The Waste vs Meaning Crisis
Ritual Blooms no longer offers full service wedding florals….here’s why
Picture this: a couple spends $60,000 on flowers for their wedding…
Fourteen freelance floral designers (myself included) worked for seven days processing thousands of roses flown in overnight from South America. Within 4 hours of the reception ending, all of it—every rose, every plastic vessel, every piece of floral foam—was in the trash. This is a true story, and unfortunately, isn’t an outlier. This is just one wedding, in one city, on one day of the year. Multiply this by every venue across the country, every weekend spring to fall, and you start to comprehend what's happening behind the scenes of commercial wedding flowers. (a 10.7 billion dollar industry)
After my work was done, I sat in my car... and cried. In their effort to have the "perfect day," what was propping up their new union was a mountain of waste and outsourced effort, and it broke my heart.
That day, I realized…
I wanted to help couples build their commitments differently, in nourishing deep soil, instead of some kind of beautiful amnesia. I also wanted to encourage couples to get familiar with some of the most challenging and transformational lessons I have learned in my own marriage:
how to collaborate when tensions are high and still maintain joy… with dirt under your fingernails and laughter around the table.
that asking others for support isn’t weakness, but rather a gift for all involved.
how to get creative when nerves are stretched and time is tight. (particularly relevant if you’re planning on starting a family)
that beauty requires effort, and that consistent effort is the true beauty of commitment.
and that as quickly as dark nights seem to come, spring is just around the corner if you can be a little bit more patient.
Because, the reality is your choices on your wedding day will mirror the choices you will make in your marriage.
So what is true luxury? What is beautiful? Creative? and worth an investment of both time and energy? At Ritual Blooms we believe true luxury is refusing to be sold a pre-packaged experience of your own life. It’s simple, it’s alive, and encourages people to engage with purpose.
So… together, let’s dream
of a different scenario. One where family and friends work together stem by stem to place beauty at the heart of your love. Your future father-in-law is standing next to you snipping peonies while your niece adds rose petals to her flower girl basket. Your mother is filling vases with water and your brother carefully packs the car full of centerpieces. This is Remember the Sacred. A vow to build your life around. It puts togetherness at the heart of your marriage for a lifetime, not just one night. It truly does take a village.
I’d like to invite you to join Remember the Sacred as an intentional proclamation of the kind of marriage you desire. It is an online resource for all things wedding flowers to help couples design and choose their flowers with intention. It covers everything from the Love Language of Flowers, Why & How to get local Flowers, and Design Videos for those interested in doing their own wedding florals. (bouquets, centerpieces, boutonnieres, supply lists and more)
If you're newly engaged and something in this blog resonates—if you've ever felt the hollowness behind Pinterest-perfect weddings, and thought to yourself, “this doesn’t feel like us”….I'd love to walk a new path with you. Join Remember the Sacred ‘s waiting list here, where I’ll be sharing videos about how to design your own wedding flowers, and using flowers to build the life and love your heart truly desires.
