Primary Learning Assessment #21

Name of Mentor: ​Macey Ward

Profession:​ Owner

Location and Business Name: ​Flourish Floral Design Studio ​306 Sunbelt Dr, Addison, TX 75001

Date of Interview: ​3/21/2019 & 3/22/2019

During these two mentor visits I got the opportunity to be present for and observe aspects

regarding the pre set-up wedding prep. The idea behind this was to allow me to see all the things

Macey does the week of a wedding, in order to be prepared and the process she goes through in

putting together the wedding. This helped me see a more in-depth and specific look into the

business, as it was information focused on a single wedding. I took pictures of the proposal

forms in order to look back on them for reference when creating my final project, and being able

to see things play out was very exciting.

Macey laid out her typical wedding prep process for me in a 2 week chart. Two weeks

before the wedding she orders flowers and sends the finalized proposal to the bride. Four days

before the wedding she preps all the vases she will need, and ensures she has the correct amount.

Three days before the wedding she receives the flowers and processes them. During the next two

days before the event she completes all of the design work for the wedding. The day of the

wedding she completes the set up at the venue, and then later has to go back and take down the

flowers. While this process can be changed based on the wedding, it was nice to see a sort of step

by step procedure that a florist should typically follow, and helped to give me a clearer idea of

what goes into the wedding preparation. This process makes sense as it gives her time to ensure

that things come in correctly, and can be fixed if necessary.

 The two parts of this process I was there for during these two mentor visits were the

processing flowers day, and the day they begin putting arrangements together. On the first day

when I came in, I took a look at the order form Macey had for flowers, and the various quantities

and types she had ordered for the wedding. As it was a processing day, I got to then help Macey

process the flowers for the wedding for an hour. Processing is a very important part of this

process and something I am used to doing at Simply Blessed, however there are some differences

in processing between the two. Simply Blessed is a retail florist, therefore the flowers they sell

are supposed to last as long as possible. Processing at Simply Blessed usually means keeping

flowers that will open quickly, such as roses and spray roses, wrapped up in order to increase

their lifespan. One thing that is different at Flourish and other wedding florists, is that the flowers

do not have to last as long. When processing flowers, Macey will unwrap roses and leave them

out to open in order to achieve a fuller and more open looking rose, without having to worry

about it’s life span because they only need it for the wedding. These differences in processing

styles are always interesting to see and a reminder of the differing goals between retail and

wedding florists. During this mentor visit, Macey had flowers to process for two seperate

weddings, and I found it interesting to see the differences in style and quantity between the two

weddings. Macey had mentioned before that she will sometimes take on weddings that just want

bridal bouquets, even if they go below her minimum budget, because they are quicker and easier

than doing the full wedding process. While the wedding I was there to help with for the week

was the full process, with over 200 hydrangeas and multiple different arrangements, it was

interesting to also see that the other flowers ordered were for a wedding Macey just made
bouquets for. This showed more of the versatility in orders and budgets that a wedding florist can

accept.

During my next mentor visit, I got to observe some of the processes of arranging for the

wedding. Macey let me look through and take pictures of the wedding proposal, which laid out

the quantities and types of flowers in each arrangement. I then sorted out the flowers for the

bridesmaid bouquets, and it was very helpful in order for me to develop an understanding of

what typically goes into each bouquet. In addition to this, Macey’s main employee taught me

how they make boutonnieres and I got to assist in that process. Small and detailed work such as

boutonnieres can be a bit difficult to get the hang of, and they both taught me that florists usually

have to take the time to develop their own method for these type of arrangements in order to

make it more efficient. It was helpful to see the different ways they make boutonnieres, and

taught me a few tricks in this regard, however that is definitely something I would have to take

time to practice in order to become efficient and successful at it. This served as a bit of a

reminder that a lot of aspects of design can only be taught to a certain extent, and that a florist

has to develop their own style and techniques over time and practice.

Overall, these two mentor visits were a lot of fun and will be very helpful in regards to

my final project. Being able to see more of this process was very exciting and informative.

Watching the wedding come together from empty vases, to processed flowers, to arrangements,

with the next step being set up, really helped me get a better understanding of the process. I look

forward to being able to see the setup for this wedding in order to see the final step.