like the bloomsthat I've ordered from them. So yeah,
(20:40):
once you kind of just let peopleknow, like we're all doing our
best. Sometimes shades just come alittle more saturated. Sometimes the blush is
a litle more pink. Sometimes thesoft dusty blue it's a little more vibrant,
And I will do my very verybest to dilute it as much as
(21:03):
I can if that's going to bean issue, and again work with my
whole seller to be like, hey, this is not the vibe. What
else do you have? Like howcan we sort of like fix it?
Yes, how can we fix thisin in the next day or two before
because it's a time sensitive product,right, so perishable. I'm not getting
(21:25):
in your wedding flooral a month aheadwhere I have all this time to like
troubleshoot, right, So once itcomes in, we have you know,
probably twenty four hours to fix anyissues. Yeah, it is crazy it
if people only knew, right,I would love a documentary of kind of
(21:48):
that type. From the time yourflowers come in there's you know, they're
either shipped straight from Holland Miami,California a Good or Columbia, the the
time that they get chipped in tothe time that we are done cleaning up
after your wedding. I would lovea camera to follow me around. I'm
(22:11):
here for that, right, I'meven all wedding vendors like our wedding dresses,
like all of us art to finish. I would love that. I
am dying to know the inner workingsof most everyone's businesses because I just think
it would be the most eye openingthing for all of us. And you
(22:32):
would see the literal literal blood,literal sweat, literal tears that does into
everything that we do for weddings.It's so true and that's the stuff I
know. I like to share becausepeople will have questions on, oh,
what do you mean I can't geta dress and like a month and I'm
(22:52):
like, you know, a lotof wedding dresses can average anywhere from like
thirty to eighty hours to make itjust depends on if it's very minimal basic
that it's just a pattern's been madeand they're just pre cutting out material,
you sew it together and ship it, or if it's custom made where we've
taken measurements and they're gonna fix thepattern to be as close to your fit
(23:14):
as possible. And then there's handworkand you know, all of those logistics
going. And you know, I'mlike, yeah, maybe your dress only
took thirty five hours to make,but it's not a straight through thirty five
hours. Like, no, theybreak that up in a day, you
know, in several days or weeks. And yeah, if people only knew,
if they only knew, Yeah,And that's part of why we try
(23:34):
to do these things is hopefully spreadthat to give others more knowledge, because
I think the more aware we areof the world outside of our own lives,
it's you know, helps us putthings into perspective, and yeah,
it keeps us humble, especially inUtah where we just have such a hard
(23:55):
time. I feel like I'm reachinga standard of spend point that we all
really need in order to live andtear our bills. And you know,
I maybe this isn't the best example, But I always think like, well,
everyone just kind of already knows thatan attorney costs a pretty penny.
(24:19):
You just kind of know like,Okay, it's going to be what what
is like one hundred and fifty tothree hundred dollars an hour, you know,
and I'm if I need more done, I'm gonna have to pay more.
And it's probably not even them doingit. It's probably mostly their parallel.
I probably sound very ignorant because Idon't work in that field at all,
(24:40):
but I want people to know thatabout like the wedding industry as well,
like this is a luxury and itis. It is not. It's
not a glamorous job that we do. It is. It's a lot of
it's a lot of bitch work,it really is. Yeah, And it's
(25:03):
you know, and I'm also I'malso paying other people to pull this,
to execute this as beautifully as itneeds to be. Yep. And I
know we hear a lot with peopleare asking us all the time and appointments
for recommendations, referrals on vendors.We do it often, and we always
encourage it, like hey, ifyou need help in an area, we
(25:26):
have a lot of great friends thatwe can help refer you to. But
a lot of times I feel likeflowers are one of those people complain.
They're like like we had I knowone where a family said, oh my
gosh, we got a quote forflorals and it was six thousand, Like
that's ridiculous. And I was like, I can see from the perspective of
how you value your money, thatseems astronomical. I said, but if
(25:49):
you think about it, flowers don'tjust grow here that they go clip in
the back and put together. Yeah, you have to source it. And
I'm like, I know how muchof pain shipping to get an individual dress
shipped from overseas through DHL. It'snot cheap, Yeah, not cheap,
but you know what I mean,it's like if and if that can fall
apart, like it has a timelimit, like you have to have it
refrigerated in shipping, I would assumein some sort of capacity so that it
(26:14):
does wilt. Yeah, I'm payingto have a cooler working properly twenty four
to seven, Right, I have, I actually have. I have two
delivery vehicles that the and I needmore. I mean, that's another thing,
right, delivery vehicles. One ofthem is refrigerated so that you know,
especially in those hot months, Imean the time, even if our
(26:36):
venue is twenty minutes from my studioin Lehigh, it's so much can go
wrong, so much can happen intwenty minutes if it's hot outside. So
yeah, definitely we take those thingsinto consideration. But I always I think
of those scenarios where I'm like,whatever it takes to ship it from whatever
location you've gotten the florals from isa high cost to keep them cool,
(27:00):
and then you've got to keep themrefrigerating. I'm sure in your location you've
got to have, like you said, the van, there's so much that,
like energy you have to pay for, Like you're literally paying for energy
to keep yep, things alive thataren't meant to be alive. Yep,
it's so true. And then I'vegot to pay x amount of people to
build these in a day or two. Right, We're not building over weeks.
(27:22):
We're taking one or two days tobuild this entire wedding, whether it's
the centerpieces, or it's the mechanicsfor the cake meadow or the isle away
florals. We're prepping the cages forall the installs. All within a day
or two and that takes multiple hands. Yeah, and people it's people that
(27:45):
are experienced as well in floral design. And I feel like a lot of
people don't realize the cost is therefor a reason. We've got people.
We have to pay for the flower, the shipping and all of that.
And I think of like, Okay, you're coming in for a wedding dress.
They're expensive, and they come inand try to bargain, get a
(28:06):
discount, get it on sale.And I'm like, do you walk into
those famous designers and try to doknow the price is the price? I
want I just want people to knowthe price is the price. We're we're
doing our best. We're not swindlinganybody. Back to the six thousand dollars
comment, that is a lot ofmoney. I know that that's a lot
(28:27):
of money, and I just Iwish people knew, like, whatever,
thousands of dollars you're paying me todo your wedding floor. I am,
I'm spending thousands of dollars. Yeah, And I think that's what's so hard
is people are naive, which isnormal because it's even so many industries like
(28:48):
you, so we don't know howthe inner workings of lawyers are we don't
know the inner workings of how likedoctors do things or anything like that.
It's not those aren't my windows ofright of industries that I know. I
just wish people were okay and comfortableto ask questions like well, can you
explain why? Yeah? But oh, most people don't even really ask why.
