Talking All Things Wedding Florals with A Timeless Celebration

As wedding photographers, it’s important for us to stay connected to top industry professionals. Who else can better advise you on how to perfect your craft than someone who’s been there and done it all? There’s so much we, as creatives, can learn from each other! This week, we are thrilled to be sharing an interview with our dearest friend and colleague Caryn from A Timeless Celebration, one of the most talented individuals we know and she is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to flowers, let's talk all things wedding florals! We are hopeful this will give you some insight and inspiration to choosing the perfect florist for your wedding day.

Ok, by now we know that wedding florals are one of the most important aspects of wedding styling and decor. As a wedding photographer, I get super excited when it comes to photographing your wedding flowers! Why? Floral design adds that extra special sparkle to your wedding decor and gives it texture, height, depth and color. With so many styling options to choose from, you can truly customize your wedding with flowers that speak to you and set the mood and tone of your special day. In our interview below, Caryn explains what flowers photograph best and what’s in trend this upcoming wedding season! We also featured some of my favorite shots from different styled shoots and photoshoots we worked together with Caryn.

Luxury Moment Photography: What inspired you to start a Timeless Celebration?

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration:

I wasn’t “inspired” to start A Timeless Celebration per say, but more like I didn’t know what else to do after I graduated with a Bachelor of Education. Two semesters into the program I realized it was not for me, but I finished the program anyway. I’ve always loved doing arts and crafts and making greeting cards for my family and friends, so it made sense for me to design and make wedding invitations and stationery to sell on Etsy. My friends randomly asked me to decorate their wedding which led me to purchase some decorations, so I added rentals to my invitation service for local couples.

Luxury Moment Photography: Can you share what first inspired you to start designing flowers? 

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration:

The short version of my story: after decorating weddings for a few years, one of my brides asked me to provide them with fresh flower bouquets and centerpieces. Even though I knew nothing about flowers, I said “sure!” Well, as you know it, the rest was history!

Luxury Moment Photography: Can you share with us some of your signature bouquets or some of your favorite design?

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration:

I have 3 favorite bouquets from last wedding season. One of them was a wild, organic and natural bouquet I created. It was for a couple who had their engagement photo shoot, in the California desert, done by Luxury Moment Photography. Flowers in the desert is so rare that a butterfly stopped and smelled the flowers.

Another fave was a bouquet I designed for a destination wedding in Mexico. It was beige and blush created with fresh, preserved and dried flowers. This bouquet had no greenery contrasting another one of my favorite bouquet that was ALL greenery. This greenery bouquet was for a chic garden style wedding in a modern hotel setting in Old Montreal.

Check out Caryn's blog post on three of her favorite Wedding bouquets.

Luxury Moment Photography: Any Recommendations for selecting a florist?

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration:

Start by putting together a list of florists you would like to meet with and read reviews of these florist to ensure they are reliable and reputable. It is a good idea to ask for referrals from other brides who have already gotten married. Your vendors can also recommend other professional florists they know in the industry. Some florists, such as myself, offer décor as an add-on option. You might want to consider having one vendor take care of both flowers and décor so you don’t have too many vendors to deal with and the design can be more cohesive. Once you have a list of good florists put together, narrow down to two or three top choices you really want to meet with or request a proposal from. Price and budget are definitely important, however, try to choose a florist you click with, a florist who understands your needs and wishes to bring your vision to life.

Luxury Moment Photography: At what point in the planning process should you book a florist?

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration:

Our couples typically book us a year, even two years in advance. But of course, if we’re still available on your wedding day, we can accommodate and help you with your wedding floral designs at any stage during your wedding planning process. The quickest we’ve pulled together a wedding is 4 days! Our advice is to book a florist at the early stages of your wedding planning process because flowers and decorations can be a big chunk of your wedding budget, so you would want to plan ahead. Professional wedding floral designers also take only certain number of weddings per month/year to maintain the quality of their service for each wedding. If you love the work of a particular florist, book them early to avoid disappointment.

Luxury Moment Photography: What trends are you seeing for 2020?

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration:

Number one on our list is definitely dried and preserved flowers! And yes this includes pampas grass that everyone is so in love with. This is the biggest trend in 2020. Everyone is also talking about sustainability and how they can have a more environmentally friendly wedding. Preserved and dried flowers and even potted plants fall right into the eco-friendly realm.

Back to the nature! Natural, organic and garden style florals pretty much continue to be huge in the wedding scene this year, they aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Tinted flowers are also another huge trend this year, especially tinted baby’s breath and ferns. They are becoming more and more in demand, especially when used in hanging installations and floral sculptures as show-stopping statement pieces of the wedding.

Luxury Moment Photography : How does photography factor in your floral design and event styling process?

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration: Photography and videography is VERY important for us. Brides and grooms can have amazing vision for their wedding florals and decor and I can design all these impressive floral installations, we need professional photographers to capture the special moments for us. Flowers only last for a few hours and they will be gone, we rely on photographers to capture and tell the story for us to remember and treasure for a long time. Photography captures those special moments forever. It also plays a huge part in helping designers, like me, to show off my work in a professional way. Check out these photos I took with my phone and the photo taken by Luxury Moment. Which one would be more attractive to potential client?

(Picture taken by LMP for Alice in Wonderland Styled shoot)

(Picture taken by LMP for Alice in Wonderland Styled shoot)

(Phone Picture taken by Caryn)

Luxury Moment Photography: What photos are you most excited to see post wedding day?

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration:

Photos of the bride with her bouquet! It’s the most personal piece of floral on her wedding day and it’s such an honor to be the person to create that for her.

Bride holding her beautiful bouquet by A Timeless Celebration

Bride holding her beautiful bouquet by A Timeless Celebration

Bride holding her beautiful bouquet by A Timeless Celebration

Bride holding her beautiful bouquet by A Timeless Celebration

Luxury Moment Photography: Is there anything new you are currently doing that you would like to share?

Caryn From A Timeless Celebration:

We are always working on something new and exciting! Our most recent project is our new online store that we launched last month. This shop is dedicated to all things preserved and dried. Eternal roses in a box have been trending for a couple of years now but it’s rare to see anything more elaborated. All our bouquets and arrangements we are designing for our online shop are sustainable, they won’t die after one or two weeks. Our bouquets are perfect for a wedding proposal and our arrangements are great for home decorating. They last for a few years!