Hedonia Flowers: 10 Questions with Christen Fosque

Florist - Christen Fosque

Business: Hedonia Flowers
Location: Chicago, Illinois IL
Experience: 14 Years
Profile: Hedonia Flowers
Website: hedoniaflowers.com

1. Introduction: What's your story?

Hi! I'm Christen, the owner and lead designer of Hedonia Flowers. A chance encounter in college - apparently we had a floral design club? - taught me the basics of floral design, and I've been obsessed ever since. After working in retail, corporate, and event floral, I loved the combination of inimate moments and grand scale of wedding design. When else does the average person get to plan the party of their dreams? Plus, I never met a spreadsheet I didn't like.

It was important to me that Hedonia be a place that brings ease and joy into the wedding planning process - with tranparent pricing, online scheduling and billing, and the best darn team in Chicago, just to name a few things that make us special. Simplifying the basics gives us more time to perfect the little details that make your day one of a kind. The result? Spectacular floral without all the fuss.

2. What's your experience as a wedding florist business? How many weddings are in there in your portfolio?

We've done over a hundred fifty weddings in our 3 years of operation!

3. How far in advance do couples need to secure your services?

Typically we book 6-8 months in advance, but if your date is available, we can accomodate weddings with much shorter notice.

4. How do you price your floral arrangements? What are the different packages that you offer and which one is your most popular package?

We offer two ways to order wedding flowers. The first is our traditional full-service florals, these are all-custom designed to your needs. We publish prices (or ranges) for bouquets, boutonneieres, centerpieces, etc. on our website so you can have a pretty good idea of your costs ahead of time. As well as florals, we also do drapery, arch/chuppah/mandap structures, and tabletop decor items, and can help you source vendors for anything else you're looking for.

We also offer Microwedding packages for smaller weddings, or for couples who just need personal flowers. These packages start at $195 for a bouquet + boutonniere, designed in the style and colors of your choice. These have been great during the pandemic, and people love that we work out all the details over email.

5. How many meetings will you have with the couple, and how will they be involved?

We typically will have an initial consultation call or in-person meeting where we discuss the couple's venue, color palette, style, and what items they're thinking about. We put all that information into a beautiful proposal that summarizes their floral as well as provides a lookbook to help them design the other elements of their wedding. Then, we'll do a final meeting about 4-6 weeks before their wedding, when they have final details like floor plans and table numbers worked out. We'll go over the proposal line by line to make any updates they need, and also work out the logisitics of the day. After they approve their updated proposal, we're good to go! And the next time you'll see us will be delivering your gorgeous bouquets on your wedding day.

6. Who else is in your team and how many people on your staff will be at the wedding?

Typically, we'll have 3-4 people working a wedding, but it really ranges according to the size and scope of the decor.

7. How would you describe your design style? (e.g. traditional, modern, rustic, organic)

I think of it as a relaxed classic, cottagy-english-garden style design. Left to my own devises, I love big fat juicy flowers mixed with unusual colored and textured berries, herbs, wildflowers, and seasonal foliage. I like sentimental, old-fashioned favorites like garden roses, peonies, lilacs, hellebores, foxgloves, and astilbe, especially if they're ones my grandmother had in her garden. To keep it from feeling to frilly and fussy, I prefer generally tailored shapes loosened with greenery and the occasional escaping bloom. In event design I love large-scale installations that make you feel fully immersed in the garden setting - nothing transforms a space both visually and scent-wise like a living hedge of fresh flowers.

8. Who will handle setup and delivery? What other services do you offer?

We do! Delivery, setup, room flip, and teardown are included for all full-service weddings.

9. What happens to the flowers after the wedding?

If you don't want to take your flowers home at the end of the evening, we'll pick them up and either donate or compost them.

10. What is your cancellation and/or refund policy?

Our deposits are non-refundable, but we're happy to make any changes (including to your date, venue, guest count, etc) up until a month before your wedding.