Next up in the A (Wedding) Day In The Life of series is Sapphire & Lace Design! Bethany and Julie, the sister team behind all of the pretty blooms created, are vivacious, crazy talented, and sweet as pie. I’ve known them both for years and I seriously consider them friends, not just friendors. Their passion about their work and their commitment to delivering innovative, thoughtful designs has always impressed me. But when I saw just how much time, energy, and love go into a wedding day, I was blown away. If you thought your wedding florist just played with pretty flowers all day, you were sorely mistaken. Their job is tough! Don’t take my word for it though. Here are B and Julie with the full scoop!
After months of dreaming, planning, organizing, and ordering, wedding week is here! The Sapphire & Lace Design cottage is a buzz. Lists are flying and we’re so excited for our couple!
Tuesday
Pull all hard goods (votives, table numbers, compotes, high centerpiece stands, etc.) for quality check and packing.
Prep and clean containers.
Candles are counted (wicks up!) and our week-of questionnaire is sent over to our bride for confirmation of final details!
Wednesday
FLOWERS ARE HERE!!!!!!!
Everything is being counted, processed, and then organized in the cooler (Post-Its everywhere!).
This takes us most of the day but we have a little time left to reach out to our setup/teardown crew and confirm the schedules for wedding day!
Thursday
Recipes are written on our chalkboard wall to make Friday designing run smoothly.
We pull the bouquet flowers, carefully selecting the best of the best for our bride and her favorite ladies.
Friday
DESIGN DAY!!!
We start with bouquets then work our way to centerpieces (not for a particular reason; we’re just usually too excited to make that gorgeous bridal bouquet!).
After everything is designed to perfection, we re-label and re-organize the cooler for an easy load out on Saturday!
Saturday
WEDDING DAY!!!!
After a good night’s sleep, we wake up ready to tackle all the beauty of the day!
9 a.m.
Pick up the van.
9:15 a.m.
Pick up bagels and coffee….because…bagels and coffee.
9:30 a.m.
We’re ready to design body flowers. Boutonnieres and corsages must be done day of to ensure they’re fresh for the day! They get wrapped in ribbon and labeled with a hand-lettered tag. We pull the perfect tray to display the boutonnieres for a finishing touch and great photo op!
10:30 a.m.
LOAD OUT! It wouldn’t be complete without our cart and ALL the zip ties. Since we packed up everything earlier in the week and labeled all the flowers, loading up the van is pretty quick. We can’t leave without snapping a quick picture of the bride’s bouquet!
11 a.m.
We arrive at the bride’s parents’ home to deliver the bouquets. (She loves them! Yay!) We instruct her and her girls how to properly carry their flowers for the best photos and we’re off!
11:30 a.m.
Arrive at church. Altar pieces are placed with care and pew bows are tied off. The wonderful ladies at the church will be pinning on the personal flowers so it’s time for us to head to the reception!
12 p.m.
Arrive at reception and unload. (Did we mention we love our cart??)
Take a couple of before-pictures and get to work. We have one crew member on candle duty, another on table numbers and signage, and we get right to work placing arrangements, making sure every last detail is perfect.
3 p.m.
We’re making great time! Everything is almost set and we have a few extra blooms to play with (our favorite part). What can we do to make the reception room look better? Where could we add extra these flowers for the greatest impact? How can we make the bride and groom feel special when they sit down to their table? Just a few of the questions we ask ourselves before wrapping up!
3:30 p.m.
Back to the cottage and unloading buckets, garbage, and anything we won’t be needed for tear down. Time to put our feet up for a bit!
9:30 p.m.
Back in the van armed with empty boxes and garbage bags. To tear down we go!
10:15 p.m.
Waiting for those last few guests to trickle out so we can blow the candles out and start repacking.
11 p.m.
It’s always sad to take down the beautiful decor, but we finished quickly and we’re so ready for bed!
11:30 p.m.
Back at the cottage, unloading (again), and filling up the gas tank on the van so we can return it tonight and have Sunday all to ourselves 🙂
Ohhhhhh child, I am tired just reading this! Like so many other vendors, florists have such a physically grueling day that requires a long time commitment. Bethany and Julie, you totally deserved those bagels and that coffee and I hope you got to relax on Sunday. Thanks for sharing all of your hard work and for creating such beauty in the world!
If you missed it, catch up on A (Wedding) Day In The Life Of La Pomponnee Beauty Artisans and watch as I share more behind the scenes posts in the coming months.
You can also revisit some of my favorite posts from this series in the past!
