Wedding Work Is Not for the Weak

Sitting in a staff meeting at Bouquet in August, our manager Sarah was commenting that we needed additional contract labor to get us through our busy Omaha wedding season. Our contract employees help with day-of wedding preparation including loading vans, floral installations, placing candles, clean-up and more.

I’d been helping with Bouquet’s marketing for almost two years and offered that I could assist. I thought it would be fun to work with our young staff on a weekend. So away I went, perhaps a bit ill-prepared for what lie ahead, spending two consecutive September Saturdays working with our team.

Here’s what I learned: 

It’s long work. After I agreed to help, I received a text along with the rest of the contract labor team telling us we were Team A for the next Saturday, and we needed to be at Bouquet at 5:30 and to expect to be done at 5 with the caveat it could be earlier or later. 

I read the text again. “Is that a typo?” I thought. Did I sign up for a 12-hour day?!? But in fact, our day did start at 5:30 a.m. While it was still dark and most of the city was sleeping, we were schlepping heavy buckets of water and flowers, tool kits full of snips, wire and zip ties along with dozens of hurricanes (glass cylinders that go over taper candles) into our Bouquet van. 

It’s hard work. The two weddings I helped with were very different. One was an outside ceremony that included a large floral installation, a greenery arch for the tent entrance and floral centerpieces for the tables. The second was an evening reception at a country club. This one was what we called “rental-heavy” because along with floral centerpieces, the reception included more than 450 individual candles.

While both weddings meant long days, the country club reception was more physically taxing. All the votives, vases, candles and hurricanes were heavy! I was trying to hang with these 20-somethings while feeling every one of my 52 years. Unloading and placing that much glass meant an extra level of detail of which I was not prepared–it meant white gloves, wiping for fingerprints and lots and lots of straightening taper candles. 

Our Bouquet designers will make it happen. As with most large events, there is occasion for things to go wrong. At the outdoor wedding there was a miscommunication about who was bringing the structure that became the greenery arch. We were in a small town 45 minutes from Omaha, but Jordyn was two steps ahead. She was Googling nearby lumber yards and engineering a structure in her head. She was ready to haul 2 x 4s and pound nails but thankfully another structure was on its way before any of that became necessary.

At the country club wedding, we realized as we were finishing up we were short a few taper candles. The tables were already packed with candles and vases and plates and glassware. I didn’t think anyone would notice and I questioned where these candles would even go. But Sarah sent me back to the shop (I relished the chance to sit for a few moments to drive) to find the missing holders and bring them back. Alas, every candle was accounted for!

There’s a vibe. There is an excited energy around a wedding day, and you can sense it all around. I loved chatting with the father of the groom at the outdoor wedding. He had built the cross we were making the floral installation around. And we got to see the bride and groom taking photos in the distance. It made everyone excited.

Likewise, I smiled to see the young bridesmaids in their matching pajamas and slippers sipping mimosas and peeking into the reception area at the country club. And I was particularly thrilled to go along with Sarah when she presented the bridal bouquet to the bride. Seeing the delight on the bride’s face made all the hard labor worth it.

Thankfully on both Saturdays our teams were finished ahead of time. That’s not always the case so we were lucky. After both, though, I was in need of a nap, some yoga and a soak in a hot tub. I hadn’t realized the physical and frankly emotional endurance needed to work with wedding flowers. I was proud of our team and impressed with all they do to make these brides’ dreams come true. And on Monday I was glad to return to my desk to sit and just type for a while.

Professional outdoor wedding photos by Hayley Dolson Photography. Professional indoor wedding photos by Molly Sheppard Photography.

Bouquet is Valentine’s-ready

Valentine’s Day is a big day for floral design. It’s the time of year when we showcase our designers’ unique talents and create one-of-a-kind pieces to delight all types of sweethearts. 

Claudia, aka Stacy’s Mom, was a hit with everyone in the studio.

Bouquet manager Sarah Pflug approached the big holiday this year with something fresh in mind. “I wanted to step away from the really traditional Valentine’s looks and illustrate our organic style with some unique arrangements and even some unique color palettes,” she said.

Striking reds scream Valentine’s but with a fresh approach and modern florals.

The design team gathered inspiration photos, collaborated on the variety of arrangements, and together created 13 unique and sometimes whimsical Valentine’s floral pieces. 

An ombre arrangement of florals in Bouquet’s signature caterpillar vase.

The Bouquet team then brought in a photographer to shoot the Valentine’s arrangements with some talented “local models” including some of the designers themselves, owner Julie Hockney’s daughter and one octogenarian we lovingly called Stacy’s Mom (because she is). 

Bouquet’s beautiful models represented many generations.

“We thought it would be fun to show our Valentine arrangements with various generations,” Sarah said. Each model chose their favorite arrangement and one of Bouquet’s add-ons including charcuterie from The Winery, cotton candy from Spin and a candle/matches from The Studio by JH. 

