We recently connected with Amy Novelli and have shared our conversation below.

Amy , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you manage your own social media?

As of now I manage my own social media! Since I’m just starting out I’m not quite there yet to be able to hire someone out, but I would love to!

I struggle to make time and generate content for my own social so I would love to put something in place to have help with this in the future. Most of my clients come from instagram so I try to keep up with it and keep things interesting.

I’m in the process of making a social media calendar so I can hold myself accountable for posting more.

I think even short posts/reels are still effective and I try not to second guess it too much, just hit post!

Amy , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Amy!

I’m 31 years old and I run a Floral Design business out of my basement in Bridgewater, MA. I concentrate on weddings and events in Massachusetts and Rhode Island but I’m happy to travel throughout New England and beyond.

I grew up in central Massachusetts and had a wonderful childhood with a very loving and supportive family. I then moved on to UMass Amherst where I received my bachelors in Hospitality & Tourism Management. After college I spread my wings for a bit and moved to the small island of St. John, the smallest of the three US Virgin Islands. I lived here for five years and eventually met my husband Anthony who also happened to be from central Massachusetts.

I held many odd jobs while in St. John. Waitressing, property management, wedding planning, crewing on sailboats, nannying, you name it. Towards the end of my time there while I was working for a local wedding planner I became totally obsessed with the floral aspect of each and every wedding. I couldn’t look away. I suddenly wanted to learn everything there was to learn about flowers and how to design. I got the opportunity to start working with the local florist and I immediately knew this was a path that I was ready and excited to go down.

My husband and I had always planned to move back to Massachusetts, so in July of 2022 we sold all our things, packed up our belongings and boarded a plane with our two dogs in tow. Upon returning to MA I decided to take a huge leap of faith and start my own floral design business. We bought a house, I formed an LLC and I got to work. We converted part of our basement into a big cooler and setup my studio down there. My first summer I had 28 weddings. I’ve always been the kind of person who jumps into something head first and learns as I go.

What originally drew me to floral design outside of working with flowers is actually the aspect of experience design. I wanted to create an experience for a client from start to finish and use my administrative and personal skills in conjunction with my design and creative skills to produce a seamless and beautiful experience and end product.

I think what I am most proud of and what I really strive to deliver is an experience and a relationship that feels like that of an old friend. I believe that all your wedding vendors and really anyone who you’re hiring should be someone who you respect, genuinely like, and believe they are a good person in addition to being good at what they do. I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure that my clients are happy because to me there is no alternative. Since I work from home and solely do weddings and events I operate a bit differently than your traditional brick and mortar florist. I think because of this I look at all aspects of your wedding or event and make sure the florals fit with your design and vision at large.

Unlike a photographer, I’m not a vendor who gets to spend any large amount of time day of with the bride/groom/client but I wish to create an energy through my floral designs and arrangements that feels matched to the special event and their unique story.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

After moving back to Massachusetts and immediately starting my business there was a lot of research that I had to do to set myself up properly. One of the first and most important pieces was establishing a relationship with my floral wholesaler and attempting to tie myself into the floral community in Boston. My only floral connections at the time were a product of the Virgin Islands and I knew I needed the support of other like minded professionals in my area as well as a good relationship with my wholesale rep.

I’ll never forget the day I went to introduce myself and try to figure out how it all worked. I was so nervous and felt so out of place. I think back to that first day and smile. Since then I’ve established a few different wholesalers and have had some trial and error through it all.

I’ll never forget the first time I walked in and went to pay for my flowers and was greeted with “Sunkissed right?” Just the simple fact that they put a face to my business name and had remembered it meant the world to me. Since then I’ve only really used that wholesaler and have had nothing but great product, great communication and a great relationship at large.

Its so important in this industry to have a wholesaler who can advocate for you, knows your style, can make recommendations or substitutions and always has a smile.

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

Mainly through Instagram.

I love re-posting wedding/event photos, following all my clients and keeping up with what they’re doing and commenting or reaching out from time to time. I try to post photos or send a note in the mail on past client anniversaries or major milestones,

The best compliment is when a past client recommends me to a friend or family member for their wedding or reaches out regarding another event they’re planning or throwing for a friend.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sunkissedstems.com
• Instagram: @sunkissed_stems
• Facebook: Sunkissed Stems Floral Design

Image Credits
First image of me: Mercedes Photo Co. 1) Antoinette Photography 2. ) Emily Elisabeth Photography 3. ) Antoinette Photography 4.) Kelsea Lee Photography 5) Megan Potgieter Photography 6) Savannah Lauren Photography 7.) Kristen Pompey Photography 8) Dawson Renaud Film and Photo 9) Tamara Merri Photography 10) Kelly Stevens Photo