Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristian Ellison. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kristian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

One thing I hear quite often when I tell someone about being in the wedding industry and working with flowers, is that “you get to play with flowers all day?” While yes, I do enjoy the creativity and delight that comes along with designing florals, there is just so much more to the job than just flowers.

One of my top craziest moments, within the six years I have owned my wedding floral business, must be a wedding week back in the spring of this year where we had four weddings in one weekend. That part is crazy in itself, but that does not even begin to explain the events that unfolded during two of those days.

The day before the first wedding of the weekend, I woke up with both an eye infection and a sinus infection, so that was not a great way to start a day. Also, as I was preparing the florals, I get a call and message that two of my employees I had working that weekend called in saying they wouldn’t be able to work. Luckily, my mother came in to save the day; she ended up staying to work two of the four weddings with me. I wish that was the end of my serious of unfortunate events, but sadly it was only the beginning.

The very next day, we start the day by misplacing our Oasis foam, which was over an hour away from the venue where we were working. Luckily, I happened to spot another florist through the second story of a building window, so I ran over to seek some Oasis from them. By chance, they had some to spare, and were gracious enough to let us use some foam for our wedding we had that day.

So, Saturday, the very last day of our busy weekend, we had two weddings. This is where things got very wild!

I was working one of the weddings on one side of town, while my crew was working on the other. During the wedding I was working, somehow, the bride’s bouquet went missing before their ceremony. Everything about their wedding before this moment was absolutely perfect. I had already dropped all their personal flowers off, setup the ceremony, cleaned up my mess… everything was great until this happened. When no one could find the bride’s bouquet anywhere in the venue, Airbnb, or any of the vehicles, we started calling everyone and anyone who had stepped foot in the vicinity.

A few minutes went by, and several phone calls later, with no luck on recovering the bouquet. It wasn’t until one of the venue’s cleaning staff was called, they’d admitted to grabbing the bride’s bouquet, and taking it home for their table! When confronted about bringing it back, they refused to drive back to the venue. I immediately jumped into my car, drove as safe but as quick as possible, and started with my journey to retrieve the bouquet from their home. Well, not only did someone hit my car with a piece of wooden furniture as I was trying to leave, but I also hit a trash can in the alleyway as I was trying to leave as quickly as possible.

But guess what… I got the bouquet back! I found the cleaner sitting on their porch, smoking a cigarette with my bride’s bouquet on outdoor table, just about in the only part of the porch that was fully exposed to the sun. I couldn’t believe it!

I arrived back to the venue with the bouquet, with just a few minutes to spare before the ceremony started. The day was saved, and no one knew of anything happening. Let’s just say, there were a few tears shed in the drive back to the venue out of both relief and exhaustion. I just couldn’t believe someone would take a bride’s bouquet… that was crazy! This 71-hour work week was full of surprises to say the least.

My job is everything but just playing with flowers. There is a lot more to being a florist than just designing floral arrangements, that is for sure. I always want my clients to have the best experience when I am present at their wedding, or event. A florist wears many hats throughout a wedding weekend, but I can truly say it is the most rewarding job I can personally imagine.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I decided to join FFA(Future Farmers of America). I began to work little by little with plants, soil, and floral design. I was one of the students who would take care of the school greenhouse and plant sales. I really enjoyed getting my hands dirty and soaking up any knowledge about horticulture.

In school, I was extremely shy. I made it a point not to raise my hand, do presentations, and never joined any extra circular activities. One day, my teacher decided to push me out of my comfort zone, that day everything changed. She asked me to compete in Floral Design competitions for FFA. I would stay after school and practice designing flowers, learning the history of floral design, and identifying all types of cut flowers and greenery. By this point, I was ALL IN.

I fell in love with every aspect of floral design. I also got a job as a floral designer for a local flower shop. I continued to work at a the flower shop until spring of 2016. I had plans of opening my own business but I wasn’t sure of the timing of everything. Things fell into place, and at 19 years old in April of 2016, I opened my business Kristian Designs.

I chose the name Kristian Designs because of one thing, well maybe two. My name is Kristian, but also being I wanted my business model, me as a person/leader, and my designs to represent my faith. Whenever someone hears the name Kristian Designs, I wanted something positive to come from working with me and my flowers. I wanted the overall experience to not only be the job I came there to do, but I wanted to build a relationship with whomever I did flower work for.

Over the years, I have continued to grow and take on more weddings and events all over Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. On top of that, in 2019 I got the privilege of doing flowers for an event for Georgia Southern University(which was a HUGE goal of mine) and have continued to work with them since then.

My passion is weddings and continuing to make my bride’s wedding floral dreams come to life. I truly love what I do, and I can’t picture myself doing anything else. It is the best feeling to me walking in with the bride’s bouquet and seeing the initial glow on their face, or exceeding the expectations for the floral vision of an event.

I would say, I am most proud of staying true to myself through the years and running my business MY WAY. There have been many obstacles in the beginning and of course, I am still continuing to learn new things every day. I have also received some negativity throughout the years of belittling me as a business owner. I just used this negativity to fuel my passion and show that I can do this and will succeed in doing what I absolutely love. I am so proud of the journey I have been on and all of the things I have been through to get to the pint of where I am at today. I started with just one to two weddings a year, and now exceeding 40 weddings and events a year. It feels like a dream!

I am not going to lie, there are moments when I cry seeing my bride walk down the aisle. The feeling of being a part of one of the biggest moments of someone’s life is just incredible. I feel as though I have the best job, and to me, it is the utmost rewarding feeling to see people smile and hold conversations as my flowers surround them. I love my brides and clients and absolutely love what I do so much. Each day is different and each wedding day is unique. I can’t imagine a better job!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Starting a business at 19 years old definitely came with its challenges. Instead of going out and hanging out with friends, I was always working and saving.

In July of 2016, I attended the Savannah Wedding Vendors Meeting for the first time. I wanted to network with other wedding vendors and try to get my name out there. I knew I wanted to solely focus on Weddings and Events, and I loved the idea of working in Savannah. After a few of these meetings, several photoshoots to build my portfolio, and doing a few smaller weddings in Statesboro, I landed my very first wedding in Savannah in July of 2017.

When working weddings and events, I knew I wanted my business model to always be a positive presence and help others so that the job gets done, no matter the tasks at hand. Of course, I want my florals to stand out and be beautiful, but I also wanted the experience of working with a member of Kristian Designs, or myself, to be a great experience all around.

I firmly believe in helping others and having a positive attitude while on the job. My team and I try to go the extra mile when it comes to set up and clean up, even if we weren’t tasked to do so. I also want my clients, and fellow vendors, to enjoy working with Kristian Designs during all aspects of the day. I want them to also thoroughly enjoy the masterpieces we create with our florals.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Whenever I opened Kristian Designs, I knew I wanted a different type of communication between clients and me as a vendor. A type of communication that was to be approachable, but also professional at the same time. I wanted to be the person that my clients can talk to and trust throughout the entire process. Responses to emails, for example, I write as though I have known the client forever. I want my clients to feel the least amount of stress possible when planning the floral portion of their big day.

I have noticed over the years that social media is the most efficient and relatable way to communicate and keep in touch with my clients. I love that I can tell my story from day to day on Instagram while everyone follows along. I feel like this is a great way for a client to get to know me and see my work in action.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kristiandesigns.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristian.designs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristiandesignsflorals/

Image Credits
-Ashly McCoy-Wedding Photographer -Michela Watson Photography -Britt Stepp Photography -Allison Russo-Alesi Photo -Lahmann Photo Co -L + M Photography