One of the models was The Wall Flower owner Crystal, who brought along some of her rentables including furniture, tableware and a rug to help create a romantic Valentine’s backdrop. Additionally Crystal brought in the world’s cutest cake from Tiers Cakes, which the models were able to enjoy after the shoot. “It was honestly as good as it was cute,” Sarah said. 

Crystal, aka The Wall Flower, setting up the quintessential Valentine’s backdrop.

The group had a blast with the modeling session, some hamming it up more than others. 

Floral Designer Jordyn also owns Spin, a cotton candy business.

Sarah suggests people put in their Valentine’s orders early this year. “We’re so proud of what we’ve put together and we’re heavily marketing these arrangements. We hope it’s our best Valentine’s Day yet!”

Bouquet Lights Up Table Art

Table Art is the Omaha Symphony Guild’s annual fundraiser. Local designers, florists, shops and families are invited to be Table Artists by designing tablescapes for display during the event.

Held on November 9 and 10th at Happy Hollow Club, this year’s theme was “Table Art by Candlelight.” Nineteen groups participated as Table Artists including Bouquet.

Sarah Pflug, Bouquet’s manager, said they came up with the design this summer and really leaned into the candlelight theme. “Fortunately, we have a ton of candlesticks and hurricane glasses because of all the wedding and events we do,” she said. “We were able to do a bang-up display that really showcased our rental items and floral design abilities.”

Floral designer Olga Fisher worked her magic and created a massive floral arrangement in a 24-inch urn featuring roses, bittersweet, olive branches, curly willow, amaranthus and oranges. The display also included more than 100 lit candles.

Bouquet’s owner Julie Hockney and marketing director Stacy Ashley Murphy hosted the table at the Thursday evening event and said people loved it. Many said it was their favorite of all the Table Art displays.

“We were one of the first tables people came to, and the candlelight was a real showstopper, albeit a bit hot,” Stacy said. “It really played well against the dark backdrop of Happy Hollow’s bar area.”  

Fortunately, the table also looked good during Friday’s lunch event. A special thank you to Omaha Symphony Guild’s Table Art committee members who helped with the lighting and distinguishing of candles. We were all thankful no fire alarms were triggered during these events.

An August Wedding at Happy Hollow

We are fortunate at Bouquet to be involved in many weddings throughout the year. We believe we shine at helping brides, grooms and families create the weddings of their dreams. Sometimes brides come to us individually, and often we get involved through various Omaha event-planning organizations like 402 Events. 

402 Events called on Bouquet more than a year ago to help with an August 2023 wedding to be held at Happy Hollow Country Club. Although relatively intimate with 150 guests, the bride’s vision for the evening was grand. Her directive for florals was “green and white.” She wanted lush and elegant. This meant we were able to collaborate with the staff at 402 Events to create a vision for the bride, who was open to ideas. 

The wedding ceremony was held outside of Happy Hollow Club near the front entrance. There are lovely gardens and a built-in path perfect for a summer gathering. 402 Events erected a massive clear tent for the evening affair. Clear acrylic chairs, white drapes and lots of lattice helped set a tone that only highlighted the impact of the flowers.

Our Bouquet staff used more than 700 stems to create this stunning archway at the entrance of the tent. Florals included Hydrangeas, Roses, Stock, Lisianthus, Agapanthus and greens including Eucalyptus, Italian Ruscus and Pittosporum. 

Inside guests were greeted by arrangements of the same flower varieties that lined the aisle. Above the platform where the bride and groom were married was a custom floral “chandelier” made of Smilax, Stock and Roses. It served as a showpiece during the ceremony and a centerpiece for the tent during the dance portion of the wedding. 

The right side of the tent was covered in lattice where the Bouquet team wove Italian Ruscus to create a trellis design. The lattice wall was an elegant addition to the tent and served as a backdrop for the band. 

We always try to include a variety of specialty flowers in the bridal bouquet. This bride wanted her personal bouquet to be simple, lush and elegant with many white flowers. We used garden roses, white Dahlias and white Cosmos to complement the other florals but give it a unique touch.

This was one of Bouquet’s biggest events of the year, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of so many incredible vendors including:

Planning, Design, & Coordination: @402events
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Happy Hollow Club
Photography and Videography: @ashleynicolecreative
Catering, Bar, and Cake: Happy Hollow Club
Floral: @bouquetomaha
Ceremony Musicians: @harrisacademy
Reception Band: @somethingbluwedding
Hair and Makeup: @darkhorseomaha
Tent: @kcpartyrentals1
Transportation: @viplimo_nebraska
Stationery: @letters.to.rose @nicole.reher.creative
Rentals: @tracydiehlevents @supplyevent @uraomaha @united.rentals @thewallfloweromaha
Photo Booth: @omahavogue
Lodging: @thefarnamhotel