This may not seem to be anything to make a big fuss but I am going to anyway!
My previous entry quickly explained how I go about preparing flowers for a quaint little restaurant in Hatfield. I went on about what I plan on buying for them and how I hoped my plans would work out.
As I got there I phoned the client and advised her that I will deliver the flowers later today (as we have an agreement that I supply flowers every week) ; "O" she said "I forgot to tell you that I quickly ran out and bought some flowers yesterday. I am very sorry that I didn't tell you".
So I am standing there....
...really??
And then it dawned on me......
I decided then and there that I will take the opportunity to do a photo shoot for my website! I need to build my portfolio and have been thinking about doing this for quite some time - I just needed the push!
All I had to do was plan 4 tables layouts in the shortest time possible as all the flowers in the shop are literally being bought and pushed past me as I sat at the coffee shop trying to plan my MO.
I quickly walked through, saw what the market had to offer, ordered a iced coffee and got to work. After, what seemed like an eternity, I had 4 table designs! Thanks to my awesome S3 cellphone I was able to download all the catalogues of the decor companies in my area to see what they had in store...now I had to pray that the items was not booked out...(but that did not occur to me until it was too late...optimism seems to be the operative word...)
With all the flowers bought I brought it home and had to start cleaning it all, which is not my favourite part of being a florist. This was on Thursday - everything took so much time that I was not able to rent any decor which meant I had to leave it to the next day.
Friday 18 November 2012
In a frantic state of mind I planned my day; driving from the closest to the furthest decor hiring company in the hope of finding everything I need - at this stage realised that the items might be booked out, seeing that it is wedding season and... did I mention is it FRIDAY (dun dun)!
When I arrived at my first destination I learnt that they would charge me for everything that I wanted to rent. This might seem obvious, but I thought they would only ask for a deposit should something break. I will be using their decor in the future, which means that I will do business with them...anyway; I had to pay for everything which I did not budget for...
Luckily I found a new company; the owner thought about the situation the same way I did and lent me everything I wanted...unfortunately she was my last stop, but I still managed to save some money!
That evening I sat down and planned everything (again) to make sure all the designs fit with the decor I had.
The next day I arranged flowers until I felt like a zombie...looking back I have no idea why it took so long. I think it is because of the tremendous tension I felt; I spent all this money on flowers and decor. If these photos don't come out the way I want...NEED...them to I am screwed!!I only managed to arrange flowers for three tables as the calla lilies that I had planned for the fourth table were simply too old and did not want to bend the way I wanted them to.
At this point the tension started to build.
Unlike the northern hemisphere; it is summer in November, which means that the daylight it too bright for me to take photos - I need to wait until about 17:30.
The plan was for me to take photos on Saturday, but the arrangements took so long that I only finished at about 17:00 and by the time I had all the decor in the car (did I mention I have to take the flowers to the park where I can use an old 19th century farmhouse as a background?) I was frantic and agitated! I left the house at 17:25 only to find that I did not secure all the flowers properly and they were falling over at every turn. I turned around and came home!!
The next day I spent with my husband; going to a historic car meeting. We met his brother there who reminded us about his step fathers birthday party...to which we said we would go and forgot about!! I had planned to take photos of the flowers that afternoon. I was already worried about the fact that the flowers have been standing around since Thursday and I have not photographed them!! Now I had to leave it until Monday afternoon!
Luckily we got home at about 16:45. I jumped at the opportunity to take the flowers to the park. To my husband's dismay I asked him to help me...not a happy camper!! When we got there I ran around like my hair was on fire - I had to set up the table, take all the decor out of the car, arrange everything, fold serviettes!! People probably thought "What the hell is wrong with you; showing up this late and trying to set a fancy table?!"
By the time I got to the last table the sun was gone. I scrambled to get a few shots, but to no avail. I had to come back the next day. Luckily I realised that the building faced east and so it would be possible for me to use the western side to take photos any time of the day as the table would be in the shade!
That evening I went through the photos and realised I didn't put wine glasses or cutlery on the tables!! No wonder the tables seemed so empty!! I made peace with the fact that I would have to go back the next day and do everything all over again!
On Monday I fixed the flowers where they needed a bit of TLC, put everything back in the car and started all over again. This time I loved every moment! I was calm, happy and thankful for the opportunity I had to design these arrangements and take the photos.
Here are the results of my labour!! It came out exactly how I planned and I am thrilled!!!
Pink and Silver:
Moroccan:
Whimsical:
I love the results!! After all the hard work (it took 5 days to finally take these pictures!!) I am very happy that I pushed trough and made it happen!! Success!!
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