(29:11):
It's just an immediate like how darethey? They're just automatically put off
and they I think, yeah,it's like a I don't know if they
feel a little betrayed or just alittle yeah, like they're taken advantage of.
And I never want someone to feellike that. I always want people
to feel like they can ask mebecause I know it's a lot of money.
A thousand dollars is a lot ofmoney. It's just not going to
(29:34):
go very far with floral. Yeah. I always love when people are like,
well I could make this myself.Yeah, and they have a lood
they really could. And I don'tknow that people I would actually be curious,
like when people do their own weddingfloral, are they glad that they
did? I feel like I've heardmore stories where the person is more you
(29:57):
know, a mom will come tome say, oh my gosh, we
did my lost daughter's wedding ourselves.It was a nightmare. I've seen family
members the day of just running aroundsweaty as can, be beat red in
the face because they're doing too much. They didn't hire enough out and so
(30:18):
they'll come to me and say,Okay, this time, we're just letting
you do it. Yeah, becauseit is it's a lot of work.
Yeah, well, and that's whywe're here. We're here to make this
as effortless as possible, so theyaren't running around exactly. And I know
I always love to advocate to bridesthat, you know, if they're able
to, like, if you areable to have a coordinator that day to
(30:41):
be there to run the show,that is going to be great. And
I'm like, if you can getthe catering company that has the staff on
hand to replenish, the food,to serve, to clean up, that's
gonna be I just to know thatpeople would say it at the end of
the day, man, I wishwe didn't pay to have that done.
(31:02):
I wish we would have done thatourselves. I feel like the regret comes
way more from trying to do itthemselves. It's I just think it's worth
every single penny. I feel likewhat we do is worth every single cent,
and I want it to be andI want it to be. I
wanted to exceed their expectations. Iwant them to say I would have paid
(31:26):
double what I paid now that Isee it all come together, yes,
And I mean, I know thereare people and I feel like it's rare.
But I've heard people say like,oh, I regret that we spent
so much on the money. Imean, so much money, excuse me
on the wedding. But I feelmost of the time when they say that,
it's more they were upset with howmany people came and that they spent
(31:47):
money on that weren't there to likecelebrate, you know what I mean.
Because I don't regret list is athing. Yeah, you have to be
careful, I think with who youinvite, because I don't regret the amount
of money we spent. I regrethow many people we had at them really
where it was just like I wasfine spending the money because it was amazing.
Yeah, I regret that I hadso many people there and it was
(32:08):
just almost like you forget that it'sabout the couple, Like it's their day
celebrating, rather than the parents wantingto show off. Yeah that's always hard.
Yeah, that is hard, andit's a fine line because I feel
like, also it you do wantyour guests to feel very special. That's
(32:30):
another reason I feel like floral isso important. Is I feel like when
you were a guest and you walkinto a room filled with floral, fresh
floral and candlelight, you feel special, you feel celebrated, you feel it
makes you feel like you're in love. You know. It ignites like that
old passion that you don't get tofeel everything because you're surrounded by so much
(32:51):
beauty. Yes, and we don'thave that in our everyday lives. You
know. That's why I just thinkweddings are so special, and they they
are. They're worth the blood,sweat and tears. They're worth the money,
the planning all of that. Yeah, because I know for sure I
would not have wanted to do anyof the wedding stuff myself. No,
(33:12):
like at all. It's rough.It's so rough. And I had a
lot of friends who had the family'smindset of like, oh well we can
dihy this, and the guess whogot roped into it? Everybody else,
and it's like, I didn't wantto do this. I know, I
didn't act, and they're not.You don't want to be a good time
and I when you're getting married,I think that's something to consider, is
you want your closest family and friendsto have a good time at your own
(33:37):
wedding. You do? Yeah?Yeah, well, And I hope that
now and you know, as timesbecome more modern and progressive, that as
we get more couples, especially here, I know that dynamics changed a lot
where we are getting couples that havecareers and are a little bit more self
sufficient and not quite as young.We still have a lot of young brides,
but you know, the pendulum isn'tmostly on one side. It's kind
(33:59):
of evenly. But the people whoare older, and by older, I
mean they're like mid twenty so they'reout of college and they're yeah, they're
working, but I mean anyone liketwenty five and up, I think they
have more of that mindset of like, I know how valuable my time is
because my career dictates that, LikeI know how much they get paid hourly,
and I know, you know howmany hours have got to work in
(34:21):
order to cover this, so havingthe time to save up for that so
I can pay someone, but alot of times people don't have the time.
Maturity is a is a key factorthere too, with it when it
comes to wedding planning. Yeah,I think because I at least feel when
I have brides who are of amore maturity level, they they aren't up
in arms over costs of things.They're more like, you know what,
(34:44):
that makes a lot of sense.But at least in my life, with
all of the things I have topay for, this is what I can
spend, So what are my optionsin this? Like, they can have
that conversation. Whereas if they area little bit younger, a little bit
more immature, just because they're doing, you know what is perceived as the
right thing to just move on tothat next days of life as soon as
(35:05):
possible, they aren't quite as awareof what things cost in life. Yes,
they haven't had the ability to goout into the world on their own
exactly. Yeah, I think that'sexactly it. But yeah, it's it's
crazy to think how all of ourdifferent areas create one day, you know
what I mean, Like all ofthose inner workings is yeah, yeah,
it's neat it is, it's wildand like I said, it's so it's
(35:30):
so worth it. Like I said, we're we're in the business of celebrating
love and family and new beginnings andI love it. I just want people
to know that. And I also, I don't know if you guys get
this. I always kind of liketease my couples a little bit at the
end, like being engaged is hard. It really is. It's it's not
(35:54):
as fun. I think she's laughing. She's currently engaged and we haven't done
a whole lot because of my stress. Yeah, it's not as fun as
it sounds. I think it's wayfun in the beginning and then by the
wedding day or like, can wejust be done? And that's very,
very, very normal. And Ialways tell my couples like just hang in
(36:15):
there, like when we, youknow, we have kind of like our
four week out and you can tellthe grooms just like had it, you
know, and it's so normal.It's so normal. It doesn't mean,
it doesn't mean anything. It's justhard and it's a lot of planning,
and it's so it's so worth it. It's so worth it. It's so
(36:37):
worth it for me. When youknow we've finished up and you know,
the mom walks in or you know, whoever paid the bill, you know,
walks in and they start crying andthey just say, like this exceeded
my expectations, Like this is justmore than I could have even imagined.
It is the best feeling. Ilove that. It's what keeps us going.
