Flower Farm & Floral Studio based in Western Massachusetts
Yanet and Jon’s wedding had to move from my neck of the woods (western Massachusetts) to Maine because of the pandemic, so last fall I loaded up the old minivan with my husband, loads of hot pink dahlias, a couple of flowers crowns – and off we went to the coast!
Photos by Novella Photography
Venue & catering: Hidden Pond Resort
Planner: Azalea Events
DJ: Visual Sound Productions
Videographer: Eastty Weddings
Florist: (me!) Passalongs Farm
Continue reading “Fall Wedding Shoot at The White Room, Crompton Collective, Worcester”
Jessica and Mike wanted a turn of the century themed wedding, and what better location than Wisteriahurst, the historic mansion and cultural center in Holyoke. After the ceremony they and their guests traveled to the Roosevelt Room at Union Station in Northampton – more of the turn-of-the-century theme as it’s the great hall of the railway station in Northampton, built right before 1900.
Locations:
Ceremony: Wisteriahurst, Holyoke;
Reception: Roosevelt Room, Union Station, Northampton
Photos by Brian Marsh Photography
Continue reading “Turn of the century-themed wedding at Wisteriahurst”
Michele and Graham are what I like to call “planty people.” Both work in horticulture. Both love plants. And so when they asked me to do their personal flowers for their September wedding at Quonquont Farm in Whateley, but said they planned on creating their centerpieces themselves using buckets of DIY flowers, I was happy to oblige. And when they asked if they could create these centerpieces themselves in my shed…well, I wouldn’t have let just anyone do it! But I was happy to let these two do it! (And actually, I might let more people do it in the future because we they had such a great time! Continue reading “Wedding flowers for two “planty people” at Quonquont Farm”
When I first met with Grace and Chris it was clear Grace had a vision for her wedding. She wanted her flowers to be unique – mainly orange, but not earthtones-of-fall-orange – orange and blue and white – with a very special element: balloons! Giant balloons! She showed me a picture of what she wanted and since I’m game for anything I said sure…but then was very relieved when she found a balloon specialist! All I needed to do was provide the flowers and foliage for the balloons, and voila – a super special tablescape was born.
Location: The Boylston Rooms, Easthampton MA
Photos by: Trish Kemp Photo
Balloons courtesy of Jexsy Balloons
Flowers by me! Passalongs Farm
Continue reading “A light, bright and (up in the) airy fall wedding at The Boylston Rooms”
Sam and Joe were married the end of September at Valley View Farm in Haydenville, MA. A perfect time of year in New England, a perfect time for flowers, and a perfect time for guests and family and loved ones to travel far and wide to our fair Pioneer Valley.
Unless it’s 2020. And we’re in the middle of a pandemic.
So plans had to change.
Some things stayed the same: September is still the perfect time of year to be married in western Massachusetts. Flowers are still at their peak. But hundreds of friends and family traveling from far and wide? Not so much.
Instead, a few friends and family. Instead, a more intimate – but still very special – celebration.
Continue reading “Sam and Joe’s intimate fall wedding at Valley View Farm”
2020 was weird. I’m going to assume that all of you have been going through it, too, so I won’t summarize the massive impact covid has had on all aspects our lives last year, but for my little farm it basically boils down to two main phases:
PHASE ONE of 2020: ALL IS LOST AND THIS IS GOING TO SUCK! The weddings got cancelled, changed, and moved, so I was certain that I would make no money in 2020. I started my farm in earnest 4 years ago and within 2 years it was clear that wedding florals would be the best way forward for me in terms of a sustainable business model. The year – 2020 – that I thought was going to be a break-out (meaning I’d make a decent salary and be able to invest in the final bit of infrastructure I needed) was sure to be a dud. The buzz in the flower farmer groups was that we were in for it and as nonessential workers everything would have to be shut down, no one would buy flowers, and for many farms this was the end of the road. There was a lot of scared talk, particularly from farms who had several employees and who were agro-tourism destinations.
AND
PHASE TWO: IT DIDN’T SUCK AFTER ALL. The community came out for me, I continued to grow, and while some of my income was gone from weddings, more of my income came by other means. In fact, financially things are ahead of last year (though probably not where I would have been) AND it was a great year for learning, thinking, growing, and connecting. And I got my infrastructure. I increased planting, I had a lot of failure (per usual)…and I had some really great help. I am very, very thankful that I am tiny, this year more than ever. I’m especially thankful that I don’t have big loans for land or equipment or space. The stress that I’ve had has been largely based on my own physical limitations and the need to respond to the changing market. If anything, my business has grown this year. So 2021 should be very interesting!
I don’t think I’ve ever documented my growing failures before, which is funny, because there have been A LOT of them. I think I’ve been embarrassed and I haven’t wanted my clients to think I’m sloppy or I don’t know what I’m doing. But when I think about it, I doubt my clients ever see the end result of these growing failures, since if I’m flowering a wedding or creating a custom bouquet I will do everything I need to – including purchasing wholesale flowers or from other farmers – to get them what I’ve promised. With that in mind, I’m hoping documenting this stuff will help other growers – especially beginners and people who are self-taught, like me – in their quest to get something – anything!- to grow.
So, in the interest of education for my fellow beginners/dilettantes it’s probably worthwhile to talk about what I f*cked up this year. It’s also in the interest of me, because documenting this stuff may be useful in the future and is a good exercise in reflection.
Kylie and Anthony were married on the only rainy day of my 2019 wedding flower season – but guess what? It didn’t matter a bit! The slight rain and cool overcast skies only complimented the moody floral hues they chose for their wedding – and they and their wedding party – not to mention the staff at Quonquont! – were such troopers that their day was perfect. Cloudy with a chance of…happily ever after!
All photos of Kylie and Anthony’s wedding are by Love and Perry Photography.
Location: Quonquont Farm, Whately.
My husband and I met while working at a hotel that did assembly-line weddings. I was a banquet waitress and he was a bartender and most weekends we’d work at least 1 or 2 or even 3 wedding receptions. This was not a nice, historic hotel, mind you. It was a chain hotel with bad food and tired decor. It was the era of the Electric Slide and the Macarena! Needless to say, when we decided to tie the knot a few years later we knew what we didn’t want: a wedding that in any way resembled our former place of employment.
So we got married under a tent in a local park, hired a natural foods chef caterer, served up craft beer and special wine, and a local farmer who my future mother-in-law knew from church did our flowers! We were before our time! To be honest, we went this route because we hated the pre-planned package wedding places, but also because we had NO MONEY. I was a public school teacher in North Carolina at the time. My husband worked in a photo lab. We were pretty poor. Our parents helped us a little, but there were limits to their generosity. Our wedding was done on a serious budget.
I tell you this story because I understand and empathize with the folks who are budget conscious about their wedding. I really do! This is one reason why people go the DIY route: to save a little money.
But not everyone chooses the DIY option because of finances. Flowers are something people think they can DIY – unlike the venue or the catering or the cake or the dress. DIYing flowers is fun! Plus, it makes things a little more personal. If you have the time, energy, and enough people, it can be a special experience. Continue reading “DIY wedding flowers @ Passalongs Farm”