#WVS: Florist
#WVS: Florist
Petals & Leaves
Floral Design & Event Decor
Our 25+ years of experience speaks for itself. We’ve been in the business of crafting beautiful floral arrangements for so long because we’re passionate about making life beautiful. Our natural environment is full of beauty but we don’t always get to see it or experience it firsthand. Most of us are stuck indoors the majority of the day and we tend to miss out on all of the beauty that surrounds us. We want to give everyone an opportunity to experience nature’s beauty up close, with a unique Petals & Leaves floral arrangement.
Dee Conrad started Petals & Leaves in 1997, only a year after creating Patina Interiors Design Group. Petals & Leaves was created to specialize in floral design and event décor, a perfect complement to an already flourishing residential interior design firm.
Dee Conrad has been designing visually striking floral sculptures for over 16 years. Her career has included projects of varying levels of complexity, production, and planning, which has strengthened her desire to build her business into a destination for Columbus residents seeking a unique floral experience.
Meghan started working for Petals & Leaves in the Spring of 2013, became a wedding consultant by October 2013, and was promoted to Weddings & Events Manager in January 2015. Since starting with Petals & Leaves, Meghan has placed with several titles for the Ohio Florists Association designer competition, along with recognition for her wedding bouquet work. Although she has always had a passion for floral design, her favorite aspect is working closely with Brides to help them realize their vision for their BIG day, and of course, creating spectacular wedding bouquets and centerpieces!
Why are you different from other florists?
We are constantly evolving, learning new trends and techniques. Our florists attend design classes and business seminars to help keep us up to date on what’s new and fresh. We establish working relationships with a lot of the venues here in Columbus, working directly with them to create florals and decor items specific to their locations. We make sure we are aware of what they offer their clients, as well as their rules for outside vendors. We also source product from all over the world, working with numerous growers, wholesalers, and cultivators to open up our range of available items, and to help us stay on top of new varietals. One of my favorite things to do on a Friday night is checking out the test varieties are farms our producing for the next year, it sounds boring but I also have two kids under 2 years old at home so a good Friday night is flowers and a nice rosé.
When should you book a florist?
Typically, I think a good time to book is between 9-12 months before your wedding. You should definitely have your venue, date, and color palette secured as it really dictates the flow of the decor and flowers. You can certainly book later but we may be full at that time and not accepting any other weddings for your weekend.
What should brides look for in a florist?
First and foremost, select a florist you feel comfortable with and someone you trust. If you don’t trust your florist, even if you like their design abilities, you will spend a lot of time worrying about whether or not it’s going to be exactly what you want or if your florist actually understands your vision. If you don’t feel comfortable or confident that you florist understands your vision, keep looking. It’s ok that not every bride is going to be compatible with every florist. Look for a florist that has experience with your venue or a similar venue, they will be able to make recommendations for decor that you hadn’t thought of before. Look for florists with experience, I’m not saying decades of experience, but experience with your style of design, your venue, your overall aesthetic, and for sure, someone with wedding mechanics experience.
Wedding mechanics experience is knowing how to assemble/prepare floral arrangements for design but it also comes in to play when setting up onsite. In one case for us, the ceremony was set to be outside, but this is Ohio and things change quickly, the bride had to change the ceremony to indoors but the beautiful fabric drape and floral design on the outside ceremony was her biggest concern. Lucky for our brides we always bring extra materials and tools so we were able to drape the fabric from the ceiling inside as well as suspend the floral designs.
What is your wedding process/experience?
We have a pretty straightforward process after a couple initially contacts us we send out a preliminary questionnaire and our wedding informational packet. Our informational packet covers all of the details of working with Petals & Leaves, what we offer, how we do things, and average price points for budgeting purposes. Once they’ve sent back the completed questionnaire we send out a link to our scheduling calendar, we offer in person and phone appointments (convenient for couples who live out of town). The consultation is a meet and greet to get an idea of the couple’s aesthetic and vision for their wedding, from that we create a personalized floral and decor quote. If they choose to book with us, a 20% deposit saves the date and then all items are finalized by 30 days prior to the wedding. Changes can be made to the proposal from booking up until the final 30-day mark. We create all of the floral magic the week of the wedding with flowers arriving on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays depending on the types of flowers and day of the wedding – designing usually starts on Thursdays and can even happen onsite at the wedding.
Real vs. fake florals, what do you think?
Tips For Brides
- Trust your florist (this can be said of any wedding vendor), just trust them, if you don’t, find another one!
- Don’t believe everything you read on Pinterest, a lot of those captions you see on Pinterest are written by other pinners and much like Wikipedia, can’t be taken as fact.
- Greenery is not always cheaper, in fact, most high demand, premium foliages are the same, if not more expensive, than some flowers. Also, Pinterest doesn’t know much about the availability of flowers during different seasons so if you have to have a certain flower for your wedding, call a florist before you book your wedding date and ask them when you can get (peonies, anemones, lilac, etc) for your wedding, they will steer you in a good direction for picking your wedding date.
- Be realistic about your budget and be realistic about your inspiration photos based on your budget. I am always willing to work with any budget but I do like to educate my brides on what works best for their budget, please don’t take it personally if I suggest an alternative arrangement that would compliment your budget better. Believe me, when I say, I would love to do a ceremony entrance like Meghan Markle’s but most of my brides here in Columbus are not soon-to-be-princesses with the accorded floral expense – if you are, please feel free to give me a call though.