(36:59):
Honestly, I mean, I don'tknow how else we would do this
if we didn't have those moments whenwe get a girl's gown in and that's
the first trying it on, whenit's after the order brand new, just
seeing their faces light up and Ijust this is it, Like this is
I would love it. See,it's so cool. The best part for
(37:21):
me is when it's the parent,because for the most part, we have
really awesome parents of these couples thatare so supportive and encouraging. But there
are times where the bride is adamantfor one thing, but someone else in
the family's adamant for something else,and they're not saying eye to eye,
but the bride has enough courage togo for what she wants, and then
(37:42):
they bring that family back in andyou know they're just remembering trying on of
the sample and not her dress.You know what I mean, that disconnect
but as soon as you put theirdress on, especially if we do custom
measurements, because I know a lotof times people are like, well,
well I don't want to pay forthat, and I'm like, well,
you're either going to pay to haveit fitted or we're going to pay to
(38:02):
do a pattern because that's what herbody needs to make it thin better so
that it's less alterations. Like,yeah, you can't completely get rid of
alterations, but we can do morefor her if they give us the time
too and allow us to do thosepattern changes so it comes in fitting better
and then it's less work. Soit's it comes out in a wash,
(38:24):
I feel like. But it isa samestresses prefer if we can get things
closer to fit so that it's betterto fit. Okay, that makes sense.
We've had brideshear, like, I'lltell the parents, you know,
based on the way they're shaped andhow standard sized charts are just no,
not everyone ever fits a standard sizedchart. Why it's a standard I don't
know, But based on the sizechart and the way your beautiful child is
(38:46):
shaped, we need to do acustom pattern because they're not this weird hourglass
shape that like nobody ever is is, you know what I mean. So
it's like, if you allow meto do this, it'll come in fitting
a lot better. It may needminor tweaks just to like solidify that tailoring,
but you're not going to have whatfits her waist and it's huge in
(39:07):
the bus because that's how it isfor me. Whatever fits me here won't
fit me here. So I wouldneed that patterning to make sure that like
the bust shape and wate shape arecloser to me because they'd have to take
it in inches in the top oneme. But when it comes in and
we've convinced the family and they're they'relike, oh, we had to spend
more money, you know, likeit'll be worth it, I promise.
(39:28):
And then it comes in and youput it on and it fits like a
glove, and they walk out andthey're like, oh nice, Oh my
god, this is perfect. Iwas like, and you just feel like
you nailed it too, Yes,you nailed it. And I love feeling
like I nailed it. It's wildhow much families get involved. I'm sure,
yeah, you probably see it morethan I do. But it's it's
(39:49):
wild how how the parents get Imean, I say that, but you
know, when it comes to mykids, I feel like their stuff is
my stuff too, So I getit. I get it. But yeah,
I've told my husband to make sureI don't turn into that once our
kids are of married age. Andhe's like, He's like, but you're
gonna have so many years of experiencein that industry, you're gonna just automatically
(40:12):
be like, well, they needme because I can. Yeah, And
I said, you know what theywant. I know what they want.
I feel like that about my kids, and I'm sure that's extremely toxic,
and but I just think that's Idon't know, I think it's normal.
Like even though I do it,I do I really hope. I'm like,
I hope I can just be thesupportive of like, hey, whatever
(40:34):
it is you want, we canmake it happen, and you just got
to communicate what you want instead ofbeing like I think about it all the
time. It's okay. Now theyhave me, and I can be the
neutral zone. That's I can.You are not netral, but I can
also tell them you're wrong. I'ma neutral zone. We'll pretend that's how
you described, I feel like you'llbe more opinionated at me at that point,
(40:58):
I'll be like, Cassidy, shutup. Good thing, We're a
long ways away from that. True, very true at least, I hope
so so well. Before we wrapup the episode, is there any last
advice you'd want to give couples thatare currently planning a wedding? Oh,
when it comes to the flower portion, Oh, I don't know. I
just think like I like when peoplelike, don't hold back, like be
(41:25):
don't be afraid to like be inventive, or like have an out there idea,
like tell me your ideas. Don'tfeel like your ideas are dumb.
I hate feeling like my ideas aredumb. You know, don't hold back,
don't be afraid to be bold,make a statement. And if you
(41:46):
are a very understated person, that'sgreat too. Some of my favorite weddings
are very understated. I love mea white wedding, you know, just
still love just a white, clean, clean, elegant, timeless wedding.
I love all of it. Sojust yeah, I would just say,
(42:07):
don't don't hold back. I thinkflorists by nature are just very receptive to
just like thoughts, ideas, hopes, dreams, beauty, like, just
tell us all of it and thenwe'll go from there. You know,
I love that, and then we'llmake sure to have everything in show notes.
(42:29):
But where can they find you toget a hold of you? What
are the best places? Oh?I would say, you know, always
Instagram at Floral Rhapsody. My websiteis Floral rhapsody dot com. My studios
located kind of right in the heartof Lehigh. We're not we're not there
all the time. We are eventbased, but that's where we're located.
(42:50):
If you ever did want to driveby and I'm there, come say High
and we'll probably be in the thickof chaos, but please, I'm sure
they'd show up and you've got likeflowers in your hair and your a friends
still the stuff, and you'd belike, who are you? What do
you? If people only knew whatgoes on behind the scenes, Well,
maybe that's something you should do,then, is you wor Yes? I
(43:16):
would love to do that. I'dlove to watch. I definitely tune in
and watch it. Yeah, yeah, I think people would. I think
people would like how we get fromfrom here the ugly to like the perfectly
executed show me real reality and notscripted reality. Well, there is that
one TikTok that he does the beautifulfloral arrangements, and I'm like, I
(43:38):
could watch for d but I lovewhen he does like the crystal wands for
like to hold like it's like awhole crystal bottom. And then he does
like themed Okay, so I lovejust like outside of the box. I
love stuff like that. Well,listen, engaged couples. We need you,
guys to do more outside of thebox things so our creative brains can
(44:00):
run wild. For one's true.So all right, guys, well,
thank you for tuning in, Andas we always say, remember that everybody
is a bridal body. We'll talksoon. Bye bye bye,
Good morning, morning, good morning. We got a new friend here today.
We have the beautiful Jill with FloralRhapsody. So we wanted her to
come in and talk about all thingsflowers because we are not well versed in
flowers at all. It's true,but I'll say I think one of my
first questions for you is, how'dyou come up with the name. Oh
my gosh, I should have knownyou to ask me that. So I
(00:40):
actually I got my business license intwo thousand and four, so it's been
a hot minute, and I wishI could remember more vividly, like how
I came up with it. Iremember like bits and pieces of it.
I just wanted something different, youknow. Yeah, everyone loves to be
(01:00):
unique, right, I wanted tobe a unique girly So I just wanted
it to be like I wanted itto have sort of like a presence.
