flower trip

Image via Genevieve Leiper / Amy Tucker

I’ve been back home from The Chapel Designers conference in NYC for almost a month now. I still can’t believe my time with my dear flower friends went by so quickly. This was a CRAZY packed day – so this is going to be a long post!

Our second day in NYC was a full one. We spent the day at the Helen Mills Event  Space which was located just across the street from our hotel. Monday was a really surreal day for me. A couple weeks ago our leader Holly asked if I would share my experience and some of my documentation with the group. I was honored – and terrified. Me? Really!? A new-ish designer from Wisconsin talking to the group on the same day as legends from Style Me Pretty and Martha Weddings?! You’ve gotta be kidding me. Despite my doubt I took the stage and I’m so happy I did. A handful of other Chapel Designers also shared with the group: Daevid of Daevid’s of Norfolk, Leslie of TULIP, Francoise Weeks, Laura of Faith Flowers and Jenn and Dave of Modern Day Floral. All of them graciously shared their experiences and offered valuable insight into the business of flowers. We also heard from Anne Chertoff who gave us brilliant advice on tackling social media.

After a full morning it was time for lunch. Sorry guys, I didn’t take pictures as everyone was speaking – I was too busy soaking in all the information. So instead you get pictures of my lunch. Oh, but this wasn’t just any lunch. On Sunday when we were out sightseeing we noticed a little restaurant right down the street from our hotel called Melt Shop. A restaurant devoted to grilled cheese?! Yes, indeed.

One look at this sign and it was a done deal. We were going back for lunch.

They had me at $2 PBR… all. day. (All DAY. ALL DAY, SON… All. Day. Any other New Girl fans out there?! Hahaha)

Lunch didn’t disappoint. My sandwich was sinfully delicious. And it was just the break I needed before heading back for an inspiring afternoon. I was so excited to hear from two women I greatly admire in the world of weddings: Naomi de Manana, Editor at Martha Stewart Weddings and Abby Larson, founder of Style Me Pretty. Between the two Rachel Merkle was kind enough to talk to us about branding your business.

My favorite two comments of the afternoon: Naomi – “Flowers are a reminder that life & beauty are fleeting”. Abby – “It’s dedication and hard work that turns your little something into something bigger”.  So true. Such an amazing day.

Ahhhhhh, It’s 9am Wednesday morning and I’m sitting in a dark hotel room, the only light coming from my little netbook screen. My flower friends have been up for quite some time already to go shop before a big day ahead. As I type they’re on their way to Martha Stewart’s corporate offices for a private tour… and I decided to sleep in then finally update all you on what I’ve been up to here. This is going to be especially short because I’m off to go do some shopping myself!

I arrived on Sunday morning. I was lucky enough to arrive early in the day so I had some time to walk around before the hustle began. Sunday evening there was a wonderful welcome party hosted by VASESOURCE. They were VERY generous hosts! That lovely name badge you see above was compliments of Jenn at Modern Day Floral. I’m not normally a name tag kinda girl – but with so many new designers I was SO grateful to have these! We got to introduce ourselves to all the new Chapel Designers and finally see old friends in person again. Our hosts went all out – wine, tons of food (including the most delicious fruit salsa I’ve ever had), and TONS of pretty vases and flowers to peruse. We even got this really cool sample vase from VaseSource!

Can’t wait to order some fun new vases from them!

So, that’s a little recap of Day One. Stay tuned as I fill you in on all the other exciting things we’ve been up to… including spending time with some amazing designers and finding a little restaurant that only served grilled cheese… and $2 PBR’s all day long. Yup, feels just like home.