Vendor Spotlight: May Flowers

April showers bring May Flowers and this year it also brought a big move!

We set down with the owner of May Flowers, Christy Staven, to discuss the move, her goals, and who a May Flowers Bride is!

                                               Photo by: Bamber Photography

You can now find May Flowers at 800 N. Market St. in Chattanooga, TN and it couldn't be a more perfect spot to showcase their floral talent! The history of the building is a story all in itself! It was actually built in 1920 and served the community as a local market! Christy said she couldn't be more honored to carry on its story.

Christy told us she is also so excited about her new space because of the amazing, open floor plan. As soon as you open the doors, you are welcomed by tons of shelves full of gorgeous rentals May Flowers has to offer. Once you take a few steps in, you can see Christy's amazing team in the back designing away for your big day! You can also see a large cooler where the flowers are stored and a small desk where they get down to business! It all comes together to create magic!

Photo by: Amanda May Photography

Christy said that her main business goal is to add more weddings each year and to gain larger-scale events. Best news is, since she opened in 2013, she has hit her goal every year!

We wanted to know a bit more about who a May Flowers Bride is. Does she like traditional flowers or trendy, loose bouquets? Or is she somewhere in-between? Christy assured me she is all the above! With classic, traditional training from Mississippi State, but also an ability to follow trends and keep up with the latest, Christy and her team at May Flowers can do it all!

Christy said, "We like to look at nature as inspiration. With classical training, nature, and then following trends, I like to think we are a happy blend of all those things."

On a scale from 1 to 10, a May Flowers Bride would fall towards the 10 side of loving and appreciating flowers! A May Flowers Bride is also someone who is laid-back, fun, and able to trust the professionals.

Photo by: Jennie Andrews Photography

"I love to see someone who is so inspired by flowers and is able to come up with some ideas but allows us to actually take that and run, putting our own twists and our own suggestions on something specific. Someone that is open to our creative freedom is my ideal client."
                     -Christy Staven

            Photo by: Cinderella Photography

There is so much more that goes into floral design than what meets the eye. Christy said she receives the flowers at the beginning of the week and will prep them and place them in the cooler to keep them fresh. Then, beginning Thursday they will start designing for whatever event the weekend brings! And designing continues all the way up until hours before your event to ensure every last petal is in its place!

Event days are Christy's favorite part because everything they have worked so hard on all comes together to create their vision. You may have 2 staff members or as many as 5 or 6 to create the event space you have envisioned!

         Photo by: Lanie Kay Photography

Are you getting ready to meet with May Flowers for your upcoming event? Here's some things you may want to have picked out ahead of time:
-Style
-Theme
-Colors
-Inspiration Photos

But, if you're overwhelmed and unsure, not a problem! May Flowers will walk you through every step.

With these April showers coming to an end, we are full of excitement to see those sweet May Flowers at our upcoming events!

                                                Photo by: Bamber Photography

If you think you just may be a May Flowers Bride, you can check out some of their amazing designs on their social media pages:
Facebook: @MayFlowersChattanooga
Instagram: @mayflowerscha
Twitter: @MayFlowersCha
Pinterest: @mayflowerscha

Or you can email Christy directly at christy@mayflowerscha.com or call the office at (423) 486-5320.

Happy Planning!
Soirées

The Holiday Bride: Dos and Don'ts

The holidays are such a season filled with love!  Family is together, everyone is filled with joy from the most wonderful time of the year. There are many pros to having your wedding day on a notable holiday, such as Christmas or New Year’s, but there can also be things the holiday bride might need to be aware of when planning her big day.  So on our Wednesday morning meeting, we decided to brainstorm a few tips to help!

Embrace the season.

You are sharing your wedding with a holiday to make it that much more special (and it might even help you remember your anniversary).  Give subtle nods to the season without going overboard and making more about the holiday instead of you.

Bah Humbug

Not to be a Bah Humbug, but note that with the holidays, vendors will be substantially more, so let your budget reflect that.  Also, travel for guests will more expensive.  Give your guests as much time as possible to book flights and hotels with your Save the Dates and invitations.  This will also be reflected in your RSVPs, so expect a lower guest count. Many of your guests will be unable to attend due to holiday parties and Christmas travel.

Stocking Stuffer

The holidays are expensive, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to save! Utilize the décor at the church and incorporate elements already available in the season: winter spices and holiday greens. This will cut your costs as well.  You can also play up the soft lighting with the twinkle lights that are sure to be at ever corner and on every banister! It gives a beautiful ambiance and keeps you from having to buy a 100 votive candles.

The DIY Bride

Dear Bride-To-Be,

Your wedding is approaching and the bills seem to be piling up! Stop and take a minute to see where you might to be able to save a little money on your wedding costs. I know it might seem like one more thing to add to an endless list, you might consider taking on a little DIY project for some of your decorations and who knows you may have fun in the process and feel like those decorations reflect your personality. Your wedding day will have that personal touch you can’t find anywhere else. To help ease some of the stress you could even have a weekend get together with all your bridesmaids and make a party out of the project! Then you can use the money elsewhere or towards a nice, relaxing honeymoon.  Let us share a few ideas with you:

At one of our recent weddings, our team decorated the church with numerous succulents that the bride herself planted and grew in recycled beer bottles that she had cut the necks off of to use. So ingenious! So let’s say a bottle of beer is about $3 and the succulent is about $2, you have a $5 decoration right there! Now you may say, “A potted plant as a decoration? No thank you!”  But the DIY project is your personal touch. So if you are an artist- display your artwork; if you are a baker, make your favorite snack as a favor; if you are the socialite, create your own signature drink. Take your idea and run with it! By doing this, not only are you saving money, you are giving your wedding a personal touch that your guests will enjoy, and at the end of the day, you can give away your DIY project, like the potted succulents, as wedding favors (which is exactly what the bride did for this wedding) as a cute memento of your union for family and friends.

Using a board, nails, and white string, the bride created another decoration for her wedding – the soon-to-be couple’s last name in string art. This was displayed on the welcome table and was the first thing guests saw when they walked into the church entry, a simple yet fun decoration.

Finally, the father of the bride stepped in to help with the next decoration that was the star of the event (except the couple of course).

What made these three do-it-yourself decorations so great for this wedding is the fact that the church needed very little decorating, so they added just the right touch to the church and each had a story behind them. There are countless ideas for do-it-yourself wedding projects on Tumblr, Pinterest, and blogs, you just have to find what suits your needs, and the sky is the limit, so give it a try!

Best Wishes,

Soirées