And it was long before I feellike a lot of people think, you
know how like Bohemian Rhapsody became abig thing. Again, it was well
(01:23):
before that, and I just rememberthinking like should it be Floral Rhapsody or
Floral Rhapsody design? And I couldn'tdecide it actually is floral Rhapsody design officially,
but I never used on all thelegal docs. Yeah, on all
the legal docs. But I justwhen I rebranded myself last year, we
(01:46):
did Floral Rhapsody Studio by Jill Savage, and I don't use that on everything,
but it's there if I want thaton something, Okay, So yeah,
that's really cool. So we wereflowers all the dream? Or did
it kind of just come about asOkay, it did kind of just come
(02:06):
about. The story is I foundmyself. I was a teen mom.
I found myself pregnant the very endof my junior year of high school,
and so I started I needed tomake some big girl decisions and I needed
a full time job. My situationat home wasn't like super like supportive,
(02:32):
and I just knew I needed fulltime work, and so I just happened
upon this floral shop in Provo.I don't know why I wanted to work
there so badly, but I knewI didn't want to work in food,
and so I just called them likeevery day. I did find out they
(02:53):
were hiring, but it took awhile to get all situated with the owner,
and I just I started working there. I worked there for eleven years.
Wow, so I did get mybusiness license while still working there,
and yeah, also the rest ishistory. Well I love that you just
had like that inkling, like thatlittle voice bee, like this is where
(03:15):
you're supposed to be. It isweird looking back, like, how because
I'm not a pusher, and sothe fact that I found out I was
pregnant the day after I turned seventeen, So I'm a seventeen year old like
making all these phone calls like beingpersistent, Like that's not my nature really,
(03:35):
So it is kind of funny tothink back, like, wow,
I really wanted to work there anddefinitely wasn't looking for like a career path,
but I guess I was in asense. You know, you probably
had all those adult thoughts running throughyour head of I've got a little person,
I'm going to take care of.My life is changing. I need
to think I wanted to do somethingthat I liked doing. I knew that
(03:59):
I knew that much, which isgreat. Yeah, and that's the hope
I think for everyone that they canfind passion and something and I want that
for everyone, honestly, Like Ilook at what we do and how like
we are in the business of celebratinglove. Not a lot of people can
(04:19):
say that, and so I wantthat for everyone. I want everyone to
enjoy what they do to an extent, you know, Yeah, I love
that. I want to know whatis the worst flower to work with and
the best flower? Okay, Iwould say worst flowers to work with are
(04:42):
probably ones that are really thirsty,that just poop out really quickly off the
time. Well, and then there'slike flowers that I just don't care for
visually. I guess I would saysay things like I'm not gonna say hydrangea
(05:03):
because that's actually one of my favorites. But let's say let's say hydrangea for
instance. It's so thirsty you can'tdo a lot with it. It needs
to be in water. In thewarmer months. I actually tend to not
use it at all, which isreally sad because I really do love it.
(05:25):
My favorite flowers to work with areactually I love roses because they do
better if they need to be outof water. There's a lot you can
do with them. I feel likeroses. I know they can be cliche,
(05:46):
but I love them so much becausethey can take on different shapes.
You can manipulate their shape They're verybold and they're kind of in your face.
I love it. That's what Ilove about them. When I felt
like you did that when we havethe Edison househoes just like some of those
flowers I had no idea were roses, and the way you had opened them
up and like aged ash, aren'tthose those areas? Love? I love
(06:15):
those two. The color of theYeah, it's just so unique. They
have a high pedal count as wellas the play a blanca, which is
like an ivory rose, a creamrose. Anything with a high pedal count
is easier to manipulate that way.Yeah, that makes sense. Well,
here in Utah we are always knownfor like certain trends. I feel like
(06:38):
we just we have like and I'msure everywhere has it, but we have
such cliches with everyone kind of copyingeach other doing a lot of the same
thing because the same color, samedress. People get inspired by what they
see, and so I think it'sjust always a repetitive thing because people feel
safe and like those little boxes oflike, oh, I know that will
look good, So I should juststick with that instead of exploring not what
(06:59):
it is at least I see,Yeah, what is it? I that's
always been my perspective is here,I feel like we live in such a
bubble and it's easier to be inthat bubble where it feels safe and familiar,
rather than exploring all these other possibilitiesand wondering if it works out or
not. I love to explore andlearn new things, like so when I
see people just in their little box, I'm like, it's okay to step
(07:21):
outside of it, let's try newthings. It's okay, yes, But
in the in that concept of florals, do you get requests for a lot
of the same thing or is yourideal client more adventurous and wanting to do
things different? So I do geta lot of both, and it does
it It kind of breaks my hearta little bit when I get the clients
(07:42):
that are like, oh, well, my best friend just got married and
this is what she did and Iloved it, and they're you know,
they show me. And this isn'tto mock you know, any any of
my clients. I love them somuch, but it does drive me a
little crazy. Or oh my sisterdid this, my cousin did this,
and instead of because I'm thinking thenext sentence should be, well, my
(08:05):
best friend just did this at theirwedding, so I want to do something
different, and they want the samething. They want what their best friend
just did with their florals, andI'm thinking, well, no, make
it you. And I obviously likehave my own style as well. But
one of the biggest compliments that I'vegotten is, you know, like we
(08:30):
we do a big installation, wedo the ceremony, reception, whatever,
and let's say the groom walks inand he's like, oh my gosh,
this is so Nicole, or themom walks in, Oh my gosh,
this is so Ashley, you know, like we just like the personality.
Yes, we made it. Wemade it hers. We made it her
(08:52):
wedding, and it's her vibe andthat and it's still our you know,
our style, our but we didstay true to what she wanted as well.
And I do think people shouldn't beafraid to be more unique and more
individualized with their wedding flooral I agree, Yeah, I mean, flowers really
(09:16):
set a stage, you know whatI mean, Like for me, like
obviously a venue for the most part, at least with what I feel is
here in our state, it's verymuch just clean plane and like four walls
and you just have to go inand create a whole vision, which as
a venue is great because if they'renot suck on a certain aesthetic, they
can appeal to more. But atthe same time, I don't think a
(09:37):
lot of people realize how much effortit is for you to go in and
take a you know, blank spaceand make it vibrant. And same with
the wedding planners who have to thinkof all the meticulous details and in that
vein. And another thing that justkind of drives me crazy is when the
client will say like, well,you know, this space is sou a
(10:00):
full on its own. We don'tneed much. And I'm like, girl,
I am, I'm a moreas moregirly, and there is so much
you can do with this space.We don't have to leave it four walls
and a ceiling and a floor,you know. But I feel like that
happens a lot of times where I'vegone to some you know, years past,
(10:22):
where it's just cute, tiny littlethings on tables and then that's it,
and I'm like no, And Imean, I know people are going
to prioritize what's most important to them, and especially the budgeting so true.
