From Seed to Stem: What It Means to Grow and Design Your Wedding Flowers

When couples think about wedding flowers, most envision the end result: bouquets in hand, centerpieces on tables, petals scattered down the aisle. What they don’t often see is the year-long journey those blooms can take to get there—especially when your florist is also your flower farmer.

As a farmer-florist, I don’t just design your wedding florals. I often grow them, too. And that adds a whole new layer of care, complexity, and intention to the process.

Photo: Nicole Jenrow, Details and Daydreams

Planning Begins With the Seasons

Unlike traditional florists who order flowers from wholesalers, I plan your florals around what the land and seasons can offer. That means conversations about your wedding flowers often start a year (or more!) in advance to align your vision with bloom times, planting schedules, and growing conditions.

If you're dreaming of lush peonies or delicate sweet peas, we need to make sure your wedding date lines up with when those flowers naturally bloom here in Michigan. Sometimes I can time successions or lean on tunnels to extend bloom periods, but Mother Nature always has the final say.

Why a Color Palette > Specific Flowers

One of the best ways to work with a farmer-florist is to approach your florals with an open mind and a flexible heart.

Rather than requesting a specific variety ("I want white anemones and only white anemones"), I always encourage couples to start with a color palette and vibe. Think: romantic and soft in blush and ivory, or sunset and bright with coral, gold, and raspberry.

This flexibility allows me to:

• Harvest at peak beauty: Choosing stems that are actually blooming their best that week

• Avoid disappointment: If a crop fails (hello, unexpected hailstorms), I have a plan B (and usually a plan C)

• Design more creatively: Using what the field gives me, not just what's on a wholesale order sheet

The Local Advantage: Sourcing From the Soil

When I can, I grow everything I design with. But I also supplement with other trusted local growers and small-scale wholesalers. Why?

• To ensure you have enough volume for your design needs

• To support fellow Michigan flower farmers

• To get the freshest, most sustainable blooms possible

Local flowers are picked just days—sometimes even hours—before your wedding. They’re not flown in from overseas or packed in boxes for weeks. That freshness is evident in the vibrancy, scent, and presence of every single stem.

That said, I do occasionally source wholesale blooms when needed. For example, in mid-May, Michigan’s floral availability can be limited and unpredictable—so for a recent wedding, I supplemented with carefully chosen wholesale stems to ensure the couple’s vision came to life beautifully.

More Than Just Flowers—It’s a Relationship

When you work with a farmer-florist, you're not just hiring a vendor—you're building a relationship. I learn your story, your style, and your priorities. I walk the rows thinking of your bouquet. I sow seeds with your celebration in mind.

It’s personal. And that’s what makes it so special.

Behind the Blooms: The Work You Don’t See

Every petal in your bouquet carries intention. Long before your wedding day, I’m pouring over seed catalogs, sketching mockups in my notebook, and standing out in the field at golden hour imagining how a just-budding dahlia might play into your tablescape.

There are early mornings sowing seeds in silence, late nights under grow lights checking trays, and months of nurturing tender stems through unpredictable Michigan weather. I spend my seasons not only growing flowers—but growing your flowers.

When I say your bouquet is personal, I mean it. I walk the rows and think about your love story. I hand-select blooms based on what I’ve learned about you—your warmth, your softness, your spark. I might add one stem for sentiment, one for memory, one just because it reminds me of the way you spoke about your person.

There’s a reason your bouquet feels different when it’s placed in your hands. It’s because it is.

It’s not just about matching your color palette—it’s about evoking emotion. Nostalgia. Joy. Connection. Every design choice is meant to mirror the one-of-a-kind story you and your partner are writing together.

Setting Expectations: The Realities of Growing & Designing

This approach isn’t always for everyone—and that’s okay. It requires:

• Trust in the process, and in me as both your grower and your designer

• Flexibility with the exact blooms used, even when your heart is set on one particular flower

• Understanding that nature has a hand in everything I do—from sudden frosts to surprise windstorms

Working with a farmer-florist means letting go of some control in exchange for something more meaningful: a design that is seasonal, sustainable, and alive with intention.

