A day in the life of Pick Me - Cardiff Based Florist

I've been meaning to write this for a while but alas it hasn't happened, until now that is! I wanted to share with you what it is exactly I do when it comes to wedding set up - prepare to see my face a few times!

When you think of a florist what do you think? Little lady sitting in a shop surrounded by flowers in buckets, weird teddies that have collected dust and that shiny ribbon that seems to appear on wedding car wing mirrors? I bet you don't think of spray paint, power tools and just general weirdness?!

Well friends, let me enlighten you and remove some of the mystery! I've used a recent wedding to give you an idea into the practical side of things!

Some of the work is done before this, the client is met, designs decided upon, sundries collected, organised, flower lists written and checked and general pottering about.

Anyway...

Once upon a time there was a florist called Strizz who had to set an alarm for 5 a.m much to the annoyance of her long suffering partner (he doesn't mind really). Why set an alarm so early you ask? To the wholesale of course!*Points!*

This is me at the wholesale! Beautiful right?

So how does it work? Well the flowers have already been selected thanks to the wonderful World Wide Web. I'm just collecting, making sure the quality is up to scratch and the right stock has been picked.

Then it's loading it up into the car time and home to condition! Conditioning is arguably the most important part of the entire process, get this wrong and you can end up in quite a pickle!

The flowers then sit in water hydrating for a long time before they get used!*Queue working montage to 90s music*

Ok so now it's time to get creating! Everything is timed and organised beforehand to ensure nothing is missed and everything runs smoothly. Work starts at 7.30 a.m prompt with prep work done so this can include things like getting ribbons, wires, bases ready then it's onto the flowers and foliage.

I'm very fortunate to have a large workshop with plenty of space because this isn't a sit down job! Best purchase? Turn table!

15 hours work and finally it's complete. Hazzar! Everything is made up and packaged ready to load into the car for transit tomorrow. These are the boxes that the bridal bouquets are transported in. The bouquets are put into water and supported with packaging paper.

Here's a very tired photo of myself with the darkness outside. Sore feet, sore hands and sore eyes it's home for a few hours sleep before its up again for an early start to load up and deliver...still smiling though!

6a.m start and it's over to the workshop to load up the car. I've become very good at Tetris! It's so important to get the packaging right so make sure nothing is damaged in transit.

Venue - A few hours set aside with plenty of time between completion time and the start of the wedding just in case of emergencies. Keep everything clean and tidy. Go see the bridal party to give them their flowers and instructions *happy women bobbing about ensues*. Last minute check and done! This is my tool belt, it holds everything from tools to spare wires, tapes, glues for emergencies. I never set up without it!