Today we have guest blogger, Nancy Cameron of Destiny Hill Farm, sharing her experience of a recent destination wedding and what she learned.
Destination weddings are routine for some florists, along with their traveling staff and a giant floral budget. Destination wedding floral budgets are often greater than wee florists annual salary!
Have you been asked to do a destination wedding? Are you thinking about doing it solo because you don’t have the six figure budget?
If you are doing a destination wedding prepare to sleep in the cold. I recently did a destination wedding and I set my hotel room’s a/c as cold as it would go to protect my precious product. Florabundance, a California wholesaler shipped flowers directly to my hotel and owner, Joost, said they are happy to ship to florists anywhere.
Luckily for me, my wedding work was a car ride away and one state over. The Bride’s Father put me up in lovely Hilton Garden Inn that provided me with a large corner room. The Hilton staff accepted the floral order and had the heavy flower boxes delivered to my room. The Bride was able to provide me with a large folding work table.
A detailed packing and check list is essential to doing a destination event. You must take everything from flower buckets to ribbons! Efficient packing in easy to carry containers is a must. My room was on the second floor and the best access from the car for unloading was near an exit door with a flight of steps. Next time, I will request a first floor room!
Schedule to arrive 2 days in advance so you can visit the venue and let your flowers settle in after unpacking. Make friends with the Venue coordinators and ask questions so you can work as a team and follow the venue’s rules. The two coordinators, Ann Marie and Chelsea at the Scioto Reserve Country Club in Dublin, Ohio were outstanding. They made my job a breeze.
After your venue visit set up your hotel workshop and do early prep work. Make sure you have a healthy meal and get a good night’s sleep. You may want to request some extra bedding for warmth while sleeping in your flower cooler. Ideally, it would be nice to reserve a separate adjoining room that can serve as your cooler and wouldn’t it be fun to fill the bathtub with flowers!
The day before the wedding is a serious workday. Take a walk midday to stay fresh. While you are working stand up and do some stretches and remember to eat or at least fuel with healthy snacks. If you are in the same hotel as the Bridal Family and guests expect to have visitors. Everyone loves flowers and is curious! I kept my door cracked so anyone could enter without interrupting me. I was friendly to all but kept a business disposition so they understood I had a very important task at hand.
The morning of the wedding add finishing touches and load up to travel to the venue. Set up as early as possible. If time permits you can return to the hotel to rest your feet, shower and dress up for a wedding. Drive back to the venue early to greet your Bride and her party. Present your flowers and yourself in full bloom and you will be rewarded. Travel is good and work travel can be enlightening.
Contact Information:
Nancy Cameron
Destiny Hill Farm
Pennsylvania
Photo snapshots in this post are by Nancy.
Professional photographs are by Tyler Scott Photography