It’s not about perfection—it’s about connection. About honoring the moment you’re getting married in and the land we’re growing from. When you’re open to that process, magic happens. Your flowers will feel like they belong to your story, not just your Pinterest board.

Why I Do It

Yes, it’s harder. It’s riskier. It’s less predictable. But it’s also deeply rewarding. Watching something go from a tiny seed to a centerpiece at someone’s wedding? That never gets old.

So if you're planning a wedding and want your flowers to be more than just decorations—to truly reflect a sense of season, place, and story—consider working with a farmer-florist. We grow with heart, design with soul, and show up with muddy boots and a whole lot of love.

Photo: Nicole Jenrow, Details and Daydreams

🌿 Ready to Begin Your Flower Story?

Every couple has a unique story—and I believe your wedding flowers should tell it. Whether you’re drawn to soft romance or bold whimsy, my goal is to craft florals that don’t just decorate your day, but reflect your love and evoke real feeling.

If you’re dreaming of wedding flowers that are rooted in season, grown with intention, and designed with soul, I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s begin planting the seeds for something beautiful—together.

Start your floral journey here → [Event Florals Inquiry]

With soil under my nails and petals in my hands,

Alex

💐 Behind the Stems: The Heart and Hustle of Wedding Flowers

🎂 It’s My Birthday!
Today, June 10th, I’m celebrating another trip around the sun — and what better way to mark it than by sharing a little bit of my own story? I fell in love with wedding flowers back in 2022 when I designed and grew the florals for my own September wedding. That experience was the spark that started it all. So in honor of my birthday, I’m reflecting on where this journey began — and sharing one of the most meaningful weddings I’ve had the privilege to design since.

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If you’ve ever received a wedding bouquet — or even just admired one from afar — you know how magical it can feel. But what you don’t see is everything that happens behind the stems: the early mornings, the late-night arranging, the hauling, the hydrating, the emotional weight, and the joyful tears.

This May, I had the honor of designing wedding flowers for one of my very best friends. It also happened to be just two days after the most demanding weekend of the year for flower farmers: Mother’s Day.

And yet, I said yes.

Because there was no way I could let anyone else do her flowers.

The Wedding of a Lifetime — in More Ways Than One

From the moment her mom and I picked up the flowers (Scott at Kennicott Brothers is amazing if you’re looking for a wholesaler, I cannot recomment Kennicott enough!), I knew this was going to be something special. I cried more than once — not from stress (though there was a bit of that!), but from the deep emotion of being part of something so meaningful. These weren’t just “event flowers.” These were made with love, trust, and so much care.

Designing wedding florals is always a labor of love, but when it’s someone you know deeply, it becomes something more. Every stem I placed carried memories, intention, and heart.

And, to make things even more fun? I was also the matron of honor. Balancing both roles — floral designer and MOH — was no small feat. I was switching between floral apron and formal dress, buckets and bouquets, laughter and logistics.

Picking up our floral order from Kennicott Brothers in Grand Rapids, we both cried!

The bride’s mom was the true MVP of the day—none of the flowers would’ve come together the way they did without her. I’ll always treasure the full day we spent together and her generous, helping hands.

What Really Goes Into Wedding Flowers?

A lot of folks don’t realize just how much goes into pulling off wedding florals. So here’s a little peek behind the scenes:

🌿 Planning & Vision:
It starts months — sometimes a year+ — ahead of time. I work with the couple (or in this case, my bestie) to understand their vision, color palette, vibe, and flower preferences. We consider seasonality, availability, and how to make the florals feel them.

✿ As a farmer-florist, I sometimes start planning a year in advance — growing specific varieties based on the couple’s vision and seasonal possibilities. But bloom timing is never guaranteed, which is why flexibility and a color palette-focused approach are key. In next week’s blog, I’ll share more about what it’s like to grow and design wedding flowers — and why working with a local flower farmer can make your florals that much more meaningful.

📦 Sourcing & Prepping:
There’s the sourcing — sometimes from my own fields, sometimes from other local growers, sometimes from our trusted wholesaler — and the timing has to be just right. Flowers are living things. They need to hydrate, open, and reach their perfect moment of bloom. That part is pure orchestration.

