I wanted to have fun with this page, like most things in life for me, so I decided to answer some of the questions using famous flower quotes. Because really, what could I say that hasn’t already been said?
Why flowers?
“To me, flowers are happiness.” – Stefano Gabbana
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” – Claude Monet
Why Poppy Belle?
I tried to think of a name of which I’d never tire. My oldest daughter’s nickname is Poppy and my youngest daughter’s nickname is Belle. Together they are EVERYTHING.
Why hire a professional floral designer?
“It’s surprisingly hard to do a flower arrangement the way a florist does one.” – Ina Garten
How would you describe your style?
“For me, style is essentially doing things well. If you want to be outrageous, be outrageous with style. If you want to be restrained, be restrained with style. One can’t specifically define style. It’s like the perfume to a flower. It’s a quality you can’t analyze.” – Francoise Gilot
In the past, I’ve called it Amy Style. I’m inspired by the clients themselves and the ever-evolving options in the world’s flora. So sometimes you may see round bouquets, sometimes oval, sometimes big and airy, sometimes low and lush, sometimes textural, sometimes fluffy, sometimes full, sometimes dainty. Always unique.
Do you have a minimum spend for floral design?
Not exactly. Floral design fees are so customized based on number of guests, number in the wedding party, and so many other factors. I take a different approach, I require exclusivity. I’ll take any size wedding, so long as I’m doing all the floral design. It’s the way I protect my brand. Guests and other vendors don’t know which flowers I designed and which ones Aunt Sara designed. No offense to Aunt Sara, but she likely doesn’t have the training I do, nor the style. It’s important to me that the wedding have a cohesive feel, and this can only be accomplished if my studio has sole ownership of the design.
Do you provide loose stems of flowers for DIY projects?
No, I don’t have a retail shop, so don’t keep stems on hand at all times. And I don’t order them for couples because I still have to pick them up or have them delivered, then I have to process them, clean them, count them, store them in the cooler, transport them to the bride, etc. By the time a couple pays me for my time to do all that must be done, they’re better off financially to go to Sam’s Club or Costco to order blooms in bulk and take care of these tasks themselves.
On a related note, what couples wants to be getting nails ruined by working in flowers the day before and day of the wedding?! I firmly believe every couple should be relaxing and drinking champagne in the days and hours leading to the wedding. And mom and other family members should be exempt as well. In my early years of wedding planning, I had to fix too many DIY’s that went awry! Frozen flowers. Dead flowers. Broken items. Forgotten items. The list goes on and on. It’s so much better to have a professional take care of the floral design, so all involved can relax and enjoy the weekend!
How many weddings will you take on each weekend?
As with most floral designers, it totally depends on the size of each project. I have an amazing network of designers, so scale my team to fit each weekend’s needs. I may take 3 average weddings or only 1 large wedding.
What do you do with flowers after the wedding?
I encourage the family to take them home to enjoy them. In the event they can’t, I recommend donating them.
Can you do sketches of design ideas you propose?
Yes! I took a sketching class under the Sketchbook Series, so do rudimentary sketches of my ideas. When projects get more complicated, I outsource the sketching to a professional.