15/09/2024
When the official photos drop ♥️🍑🍓🍊🌸💗
How stunning are these pics by Leah Weddings?!
E&L were just the most lovely couple to design and create wedding flowers for. And being back at one of my favourite local venues, High Billinghurst Farm, always makes me happy. The guys there are so chilled and helpful and it makes the whole process so much more enjoyable. For a blank canvas venue I really cannot recommend it enough. There’s so much you can do here!
I don’t do as many hands on weddings these days, just a handful a year and a spattering of freelancing, and then my main focus is on ‘The Little Flower School’ side of my business and the mentoring and supporting fellow florists and creatives to follow their dreams and grow and create a business they love.
For me 2024 marks 20 years of running my own wedding flower business, Kate Avery Flowers. I set up as a naive but ambitious 23 year old after falling into the industry as a last resort after dropping out of 3 different degrees. I knew I loved being creative, but also knew how impatient I was (and still am!) to see creative results. For me flowers are like instant art. Granted, the design process behind them in a wedding setting isn’t instant, and it’s months in the planning process, but I definitely found my calling, and love experimenting with colour and texture and working with the seasons and getting to meet and work alongside so many incredibly talented industry professionals.
Being 23 at the time and perhaps a little naive to the business world, it never crossed my mind that this wouldn’t work, and I just ploughed all my time and energy into it to build that momentum. I got a part time job to run alongside the business, as a little security and regular income, and then I just went for it! 100% its been a rollercoaster with sooo many ups and downs, but the process has taught me so much, and its these learnings which I now love to tap into to help others through my mentoring programmes.
When people ask how do you start a business, what ever that business may be, I always say that momentum is absolute key. It’s like getting an oldschool style merry go round going. To get it started you have to keep running round and round. Once it’s going, you can look up and pop your foot down every once in a while and take in the view and your hard work. It takes the most energy, time and effort to get started with anything, but once it does, you’re away!!! Yes there will be obstacles, but getting something off the ground and then sticking with it; even when the going is tough, is the hardest part.
I don’t think I’d ever not be self employed now. Yes, my business has evolved, and looks very different to how it looked at the beginning (hello kiddies and crappy health), but that’s the beauty of being in control of your own income streams. It can be scary not quite knowing what’s coming in each month compared to a regular 9-5, but equally, you have the potential to create an income of whatever you want through this depending on your season of life, and I find that really exciting.
I didn’t actually intend to make this post an essay! But, if you too have been thinking of a creative endeavor and would like a little extra support or just an ear to bounce ideas around, be that in the wedding industry or otherwise, then just let me know.
I have bespoke one to one offerings, one off power hours, half days and full days, and of course, my signature 12 week group programme each January, where I can help you to move forward and create that flexible, profitable and enjoyable business you dream of.
🌸🍊🍓💗🍑♥️
Flowers: Kate Avery Flowers
Venue: High Billinghurst Farm Wedding Venue
Photography: LeahLombardi.com
