A few days before the fair, I had the opportunity to double my booth size for a fraction of what it would have actually cost me to rent it in the first place, so of course I had to jump on it! It also put me in the booth right next to my friend, Annalee, which I was ecstatic about. That's when the insanity all began. I had to order more flowers, find more floor covering for my booth, redesign the layout, etc. Can we say STRESS?!?!
Due to an unexpected hiccup in my plan, I started out about 6 hours behind in my flower arranging on Friday. It was a mad dash all day Friday, and pretty much all night Friday night and into Saturday morning, but everything turned out beautifully! Right before the doors opened for all the brides, I started panicking a little bit. I was running on an hour and a half of sleep, there was another florist two booths down from me with a HUGE floral display, and I was a total newbie at all of this.
Luckily, I had absolutely nothing to worry about! I got into my "groove" so quickly, and spoke with hundreds of brides that day. I had numerous people coming into my booth and taking pictures of my flowers (some of which even ended up on someone's facebook page!), and about 200 entries into my drawing. I also got word that my prices were amazingly cheaper than the florist two booths down. Score!!! It was such a huge adrenaline rush, that I didn't even start dragging until 5:00 that night. And once that 6:00 closing time hit, I was suddenly exhausted and starving! We got everything all packed up (and miraculously all into our small car!), headed home, and then proceeded to sleep for the next twelve hours.
In short, it was an absolutely crazy experience, but worth every minute! (Zuke might not completely agree....but he's not the one writing this! Ha!) Business has been booming! I have consultations coming out my ears, and I love it! At the risk of making this sound like an Oscar speech, there are some people I really need to thank.
My friend Kelsey, for making the beautiful (and delicious!) cake that I used in my display! I had so many people ask me if I actually did flowers AND cakes. Yeah, right!
My BFF Annalee. She's becoming a veteran at these bridal fairs, and has been behind me encouraging me and supporting me (and occasionally giving me a kick in the pants!) through this whole thing. She helped out with some of the decor for my booth, which made it look wonderful! She has also helped get me some consultations, and a contract already! She is absolutely amazing, and there isn't anyone I would have rather shared this insane experience with!
My mom. She was so helpful through all of the madness. She watched my kids so much that weekend, and at some of the oddest times. She also sewed all of my table runners and overlays for my display for me. Oh, and then she even cleaned up my flower mess after Zuke and I ran out of the house to the fair Saturday morning. She was that "extra set of hands" that I was desperately needing at times.
And last, but definitely not least....my amazingly wonderful husband. Zuke was my calming voice of reason every time I was close to having a meltdown. For all of his lack of floral knowledge and abilities, he helped me out in every way he possibly could with my flowers. He stayed up until 3:30 in the morning with me, and then even let me sleep a little longer and got up and finished some things himself. He was my handyman, my decorator (the leg work, at least) and my biggest supporter through this whole thing. He has always believed in me, and nothing has meant more to me than him telling me that he's proud of me. I love you, sweetie!! Thank you for supporting me in everything I do!!
Here are some fun pics for your viewing pleasure!
Oh....and don't forget to check out my website! I absolutely LOVE referrals!
1 comment:
Awesome. You are so talented! I am glad to hear that business is booming and that things are going well. Good luck in all you do!
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