It's so true, and definitely florala full service wedding. Floral is a
luxury. Yeah. But you know, anytime I see those aesthetic videos,
(10:46):
whether it's TikTok Instagram, like theweddings where they have flowers hanging from the
ceiling and there's like all these spaces, like the whole places flowers, I
just and I am see like Isaid, I am a mouras more like
if there is is room and thebudget, like, yes, let's style
the stairs, let's style the ceiling. Let's style the DJ booth. Let's
(11:07):
put put it everywhere. I loveit. I do too. And with
pricing, do you guys have aprice that you start at. Do you
have packages? Yeah, we dohave a minimum. It's forty five hundred
dollars. I kind of put things, you know, everything is I don't
do packages. Every wedding is sodifferent, yea. I've kind of divided
(11:33):
it into tiers, okay, wherewe say, you know, like let's
say the tier is like forty fivehundred dollars to eight thousand. That's kind
of like our lower tier. Andthen let's say like eight thousand to fifteen
thousand is like a mid tier,and then anything you know above fifteen would
be like a higher tier, andthat's when we can talk about more of
(11:56):
like the multiple installation. Your firsttier will get you like one, maybe
two installations. The second tier isgoing to be maybe like two or three
installations with like elevated center pieces,and then obviously the higher tier would be
like multiple installations, you know,full aisleway florals, things like that.
(12:24):
And I'm glad you do it thatway, because you know, I don't
even know how my wedding floorals werepriced. I had Robert from every blooing
thing. Oh he's seated my wedding, he said, I love him,
but it was one of those Iowawas the bride of I don't know flowers,
like I know the basic ones thateverybody knows, and that's about it.
Like I'm not well versed. AndI said, but I'm having a
(12:45):
nineteen twenties wedding, so like whateveryou think aesthetically will match that. Oh,
but he loved it. He lovedit, like he and he had
his like booklets out showing me things, and he's like, well, what
do you think about this or this? And I said, honestly, I
trust you can you just do whatyou think? Because Gray said, here's
my wedding, this is my dress, this is the venue. Whatever you
think would be best, just gofor it. I love and that's that's
(13:07):
I think everyone's any wedding vendor,oh, I think that's their dream.
And it was easy for me tobe that way just I worked on the
dress side, so I knew myselfpretty well. And I'm one of those
if I love something, I'm notgonna go out to price match and search.
I'm gonna do searching ahead of timeand be like, you know what,
I really love this. They havea price range that seems reasonable,
(13:31):
so I'll just go to them andsay here's my thoughts. And if I
exceed said price range because I'm doingtoo much, I can say, okay,
do I want to reprioritize where Ispend the money or do I just
at that point say maybe that's alittle too much. Can we scale back
slightly? But like that is thevision, you know, I'm But I'm
not someone that's gonna drive around toevery place, because yeah, my time
(13:52):
is which money is my gass?Is money smart? It's smart. I
I do wish more people would lookat it that way. And it's not
that I want to just hit theground running doing whatever I want for a
client. I do want to getto know them and their vision. Like
I like to have them send metheir stationary suite. I do like them
(14:13):
to send me their gown, anyother clothing that people are wearing, obviously,
like pictures of the venue if I'mnot already familiar with the venue,
anything, what they're doing for theirlighting, obviously they're linens. That's a
big one. Just so I canmake all these mental notes of like what
(14:35):
this vibe is and how we canenhance it and really bring it to life.
I love that. I love thatwell and to ask for so many
moving pieces so that you can keepit cohesive. Because at least when I
got married a decade ago, wedidn't do photos of like the invitations and
the flowers and the ring box andall of that, Like that was that
(14:56):
wasn't a thing, like yeah,you know, I'd see it in magazines.
But now it just seems so commonfor people to do really, so
I never would have thought about matchingflorals to my invites, and right,
no, I definitely think it's it'simportant to like just I just say,
like, send me whatever you wantme to know, you know, whatever
(15:16):
is inspiring, you send that tome as well, so we can get
SYNCD up that way. Yeah,and how many, like do you meet
so many times before or do youhave like the initial consultation, get all
the info and then you start workingon stuff and slowly email them. Waits,
We don't meet a ton honestly.Obviously, the initial consult where I
(15:39):
meet with the bride and it,you know, depending on the situation,
whether it's the bride and the planner, you know, the bride, the
planner and the mom, the brideand the groom. And then once in
a while, we'll do a walkthrough of the venue. Depending on the
venue, Like if I'm already veryfamiliar with it, then it's not very
necessary. If it's a venue thatI would like, I would feel comfortable
(16:03):
going and doing a walk through andkind of looking at some of the mechanics,
we'll do that. And then Ialways tell them, you know,
keep a log of things you wantme to know. It does get a
little overwhelming if people want to emailme constantly, absolutely, and stuff can
definitely get lost in the cracks thatway. But I kind of let them
(16:26):
know, like keep a log andthen send it all to me at once,
especially once you have your Usually venueswill have a four like a four
week finalization meeting, and then that'sa really good time to touch base with
me as well. One thing inparticular that tends to happen is they'll either
(16:48):
add tables or take away tables,depending on their RSVPs. The much worse
scenario as if they add tables andthey don't let me know and then we
show up and we don't have enoughcenter pieces. That makes sense, yes,
so yeah, well we'll usually dolike a four week three four week
(17:10):
out finalization and then how long aheadof time would you like your clients to
reach out to start initiating this relationship, Like is there an ideal amount of
time? Is there a non idealtime? I would say the more time
the better, right, But Imean, people are planning their weddings way
(17:33):
further in advance they than they usedto do. I'm sure you guys are.
Ever since COVID. I just feellike people are they're in it for
the long game, and so we'reI mean we're already pretty booked out for
next September October I would say ayear's is becoming more typical, but it
could be six months. It couldbe three I mean we're in Utah,
(17:57):
it could be three months. Couldyou get stuff done in three months?
Could you get flowers ordered? Icould? I definitely could. I could
do I could do six weeks.That's crazy. I mean, if our
schedule allowed, I honestly could dothree or four weeks, you know,
I mean, that's that would bekind of crazy. Elect I'm sure.
(18:22):
I'm sure we've done that though.I'm sure we've had those moments. Yes,
those last minute I think everybody hasthose stories where you're like, I
don't ever recommend that. If wehave to, we'll make it happen,
but it's gonna cost more and thestress levels are going to be through the
room. Yes, yep. Yeah. Well, when someone comes to you
(18:44):
with a vision, if they aren'topen to like suggestions, like say they
want a certain flower, and you'relike, it's just not in season,
you know, how do like,how do you work around that? Because
where people aren't burst in floral.Oh, it's a flower, so if
I want to, I can getit. But I know, yeah,
and people are usually actually really reallygood about it. I've been so lucky.
