The fact of the matter is that the florals you have at your wedding can make or break your design. If aesthetic is important to you on your wedding day then you’re going to want great florals, that’s where Britlyn comes in. In this interview she talks about her 10+ years of experience in the floral industry, gives advice to couples planning a floral heavy wedding, and reveals her latest passion project to bring new and exclusive flowers to her clients.
Britlyn Simone is the owner and creative genius behind Britlyn Simone Floral (formerly Metal & Moss). She’s an extremely talented Portland wedding florist and I’m so excited to share her interview with you!
Hi Britlyn! Can you tell us a little bit about Britlyn Simone Floral and how you got into this line of work?
Flowers have fascinated me since I was a little kid. Cultivating a beautiful garden was very important to all the influential women in my life – my grandmothers, mothers and aunts. Their floral passion was passed on to me and has continued to grow over time. Flowers have been with me through each stage of life, in some form or another. I started designing flowers for weddings in high school, which led me to managing retail flower shops through college and freelancing while I traveled through Australia before moving in Portland. Metal And Moss has always been a little seed that I’ve carried through my life, waiting for the right time and place to settle down and watch it grow. It’s a culmination of all these experiences and journeys around the globe.
Your floral work is so unique and super gorgeous! What inspires you?
Thank you! I find inspiration in the transition between the seasons. That little sliver of time when one type of flower is beginning to fade away and another is just starting to bursting open. It makes for some unique and really beautiful combinations of both color and texture! I tend to focus on really tiny things that are so easily overlooked and give them their moment to shine – like a flower with one petal that has different color variations from the rest, or combining the life cycles of plants by using fresh flowers and dried seed pods together.
On your website you mention that you work with local growers who are committed to healthy and sustainable flower practices. Why is this important in the floral business?
Local flowers are EVERYTHING and we are so spoiled here in Portland by our flower farmers! The global cut flower industry is so full of nasty chemicals and plastic waste. I knew if I was ever going to run my own business, being sustainable would be the only way I could justify doing it and not feel terrible about my impact on mama earth. This means designing with flowers that are in season, using as little floral foam as possible and paying for quality flowers that can sustain the farmers who grow them. Flowers that are grown on huge farms for easy packaging and transportation all look so uniform that they’re missing the essence of what’s most inspiring about flowers! The quirky and exciting ones can only be found on small farms that are worked by hand with heirloom seeds.
Do you have any advice for couples planning a floral heavy wedding?
If flowers are a priority for you, plan ahead with them in mind! Think about what varieties are most important to you and plan your wedding when they are in season. If you’re not planning around a specific variety, think about the floral elements you want and keep the weather in mind. Cut flowers like low light and cool temperatures, the opposite of ideal wedding weather! If you’re dreaming of an outdoor ceremony that’s full of flowers, think spring or fall when it’s not so hot out. Spring is a seriously underrated season for weddings and probably the most favorite time of year for florists!
If flowers are a priority at your wedding, make sure to budget that in early in the planning process. Generally flowers make up 10-20% of the overall wedding budget, but at the end of the day you should set aside what’s comfortable for you.
There is a lot of mystery about what goes into making floral arrangements for a wedding. Can you walk us through what a week in the life of a wedding florist looks like?
If only it was pretty flowers all day, every day! A lot of my time is spent answering emails, creating proposals, writing flower recipes and washing buckets, the less sexy side of the flower industry. The year is split between the off season, or office season and wedding season. A typical week in the wedding season starts at 5:30am Monday morning when market opens to pick the best goodies for the weekend’s wedding. Wednesday I’m back at market at 5:30am to pick up flowers and take them back to the studio to process them – cutting, cleaning and prepping for design. Thursday and Fridays I’m designing and packing flowers and Saturday we hit the road and set everything up! Sunday’s for cleaning out the delivery van, washing buckets and getting ready to start the week over.
As the floral industry grows we’re starting to see a lot of new florists in the Portland area. How does your 10+ years in the floral industry benefit your clients?
I understand the seasons and know the intricacies of flower varieties that need special care to keep them looking their best for wedding day. Nature already arranges flowers perfectly, so if you understand the colors, textures and varieties of flowers that are in season, you can create beautiful things. There’s a wide range of styles (modern, classic, whimsical), color palettes (neutral, bright, rich) and types of flowers (english garden, wildflower, tropical) within each season. Rather than limit Metal And Moss to one style of design, I like to get to know my couples and create intentional flowers just for them.
What’s new for Britlyn Simone Floral?
There are some exciting things on the horizon for Britlyn Simone Floral that I can’t wait to share with everyone. The dreams I’ve had of growing my own specialty flowers is turning into a reality very soon and I’m beyond excited to be getting my hands in the dirt and offer my couples exclusive and uncommon flowers in the near future!
And last, but definitely not least, what is your favorite flower? Why?
Flowers are magical things, and most of us have strong memories tied to certain ones, whether it’s through sight, smell, touch or taste. There’s just too many to choose a favorite, but I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for peony’s and lilac’s because my grandparents garden’s were overflowing with them and reminds me of childhood.
Britlyn, thank you so much for taking the time to share with us. It’s so good to know that wedding florals are 10-20% of the overall wedding budget, that you really do bust your ass for your clients, and that some new beautiful flowers are about to become available! ????
Are you in the middle of planning a floral focused wedding? What questions do you have for Britlyn? Leave your questions in the comments!
