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.