Florist - Sarah Leitten And Kate Prince
- Business: Flora Chicago
- Location: Chicago, Illinois IL
- Experience: 18 Years
- Profile: Flora Chicago
- Website: florachicago.com
1. Introduction: What's your story?
Who we are: Two girls (an Aussie and an American) taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity to bring beauty and artistry, transform moods, translate and create design visions and set the scene, the space, the vibe, through flowers. We love the earth and are determined to protect it to the best of our ability. We support sustainability, buying locally where possible, reusing and recycling when we can, and limiting our waste as much as possible. We design foam-free as much as we can and repurpose arrangements post events passing them on to people who need a little something to brighten their day.
Our style: is loose, organic, garden-style - natural with a touch of wild. We love nature. We love color. We love art. We love creating beautiful pieces and in addition to fresh flowers, we love to incorporate foliage, dried flowers/ seeds, and other botanical forms available.
What we can do: While we definitely have an in-house Flora style, we are talented florists who can translate your vision into reality. If you don’t have a style or a vision, we can help you work this out. If we haven’t done it before, don’t let that scare you off. We are innovative and creative problem solvers with a great team, great resources, an incredible eye and a can-do attitude. We thrive on a challenge, it’s how we got here and our work speaks for itself.
How we work: Relationships are important to us. Expect honesty, frankness, reliability, collaboration, attention to detail, artistry, and to be blown away by the end product. We love what we do and our enjoyment and love of every step are evident in our work.
Our Story: Flora is co-owned by Sarah Leitten and Kate Prince who met while working at Flora and bought the business in March 2018. Sarah was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art with a BFA in sculpture in 2009. Sarah has worked in the floral industry for over 10 years and spends her free time drawing comics and working on art projects. Kate was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, and has over 15 years of horticultural and landscaping experience. Kate has lived and traveled all over the world.
2. What's your experience as a wedding florist business? How many weddings are in there in your portfolio?
We are primarily a neighborhood retail florist and offer our services for medium to small weddings. Over the past 4 years, we have created florals for roughly 60 weddings.
3. How far in advance do couples need to secure your services?
It really depends on the size of the wedding. For a larger size wedding, we require 5 months in advance to secure our service.
4. How do you price your floral arrangements? What are the different packages that you offer and which one is your most popular package?
Here is a list of our wedding floral prices:
Bridal Bouquet: starts at $200
Bridesmaids Bouquets: start at $100
Boutonnieres: $30 (flat fee)
Corsages: $45 (flat fee)
Flower Crown (Adult): $65
Flower Crown (Child): $50
Low Centrepieces: start at $100
Tall Centrepieces: start at $350
Arch/ Chuppa: start at $1000 flowers only
Arch/ Chuppa rental: start at $350
Set up: starts at $750 for full-service wedding
Strike: $250
5. How many meetings will you have with the couple, and how will they be involved?
We usually have one face-to-face meeting or over zoom to address the couple's needs. In this meeting have an in-depth conversation outlining pricing, color and design, the schedule and timeline of the wedding, and we present the couple with various wedding options.
6. Who else is in your team and how many people on your staff will be at the wedding?
Our team is primarily us! We are a two women show, we own and operate this business together and we hire freelance designers when we need extra help.
7. How would you describe your design style? (e.g. traditional, modern, rustic, organic)
Our style is loose, organic, garden-style - natural with a touch of wild. We love nature. We love color. We love art. We love creating beautiful pieces and in addition to fresh flowers, we love to incorporate foliage, dried flowers/ seeds, and other botanical forms available.
8. Who will handle setup and delivery? What other services do you offer?
As owners, we both handle set up and delivery along with help from a hired delivery driver when needed. We also offer bridal bouquet preservation in which we dry the bridal bouquet and create a dried flower terrarium with the flowers.
9. What happens to the flowers after the wedding?
If the couple and wedding guests do not take the flowers home we come and collect the flowers and gift local businesses with bouquets. In the past, we have donated leftover wedding flowers to local women's shelters in the city.
10. What is your cancellation and/or refund policy?
The client understands this is a custom order. Contract cancellation must be made in writing or by email. Contract cancellations made before the final payment due 30 days prior to the wedding date will receive a refund of monies paid, less non-refundable retainer. Cancellations made less than 30 days prior to the event date will receive NO refund.
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