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

Lauren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

Wedding floral trends are constantly changing! The first year we were in business we saw lots of boho style designs with pampas grass everywhere. Burgundy and blush tones have remained popular since we started. Last fall we had more brides asking for terra cotta colors. This year we did quite a few baby’s breath and white flower weddings. Bright and bold color palettes are currently trending and we are loving seeing those bright pops! Round arches that were super trendy the last couple of years, but recently we see more of the asymmetrical arch designs.

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

Sommer Floral & Co. was officially launched in 2020. I had a little bit of a background in floral design and wanted to do the flowers for our own wedding. Thankfully my husband to be talked me out of it. Brides, wedding day set ups are no joke! Our team usually spends anywhere from 4hrs to the whole day doing setups if rooms are being repurposed during your event. Hire professionals and thank me later! We ended up doing a little photoshoot in our wedding attire awhile after our big day and I did our flowers for that. During the photos my husband said “we could turn this into a business” and by the end of the week he had all our legal forms submitted and Sommer Floral & Co. was born. One value our company was built on was our desire to assure our clients their wedding is our utmost priority and that our customer service matches that. I never wanted my brides and grooms to feel like we were just pumping out a product. Each wedding is so truly important to us. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes when designing florals that I never want my clients to worry about. This last year we’ve had shortages on hard goods as well as specific types of flowers being hard to get across the world. There was a period of time when you couldn’t get white flowers at all. I worry about their ribbon colors and if they’ll like the candlesticks. We did a wedding this weekend and the 100 light blue delphinium stems I ordered went missing from the wholesaler’s. So what did we do? We painted 100 stems of white flowers a light blue to complete our bride’s vision. The best part of my job is knowing all the obstacles that arose during the design process and getting to see the final product the day of the weddings and how the whole event comes together. I know I’ve done my job well if after a week of hand painting flowers blue, and cutting candlesticks that are too tall, and designing these huge events, my clients come up to me at the end of their wedding night and tell me everything is perfect and it was exactly what they envisioned.

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

We have tried multiple different advertising websites and marketing partners. Unfortunately, the revenue they brought in wasn’t enough to cover the service. The most consistent market tools for us are Instagram and vendor referral. Partnering with trusted vendors is the best! I know the planner trusts me and my designs and is handling all the behind the scenes stuff, I know the photographer is going to send me photos at the end for my own website, the makeup artist is going to kill it and we all know to tag each other in our work to give proper credit.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Our online portfolio has been the most effective strategy for growing our clientele. You don’t get many repeat customers in the wedding industry, but you might get client referrals. Showing your future clients photos of your design style and even the venues you’ve worked at is super helpful for drawing in new inquiries! Doing multiple jobs at a venue can also get you on the preferred vendor list there!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sommerfloralco.com/
• Instagram: @sommerfloralco
• Facebook: Sommer Floral & Co.

Image Credits
The Bledsoes Photography