We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Kirnan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

I would absolutely learn proper floral pricing and stick to it – before even booking my very first client! Many people are aghast when learning how much floral work costs, and education when it comes to wholesale costs, hard good costs, labor, and EXPERIENCE is so vital. I now am very choosy when it comes to vetting clients and I take on only what truly excites me and meets my firm minimum.

Ashley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a florist and flower grower, and I mostly design wedding florals. My love for flowers developed out of a love for gardening, and my hope is to make every wedding day special, unique, and tailored to the dreams of my clients. I love using seasonal florals and grow as much as I can on our little farm. I strive to be as sustainable as possible by designing with local, seasonal flowers, limiting my use of flower foam, recycling, etc.

My husband and kids and I moved to our property in 2016 and hosted weddings in our barns and on our property for two years. We unfortunately had some issues with a neighbor and our town, and decided to close the venue portion of the business, and I had dabbled in floristry in years prior. I was very interested in growing seasonal florals and designing for weddings, and the transition from operating the venue to a full blown floral design business happened very quickly. I design in my barn studio (which used to be where we held cocktail hour for our weddings!) and our back barn now houses many animals, rather than wedding receptions.

I hope to provide so much reassurance to my clients that their wedding day will fit their floral vision and everything floral wise will be completely taken care of. I like to under promise and over deliver, and I love connecting with my clients on an emotional level. There is nothing like those happy tears from a bride after I’ve handed her her bouquet on her wedding day.

I am proud of the work ethic and flexibility I’ve developed in the years of working my business. I’m proud of the growth I’ve experienced in my personal floral design skills and style. I’m especially proud of being able to set an example for my kids, showing them what hard work can accomplish.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My biggest pivot was transitioning from hosting weddings to designing florals for weddings (as described in the previous page). It was so challenging to let a dream die, and it was so frustrating to feel like we were so misunderstood by our neighbors and town. We wanted to bring so much good with our venue, and were very diligent in making sure we had the proper permits, followed all the regulations, respected noise ordinances, etc. Instead, we were treated really poorly and it was really disheartening. We (and our kids) really had to learn first hand how to love people even when they were terrible to us, and it really bonded us together as a family. This whole experience turned out to be a blessing in disguise – my 5 year plan was to host weddings for a few years and then jump into the flower growing/floral design world if/when the barn wedding trend fizzled out, and that plan was just fast forwarded a bit!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Referrals (client and wedding vendor colleagues) and social media. I’ve worked really hard to develop meaningful relationships with other florists in my area, as well as with venues, wedding planners, photographers, djs, etc. Social media has been a wonderful way to showcase my work and advertise locally.

Contact Info:

• Website: tarrygrove.com
• Instagram: @tarrygrove
• Facebook: @tarrygrove

Image Credits
Lauren Victoria Photography Kelsee Risler Photography By Bridget Photography Laura Rose Weddings Hannah Bryerton Photography McKenzie McNeil Photo Katia Popik Photography