Petals & Leaves
Floral Design & Event Decor
Our 25+ years of experience speaks for itself. We’ve been in the business of crafting beautiful floral arrangements for so long because we’re passionate about making life beautiful. Our natural environment is full of beauty but we don’t always get to see it or experience it firsthand. Most of us are stuck indoors the majority of the day and we tend to miss out on all of the beauty that surrounds us. We want to give everyone an opportunity to experience nature’s beauty up close, with a unique Petals & Leaves floral arrangement.
Dee Conrad started Petals & Leaves in 1997, only a year after creating Patina Interiors Design Group. Petals & Leaves was created to specialize in floral design and event décor, a perfect complement to an already flourishing residential interior design firm.
Dee Conrad has been designing visually striking floral sculptures for over 16 years. Her career has included projects of varying levels of complexity, production, and planning, which has strengthened her desire to build her business into a destination for Columbus residents seeking a unique floral experience.
Meghan started working for Petals & Leaves in the Spring of 2013, became a wedding consultant by October 2013, and was promoted to Weddings & Events Manager in January 2015. Since starting with Petals & Leaves, Meghan has placed with several titles for the Ohio Florists Association designer competition, along with recognition for her wedding bouquet work. Although she has always had a passion for floral design, her favorite aspect is working closely with Brides to help them realize their vision for their BIG day, and of course, creating spectacular wedding bouquets and centerpieces!
Why are you different from other florists?
We are constantly evolving, learning new trends and techniques. Our florists attend design classes and business seminars to help keep us up to date on what’s new and fresh. We establish working relationships with a lot of the venues here in Columbus, working directly with them to create florals and decor items specific to their locations. We make sure we are aware of what they offer their clients, as well as their rules for outside vendors. We also source product from all over the world, working with numerous growers, wholesalers, and cultivators to open up our range of available items, and to help us stay on top of new varietals. One of my favorite things to do on a Friday night is checking out the test varieties are farms our producing for the next year, it sounds boring but I also have two kids under 2 years old at home so a good Friday night is flowers and a nice rosé.
When should you book a florist?
Typically, I think a good time to book is between 9-12 months before your wedding. You should definitely have your venue, date, and color palette secured as it really dictates the flow of the decor and flowers. You can certainly book later but we may be full at that time and not accepting any other weddings for your weekend.
What should brides look for in a florist?
First and foremost, select a florist you feel comfortable with and someone you trust. If you don’t trust your florist, even if you like their design abilities, you will spend a lot of time worrying about whether or not it’s going to be exactly what you want or if your florist actually understands your vision. If you don’t feel comfortable or confident that you florist understands your vision, keep looking. It’s ok that not every bride is going to be compatible with every florist. Look for a florist that has experience with your venue or a similar venue, they will be able to make recommendations for decor that you hadn’t thought of before. Look for florists with experience, I’m not saying decades of experience, but experience with your style of design, your venue, your overall aesthetic, and for sure, someone with wedding mechanics experience.
Wedding mechanics experience is knowing how to assemble/prepare floral arrangements for design but it also comes in to play when setting up onsite. In one case for us, the ceremony was set to be outside, but this is Ohio and things change quickly, the bride had to change the ceremony to indoors but the beautiful fabric drape and floral design on the outside ceremony was her biggest concern. Lucky for our brides we always bring extra materials and tools so we were able to drape the fabric from the ceiling inside as well as suspend the floral designs.
What is your wedding process/experience?
We have a pretty straightforward process after a couple initially contacts us we send out a preliminary questionnaire and our wedding informational packet. Our informational packet covers all of the details of working with Petals & Leaves, what we offer, how we do things, and average price points for budgeting purposes. Once they’ve sent back the completed questionnaire we send out a link to our scheduling calendar, we offer in person and phone appointments (convenient for couples who live out of town). The consultation is a meet and greet to get an idea of the couple’s aesthetic and vision for their wedding, from that we create a personalized floral and decor quote. If they choose to book with us, a 20% deposit saves the date and then all items are finalized by 30 days prior to the wedding. Changes can be made to the proposal from booking up until the final 30-day mark. We create all of the floral magic the week of the wedding with flowers arriving on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays depending on the types of flowers and day of the wedding – designing usually starts on Thursdays and can even happen onsite at the wedding.
Real vs. fake florals, what do you think?
Tips For Brides
- Trust your florist (this can be said of any wedding vendor), just trust them, if you don’t, find another one!
- Don’t believe everything you read on Pinterest, a lot of those captions you see on Pinterest are written by other pinners and much like Wikipedia, can’t be taken as fact.
- Greenery is not always cheaper, in fact, most high demand, premium foliages are the same, if not more expensive, than some flowers. Also, Pinterest doesn’t know much about the availability of flowers during different seasons so if you have to have a certain flower for your wedding, call a florist before you book your wedding date and ask them when you can get (peonies, anemones, lilac, etc) for your wedding, they will steer you in a good direction for picking your wedding date.
- Be realistic about your budget and be realistic about your inspiration photos based on your budget. I am always willing to work with any budget but I do like to educate my brides on what works best for their budget, please don’t take it personally if I suggest an alternative arrangement that would compliment your budget better. Believe me, when I say, I would love to do a ceremony entrance like Meghan Markle’s but most of my brides here in Columbus are not soon-to-be-princesses with the accorded floral expense – if you are, please feel free to give me a call though.
