It was Friday morning and I was covered in mud. I got an early jump to the day and spent the morning transplanting flower seedlings at the flower farm. that’s where I was when Charlie ondeck (my very talented wedding planner friend) called me at nine in the morning. When i answered, charlie in her very calm voice said, “Hi sam, i have a situation and i am wondering if i could get your help. I am in birmingham and i have a wedding client that is getting married at 5PM. Their wedding florals were just delivered and they are the exact opposite of what they ordered. Is there any way you can get some florals in their wedding color pallet and flower their wedding by 5PM?”

Before she finished her question i was already standing up, brushing off the dirt and mud from my leggings (yes, i farm in leggings, they are comfortable, get over it) and was headed to my truck. “okay, send me pictures of what they wanted and a list of what floral pieces they need. I’m headed to the house to change, grab flower buckets and head to the wholesaler. I’ll be there in two hours.”

I had two hours to get to my house, change my clothes, (not shower because ain’t nobody got time for that today), get to the wholesaler and hopefully get the florals i needed to flower an entire wedding, and get to birmingham from Cullman, which is an hour away without traffic. I felt excited, challenged, and a little bit terrified. This was crazy but, by gosh, i was going to do the thing!

Apparently this couple had several vendor complications during their wedding process and i felt heart sick for them. I remember my wedding day and the feeling i felt when my florist walked in with my carefully dreamt of bridal bouquet. I remember the happy tears that burst from my eyes when i walked into my reception area and realized the vision i had been dreaming up for months. I couldn’t imagine walking in to find florals that were the exact opposite of what i wanted. I didn’t know how i was going to pull it off, but with a little bit of luck i was going to save this wedding.

Thirty minutes later i pulled up to the local wholesaler. all i could think was “Please God, Please God, Please God!” I know that planning wedding florals takes months. There is a tremendous amount of thought and care that goes into flowering a wedding. As a florist, i start with a vision board when my clients book me. I give myself several days to envision the florals that will make up that wedding color pallet. I then make a list of every single floral item needed to flower that wedding and list out exactly how many of each flower i need to create the artwork in my head. Then i hunt down the flowers i need by contacting wholesalers and local farmers. It is all a delicate dance, and this day i had no plan, no list, and was on a time crunch.

Thank god my wholesaler had every floral item i was looking for that day. normally i order wedding florals at least two weeks in advance, most of the time florals are ordered months in advance. Clare helped me load the flowers into the truck and off i went to birmingham. I may or may not have stopped at starbucks for a chai, spilled the chia all over the front floorboard, and drove like ven diesel to get to windwood equestrian.

When i walked in, charlie had an area prepped for me to make a huge mess. It was 12:30 and i had four and a half hours to get it done. Stems and leaves were flying. i was making it up as i went along. first i made the two bridal bouquets because they always take the longest. The bridal bouquet is the most important floral item to get right, in my opinion. Then i started on the bridesmaids bouquets which take the second longest, and then the table arrangements. Finally, thirty minutes before the ceremony started, i began working on the boutonnieres. as i handed off the last one, the wedding party was lining up to begin the ceremony.

I took my arm and scrapped the reaming florals off of the table into a bucket and hustled to get my floral mess cleaned up. Right as the ceremony was ending i finished packing the car. It then hit me that i had not had anything to eat or drink all day, nor had i visited the ladies room. On my way to take care of that issue, i walked pasts the guests and the wedding party. the beautiful atmosphere of the evening hit me. I felt high from the adrenaline and joy. I had somehow pulled it off, and by gosh, i felt dang proud. I saw emily and allison greeting guests as they lined up at the bar and i couldn’t stop smiling at the happiness on their own faces.

one gentleman from the wedding party grabbed my arm as i was walking and said “Come here, you get a hug! You saved this wedding and you have no idea how thankful these two women are for you!” I was truly touched and felt my own gratitude. This wedding was a gift for me as well. I was given an opportunity to test myself under pressure and i felt proud of how i handled the day. If you know me, you know how much of a test this was.

Thank you Allison & Emily for having me flower your wedding! It was such a rush!