(19:06):
I've just had the best brides.Like I really honestly couldn't tell you
many horror stories when it comes toyou know, personality conflicts or you know,
a bridezilla like I honestly, Ijust really haven't had that experience too
much. Kno, gone Wood.I just as long as you are being
(19:29):
transparent. I love being transparent aboutthings like that. I love being transparent
about money and the and the actualfact that we are dealing with mother nature.
People are very understanding of it onceyou kind of remind them of that.
There's only so much that anybody cando. There's only so much that
the growers can do. There's onlyso much that the wholesalers can do.
(19:55):
There's only so much that I cando. I mean there are things like
you know, like if something comesin really bruised, I don't know if
you'd notice, like at the atthe grocery store like Trader Joe's or whatever.
Like a lot of the times theblooms will be like creased and bad
and bruised. If they were tocome in to me like that, I
(20:15):
can send them back and say,no, this isn't okay, Like that
with the product. Yeah, andthat's I mean, that's the value of
having good relationships with my whole sellersas well, is they kind of just
I mean, they're not going tosend me that in the first place because
we have a great relationship. Theykind of know that like what my standard
is as far as like the bloomsthat I've ordered from them. So yeah,
(20:40):
once you kind of just let peopleknow, like we're all doing our
best. Sometimes shades just come alittle more saturated. Sometimes the blush is
a litle more pink. Sometimes thesoft dusty blue it's a little more vibrant,
And I will do my very verybest to dilute it as much as
(21:03):
I can if that's going to bean issue, and again work with my
whole seller to be like, hey, this is not the vibe. What
else do you have? Like howcan we sort of like fix it?
Yes, how can we fix thisin in the next day or two before
because it's a time sensitive product,right, so perishable. I'm not getting
(21:25):
in your wedding flooral a month aheadwhere I have all this time to like
troubleshoot, right, So once itcomes in, we have you know,
probably twenty four hours to fix anyissues. Yeah, it is crazy it
if people only knew, right,I would love a documentary of kind of
(21:48):
that type. From the time yourflowers come in there's you know, they're
either shipped straight from Holland Miami,California a Good or Columbia, the the
time that they get chipped in tothe time that we are done cleaning up
after your wedding. I would lovea camera to follow me around. I'm
(22:11):
here for that, right, I'meven all wedding vendors like our wedding dresses,
like all of us art to finish. I would love that. I
am dying to know the inner workingsof most everyone's businesses because I just think
it would be the most eye openingthing for all of us. And you
(22:32):
would see the literal literal blood,literal sweat, literal tears that does into
everything that we do for weddings.It's so true and that's the stuff I
know. I like to share becausepeople will have questions on, oh,
what do you mean I can't geta dress and like a month and I'm
(22:52):
like, you know, a lotof wedding dresses can average anywhere from like
thirty to eighty hours to make itjust depends on if it's very minimal basic
that it's just a pattern's been madeand they're just pre cutting out material,
you sew it together and ship it, or if it's custom made where we've
taken measurements and they're gonna fix thepattern to be as close to your fit
(23:14):
as possible. And then there's handworkand you know, all of those logistics
going. And you know, I'mlike, yeah, maybe your dress only
took thirty five hours to make,but it's not a straight through thirty five
hours. Like, no, theybreak that up in a day, you
know, in several days or weeks. And yeah, if people only knew,
if they only knew, Yeah,And that's part of why we try
(23:34):
to do these things is hopefully spreadthat to give others more knowledge, because
I think the more aware we areof the world outside of our own lives,
it's you know, helps us putthings into perspective, and yeah,
it keeps us humble, especially inUtah where we just have such a hard
(23:55):
time. I feel like I'm reachinga standard of spend point that we all
really need in order to live andtear our bills. And you know,
I maybe this isn't the best example, But I always think like, well,
everyone just kind of already knows thatan attorney costs a pretty penny.
(24:19):
You just kind of know like,Okay, it's going to be what what
is like one hundred and fifty tothree hundred dollars an hour, you know,
and I'm if I need more done, I'm gonna have to pay more.
And it's probably not even them doingit. It's probably mostly their parallel.
I probably sound very ignorant because Idon't work in that field at all,
(24:40):
but I want people to know thatabout like the wedding industry as well,
like this is a luxury and itis. It is not. It's
not a glamorous job that we do. It is. It's a lot of
it's a lot of bitch work,it really is. Yeah, And it's
(25:03):
you know, and I'm also I'malso paying other people to pull this,
to execute this as beautifully as itneeds to be. Yep. And I
know we hear a lot with peopleare asking us all the time and appointments
for recommendations, referrals on vendors.We do it often, and we always
encourage it, like hey, ifyou need help in an area, we
(25:26):
have a lot of great friends thatwe can help refer you to. But
a lot of times I feel likeflowers are one of those people complain.
They're like like we had I knowone where a family said, oh my
gosh, we got a quote forflorals and it was six thousand, Like
that's ridiculous. And I was like, I can see from the perspective of
how you value your money, thatseems astronomical. I said, but if
(25:49):
you think about it, flowers don'tjust grow here that they go clip in
the back and put together. Yeah, you have to source it. And
I'm like, I know how muchof pain shipping to get an individual dress
shipped from overseas through DHL. It'snot cheap, Yeah, not cheap,
but you know what I mean,it's like if and if that can fall
apart, like it has a timelimit, like you have to have it
refrigerated in shipping, I would assumein some sort of capacity so that it
(26:14):
does wilt. Yeah, I'm payingto have a cooler working properly twenty four
to seven, Right, I have, I actually have. I have two
delivery vehicles that the and I needmore. I mean, that's another thing,
right, delivery vehicles. One ofthem is refrigerated so that you know,
especially in those hot months, Imean the time, even if our
(26:36):
venue is twenty minutes from my studioin Lehigh, it's so much can go
wrong, so much can happen intwenty minutes if it's hot outside. So
yeah, definitely we take those thingsinto consideration. But I always I think
of those scenarios where I'm like,whatever it takes to ship it from whatever
location you've gotten the florals from isa high cost to keep them cool,
(27:00):
and then you've got to keep themrefrigerating. I'm sure in your location you've
got to have, like you said, the van, there's so much that,
like energy you have to pay for, Like you're literally paying for energy
to keep yep, things alive thataren't meant to be alive. Yep,
it's so true. And then I'vegot to pay x amount of people to
build these in a day or two. Right, We're not building over weeks.
(27:22):
We're taking one or two days tobuild this entire wedding, whether it's
the centerpieces, or it's the mechanicsfor the cake meadow or the isle away
florals. We're prepping the cages forall the installs. All within a day
or two and that takes multiple hands. Yeah, and people it's people that
(27:45):
are experienced as well in floral design. And I feel like a lot of
people don't realize the cost is therefor a reason. We've got people.
We have to pay for the flower, the shipping and all of that.
And I think of like, Okay, you're coming in for a wedding dress.
