Weddingbee PRO

I was up at Lake Okoboji in Spirit Lake, Iowa with my parents and grandparents for the weekend. A few years ago my folks bought a place up here and visiting in the summer is better than staying in a tropical resort. My mom cooks for me, I can sit on the dock and work in my big hat and sunscreen, there are always parties and social events to attend, and I still stay up all night working.

I don't mind at all. Sometimes I search my brain looking for feelings of resent, or exhaustion, even annoyance with my work. With the responsibility of working for 25 brides per month, all of whom are counting on me and trusting me to deliver custom flowers made only for them, I feel like I ought to be exasperated.

It's not only flowers–95% of my customers also ask for accessories and products ranging from belts and capelets and teapot centerpieces and veils and “just married” banners and hairpieces and special custom gift wrapping. I usually say yes because it is fun for me. It is fun for me even when I have been awake for 30 hours and my employees are already loaded up with as much work as they can handle and I am still waiting on shipments of new wool felt and there are 500 other things fighting for space at the top of my priority list. (E-mails, my new FAQ and Pricing pages, blog interviews, and silk chiffon pom poms, I will get to you soon.)

I feel like I ought to be exasperated but I'm not. I'm only motivated. I was talking to my friends Eric and Steve last night at a local bar at 2a.m. about this –if I wasn't motivated, I would sleep. I would have a long restful night of sleep and wake up with the comfort of knowing what my day would bring. But I never know, I never know what I will have to wake up and do right now now now because The Big Idea just hit me and if I don't do it, I will never be restful. I am always motivated. So I remain awake at night. It is when the magic happens.

In any case, I had a great day at the lake. I'll share more pictures of that in a few days in my weekly photo roundup. After my family went to bed, I worked on more book covers and a new flower order of purple, burgundy, and yellow blossoms for a new bride.

They reminded me of Hilary's flowers that I finished last week.

Hello front door. This is as professional as I get.

The purple and burgundy that was so frustrating for me to work with started to make more sense in the right shades. How can I have 17 shades of felt between the spectrum of eggplant and merlot?

And a little boutonnière and set of hairpins too. With cherries on top.