🛠 Mechanics & Movement:
From bouquets and boutonnieres to large-scale installations, wedding florals require real mechanics — chicken wire, floral foam alternatives, tape grids, water sources, clamps, zip ties, and sometimes literal ladders. It’s architecture meets art. (See below for a few of my go-to supplies for working with flowers in any setting.)

⏳ Time Pressure:
Wedding florals are created in a tiny window — often in 1–2 days before the event — so they’re fresh and vibrant. That means long hours of nonstop work leading right up to delivery and installation.

🚚 Transport & Setup:
Then comes the careful transport (hello, vehicle full of sloshing buckets) and on-site setup. You're battling wind, heat, timelines, and sometimes unplanned surprises (like needing to build a last-minute arch installation in a thunderstorm — yes, really).

💗 Emotion:
And finally, the emotion. Seeing your work on display, watching the bride walk down the aisle holding something you created — it’s overwhelming in the best way.

Designing wherever needed—yes, that’s a bowling center! The bride’s parents own it, and its giant cooler was a game-changer. One more piece of the puzzle we made work while I balanced being both the florist and a member of the wedding party.

Why I Still Say Yes — Even When It’s Hard

Was it exhausting? Yes. Would I do it again? Without a doubt.

There’s something sacred about creating florals for a wedding — especially when you know how important the day is to someone you love. It’s not just about pretty flowers. It’s about crafting something that will live in people’s memories, wedding albums, and hearts.

Photo credit: Nicole Jenrow, Details and Daydreams Photography

A Reminder to Other Creatives

If you’re a creative entrepreneur or fellow flower farmer: this work is hard, but it’s also heart work. It’s okay to honor your limits. It’s okay to say no sometimes — or to say yes because it matters that much to you.

I’m still tired, still recovering, still planting (hundreds of dahlias, thousands of annuals, new berry rows, and too many perennials to count!). But I’m also full — full of gratitude, pride, and the humbling joy of being trusted with someone’s most important day.

Here’s to what happens behind the stems — the sweat, the emotion, the love, and the beauty that blooms from it all.

Congratulations to the beautiful couple! It was such an honor to stand beside you and bring your floral vision to life. Thank you for trusting me—my hands, my heart, and my creative eye.

Bonus: 🌿 My Favorite Floral Design Tools & Supplies

Whether I’m arranging at the farm, on-site for a wedding, or designing in a borrowed space (hello, bowling alley cooler!), these are the tools I always have on hand. I’ve linked a few of my go-to items below—tried, true, and flower-farmer approved.

Essential Design Tools:

• Floral Clippers – Sharp, ergonomic, and perfect for everything from delicate stems to sturdy dahlias.

  • I love Modern Sprout’s floral shears—especially during dahlia season when I’m regularly dipping tools in a bleach solution between plants to prevent the spread of disease. When I need something quick and handy, I also reach for these basic snips (just a heads-up—they do tend to rust). If you're looking to stock up, this option is a great value!

• Floral Tape – The waterproof kind is a must for bouquets and installations.

• Chicken Wire Roll – Ideal for sustainable mechanics in centerpieces and foam-free design.

• Floral Frogs (Kenzans) – A game changer for bud vases and ikebana-style arrangements.

• Floral Wire & Green Paddle Wire – For boutonnieres, arches, and everything in between.

  • 24 guage floral wire — I use these or something similar to wire ranunculus and other delicate or top-heavy blooms such as anemones, peonies, tulips, etc. (this is a must especially for ranunculus)

• Floral Adhesive — Ideal for securing blooms in boutonnieres, corsages, and hair pieces without wire or tape.

• Crowning Glory Flower Spray — A finishing touch to add sparkle and elegance to your arrangements—perfect for weddings and special events.

• Zip ties - for heavy duty thick bridal bouquet stems

A Few Extras I Love:

• Flower food — not a necessity, but I do use it

• Gold Bullion Wire — I use this for flower crowns, I prefer Oasis bullion wire

• Corsage Elastic Wrist bands

• Pocket Boutonniere Sleeves

Thanks for being apart of our journey!

With muddy boots and a full heart,
Alex