They're expensive, and they come inand try to bargain, get a
(28:06):
discount, get it on sale.And I'm like, do you walk into
those famous designers and try to doknow the price is the price? I
want I just want people to knowthe price is the price. We're we're
doing our best. We're not swindlinganybody. Back to the six thousand dollars
comment, that is a lot ofmoney. I know that that's a lot
(28:27):
of money, and I just Iwish people knew, like, whatever,
thousands of dollars you're paying me todo your wedding floor. I am,
I'm spending thousands of dollars. Yeah, And I think that's what's so hard
is people are naive, which isnormal because it's even so many industries like
(28:48):
you, so we don't know howthe inner workings of lawyers are we don't
know the inner workings of how likedoctors do things or anything like that.
It's not those aren't my windows ofright of industries that I know. I
just wish people were okay and comfortableto ask questions like well, can you
explain why? Yeah? But oh, most people don't even really ask why.
(29:11):
It's just an immediate like how darethey? They're just automatically put off
and they I think, yeah,it's like a I don't know if they
feel a little betrayed or just alittle yeah, like they're taken advantage of.
And I never want someone to feellike that. I always want people
to feel like they can ask mebecause I know it's a lot of money.
A thousand dollars is a lot ofmoney. It's just not going to
(29:34):
go very far with floral. Yeah. I always love when people are like,
well I could make this myself.Yeah, and they have a lood
they really could. And I don'tknow that people I would actually be curious,
like when people do their own weddingfloral, are they glad that they
did? I feel like I've heardmore stories where the person is more you
(29:57):
know, a mom will come tome say, oh my gosh, we
did my lost daughter's wedding ourselves.It was a nightmare. I've seen family
members the day of just running aroundsweaty as can, be beat red in
the face because they're doing too much. They didn't hire enough out and so
(30:18):
they'll come to me and say,Okay, this time, we're just letting
you do it. Yeah, becauseit is it's a lot of work.
Yeah, well, and that's whywe're here. We're here to make this
as effortless as possible, so theyaren't running around exactly. And I know
I always love to advocate to bridesthat, you know, if they're able
to, like, if you areable to have a coordinator that day to
(30:41):
be there to run the show,that is going to be great. And
I'm like, if you can getthe catering company that has the staff on
hand to replenish, the food,to serve, to clean up, that's
gonna be I just to know thatpeople would say it at the end of
the day, man, I wishwe didn't pay to have that done.
(31:02):
I wish we would have done thatourselves. I feel like the regret comes
way more from trying to do itthemselves. It's I just think it's worth
every single penny. I feel likewhat we do is worth every single cent,
and I want it to be andI want it to be. I
wanted to exceed their expectations. Iwant them to say I would have paid
(31:26):
double what I paid now that Isee it all come together, yes,
And I mean, I know thereare people and I feel like it's rare.
But I've heard people say like,oh, I regret that we spent
so much on the money. Imean, so much money, excuse me
on the wedding. But I feelmost of the time when they say that,
it's more they were upset with howmany people came and that they spent
(31:47):
money on that weren't there to likecelebrate, you know what I mean.
Because I don't regret list is athing. Yeah, you have to be
careful, I think with who youinvite, because I don't regret the amount
of money we spent. I regrethow many people we had at them really
where it was just like I wasfine spending the money because it was amazing.
Yeah, I regret that I hadso many people there and it was
(32:08):
just almost like you forget that it'sabout the couple, Like it's their day
celebrating, rather than the parents wantingto show off. Yeah that's always hard.
Yeah, that is hard, andit's a fine line because I feel
like, also it you do wantyour guests to feel very special. That's
(32:30):
another reason I feel like floral isso important. Is I feel like when
you were a guest and you walkinto a room filled with floral, fresh
floral and candlelight, you feel special, you feel celebrated, you feel it
makes you feel like you're in love. You know. It ignites like that
old passion that you don't get tofeel everything because you're surrounded by so much
(32:51):
beauty. Yes, and we don'thave that in our everyday lives. You
know. That's why I just thinkweddings are so special, and they they
are. They're worth the blood,sweat and tears. They're worth the money,
the planning all of that. Yeah, because I know for sure I
would not have wanted to do anyof the wedding stuff myself. No,
(33:12):
like at all. It's rough.It's so rough. And I had a
lot of friends who had the family'smindset of like, oh well we can
dihy this, and the guess whogot roped into it? Everybody else,
and it's like, I didn't wantto do this. I know, I
didn't act, and they're not.You don't want to be a good time
and I when you're getting married,I think that's something to consider, is
you want your closest family and friendsto have a good time at your own
(33:37):
wedding. You do? Yeah?Yeah, well, And I hope that
now and you know, as timesbecome more modern and progressive, that as
we get more couples, especially here, I know that dynamics changed a lot
where we are getting couples that havecareers and are a little bit more self
sufficient and not quite as young.We still have a lot of young brides,
but you know, the pendulum isn'tmostly on one side. It's kind
(33:59):
of evenly. But the people whoare older, and by older, I
mean they're like mid twenty so they'reout of college and they're yeah, they're
working, but I mean anyone liketwenty five and up, I think they
have more of that mindset of like, I know how valuable my time is
because my career dictates that, LikeI know how much they get paid hourly,
and I know, you know howmany hours have got to work in
(34:21):
order to cover this, so havingthe time to save up for that so
I can pay someone, but alot of times people don't have the time.
Maturity is a is a key factorthere too, with it when it
comes to wedding planning. Yeah,I think because I at least feel when
I have brides who are of amore maturity level, they they aren't up
in arms over costs of things.They're more like, you know what,
(34:44):
that makes a lot of sense.But at least in my life, with
all of the things I have topay for, this is what I can
spend, So what are my optionsin this? Like, they can have
that conversation. Whereas if they area little bit younger, a little bit
more immature, just because they're doing, you know what is perceived as the
right thing to just move on tothat next days of life as soon as
(35:05):
possible, they aren't quite as awareof what things cost in life. Yes,
they haven't had the ability to goout into the world on their own
exactly. Yeah, I think that'sexactly it. But yeah, it's it's
crazy to think how all of ourdifferent areas create one day, you know
what I mean, Like all ofthose inner workings is yeah, yeah,
it's neat it is, it's wildand like I said, it's so it's
(35:30):
so worth it. Like I said, we're we're in the business of celebrating
love and family and new beginnings andI love it. I just want people
to know that. And I also, I don't know if you guys get
this. I always kind of liketease my couples a little bit at the
end, like being engaged is hard. It really is. It's it's not
(35:54):
as fun. I think she's laughing. She's currently engaged and we haven't done
a whole lot because of my stress. Yeah, it's not as fun as
it sounds. I think it's wayfun in the beginning and then by the
wedding day or like, can wejust be done? And that's very,
very, very normal. And Ialways tell my couples like just hang in
(36:15):
there, like when we, youknow, we have kind of like our
four week out and you can tellthe grooms just like had it, you
know, and it's so normal.It's so normal. It doesn't mean,
it doesn't mean anything. It's justhard and it's a lot of planning,
and it's so it's so worth it. It's so worth it. It's so
(36:37):
worth it for me. When youknow we've finished up and you know,
the mom walks in or you know, whoever paid the bill, you know,
walks in and they start crying andthey just say, like this exceeded
my expectations, Like this is justmore than I could have even imagined.
