Cupid struck again...

So as I finish off clearing up the aftermath from the craziness of valentines day I am left thinking about how much love I am surrounded by all day every day. In every aspect of my job it is all about expressions of love.... How lucky am I.

The old adage "Romance is dead" is a load of rubbish and I for one can vouch for that. Each day there are sweet gestures of love, be it a lover sending a rose in the new exciting throws of early romance. An older couple celebrating a 65th wedding anniversary or a best friend sending a lovely wild flower bouquet to cheer up a mate after a break up. (All of which have happened this week) It comes in all shapes and sizes and I'm honored to be a part of them all.

With wedding season kicking off this month I loved getting my teeth stuck into a beautiful wedding at Pencoed house estate on Saturday the 17th. The bride and groom actually live at the end of the road from the shop so we have become well acquainted over the years and I was really pleased when they chose me to do their wedding flowers. It was a really personal affair and I will be share to lots of pictures a s soon as I can. However I have had to write about this as it could only happen to me. I have always loved the delivering of wedding flowers. The butterflies I still get in my tummy before I get there is something I will never tire of. Will they like them??!! 

I love the little touches they notice and its a really lovely moment for me knowing that getting up at 4 am was worth it for that exact moment. That was exactly what happened on Saturday. We had a chat and as always advised the bride to make sure she held her bouquet in the correct position saying  "think of holding it at your belly button” With a bridemaid interrupting saying "blooms to bush!”

Anyway off I go to the grooms across the way over some terribly slippy decking. I knock the door and out they pile, all the grooms men.

I advise that the deckings wet “watch you don't fall!” I continue to pin on the buttonholes, last job of the day. On the last one of all, most important, the grooms. I step on aforementioned decking and there I go head over heels.. legs akimbo.. (yes I'm wearing adress!) one foot stuck in a perfectly placed sun lounger. The gents we're very gracious in helping pick me up and I wondered off a soaking mess, red faced only relieved the photographer had missed such a special moment! Why am I so clumsy!!????

Any way I digress…….

The flip side of this, is lost love. For me these are always the hardest requests to deal with. Purely due to the nature of what has brought these people to seek my services out. I believe Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult things a person can go through, it has a way of changing the fabric of ones soul. Seeing people at their most distraught is not something I ever thought about when I entered into the wonderful world of floristry all those years ago. Little did I know I would often become the shoulder to cry on, the person who they shared their wonderful memories with and the one they chose to create that last parting show of affection. I have often had to lock the door and sneak out the back to shed a few tears after many clients have left.

My close friends and family will gladly share how I am an emotional person, I love hard and I am incredibly close to all those I surround myself with. I feel having a strong sense of empathy with these clients during such a difficult time allows me to create their fitting tribute with the love and attention it deserves. This is a side of floristry often forgotten but the part I believe to be the most important. 

So continue to love hard people. And if I stumble(quite literally) across your special moment I am truly sorry… I really can't help it!

Take care.

RP.

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