It is the best feeling. Ilove that. It's what keeps us going.
(36:59):
Honestly, I mean, I don'tknow how else we would do this
if we didn't have those moments whenwe get a girl's gown in and that's
the first trying it on, whenit's after the order brand new, just
seeing their faces light up and Ijust this is it, Like this is
I would love it. See,it's so cool. The best part for
(37:21):
me is when it's the parent,because for the most part, we have
really awesome parents of these couples thatare so supportive and encouraging. But there
are times where the bride is adamantfor one thing, but someone else in
the family's adamant for something else,and they're not saying eye to eye,
but the bride has enough courage togo for what she wants, and then
(37:42):
they bring that family back in andyou know they're just remembering trying on of
the sample and not her dress.You know what I mean, that disconnect
but as soon as you put theirdress on, especially if we do custom
measurements, because I know a lotof times people are like, well,
well I don't want to pay forthat, and I'm like, well,
you're either going to pay to haveit fitted or we're going to pay to
(38:02):
do a pattern because that's what herbody needs to make it thin better so
that it's less alterations. Like,yeah, you can't completely get rid of
alterations, but we can do morefor her if they give us the time
too and allow us to do thosepattern changes so it comes in fitting better
and then it's less work. Soit's it comes out in a wash,
(38:24):
I feel like. But it isa samestresses prefer if we can get things
closer to fit so that it's betterto fit. Okay, that makes sense.
We've had brideshear, like, I'lltell the parents, you know,
based on the way they're shaped andhow standard sized charts are just no,
not everyone ever fits a standard sizedchart. Why it's a standard I don't
know, But based on the sizechart and the way your beautiful child is
(38:46):
shaped, we need to do acustom pattern because they're not this weird hourglass
shape that like nobody ever is is, you know what I mean. So
it's like, if you allow meto do this, it'll come in fitting
a lot better. It may needminor tweaks just to like solidify that tailoring,
but you're not going to have whatfits her waist and it's huge in
(39:07):
the bus because that's how it isfor me. Whatever fits me here won't
fit me here. So I wouldneed that patterning to make sure that like
the bust shape and wate shape arecloser to me because they'd have to take
it in inches in the top oneme. But when it comes in and
we've convinced the family and they're they'relike, oh, we had to spend
more money, you know, likeit'll be worth it, I promise.
(39:28):
And then it comes in and youput it on and it fits like a
glove, and they walk out andthey're like, oh nice, Oh my
god, this is perfect. Iwas like, and you just feel like
you nailed it too, Yes,you nailed it. And I love feeling
like I nailed it. It's wildhow much families get involved. I'm sure,
yeah, you probably see it morethan I do. But it's it's
(39:49):
wild how how the parents get Imean, I say that, but you
know, when it comes to mykids, I feel like their stuff is
my stuff too, So I getit. I get it. But yeah,
I've told my husband to make sureI don't turn into that once our
kids are of married age. Andhe's like, He's like, but you're
gonna have so many years of experiencein that industry, you're gonna just automatically
(40:12):
be like, well, they needme because I can. Yeah, And
I said, you know what theywant. I know what they want.
I feel like that about my kids, and I'm sure that's extremely toxic,
and but I just think that's Idon't know, I think it's normal.
Like even though I do it,I do I really hope. I'm like,
I hope I can just be thesupportive of like, hey, whatever
(40:34):
it is you want, we canmake it happen, and you just got
to communicate what you want instead ofbeing like I think about it all the
time. It's okay. Now theyhave me, and I can be the
neutral zone. That's I can.You are not netral, but I can
also tell them you're wrong. I'ma neutral zone. We'll pretend that's how
you described, I feel like you'llbe more opinionated at me at that point,
(40:58):
I'll be like, Cassidy, shutup. Good thing, We're a
long ways away from that. True, very true at least, I hope
so so well. Before we wrapup the episode, is there any last
advice you'd want to give couples thatare currently planning a wedding? Oh,
when it comes to the flower portion, Oh, I don't know. I
just think like I like when peoplelike, don't hold back, like be
(41:25):
don't be afraid to like be inventive, or like have an out there idea,
like tell me your ideas. Don'tfeel like your ideas are dumb.
I hate feeling like my ideas aredumb. You know, don't hold back,
don't be afraid to be bold,make a statement. And if you
(41:46):
are a very understated person, that'sgreat too. Some of my favorite weddings
are very understated. I love mea white wedding, you know, just
still love just a white, clean, clean, elegant, timeless wedding.
I love all of it. Sojust yeah, I would just say,
(42:07):
don't don't hold back. I thinkflorists by nature are just very receptive to
just like thoughts, ideas, hopes, dreams, beauty, like, just
tell us all of it and thenwe'll go from there. You know,
I love that, and then we'llmake sure to have everything in show notes.
(42:29):
But where can they find you toget a hold of you? What
are the best places? Oh?I would say, you know, always
Instagram at Floral Rhapsody. My websiteis Floral rhapsody dot com. My studios
located kind of right in the heartof Lehigh. We're not we're not there
all the time. We are eventbased, but that's where we're located.
(42:50):
If you ever did want to driveby and I'm there, come say High
and we'll probably be in the thickof chaos, but please, I'm sure
they'd show up and you've got likeflowers in your hair and your a friends
still the stuff, and you'd belike, who are you? What do
you? If people only knew whatgoes on behind the scenes, Well,
maybe that's something you should do,then, is you wor Yes? I
(43:16):
would love to do that. I'dlove to watch. I definitely tune in
and watch it. Yeah, yeah, I think people would. I think
people would like how we get fromfrom here the ugly to like the perfectly
executed show me real reality and notscripted reality. Well, there is that
one TikTok that he does the beautifulfloral arrangements, and I'm like, I
(43:38):
could watch for d but I lovewhen he does like the crystal wands for
like to hold like it's like awhole crystal bottom. And then he does
like themed Okay, so I lovejust like outside of the box. I
love stuff like that. Well,listen, engaged couples. We need you,
guys to do more outside of thebox things so our creative brains can
(44:00):
run wild. For one's true.So all right, guys, well,
thank you for tuning in, Andas we always say, remember that everybody
is a bridal body. We'll talksoon. Bye bye bye,
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.