Kansas City Wedding Photography | Allison Marie Photography

I am excited to feature Danielle, the beautiful florist behind Something Chic Floral! I chose Danielle to do the flowers for my own wedding, and she is an outstanding florist. I had somewhat of an idea of the style of bouquets I wanted for my wedding, but she brought it to life, and my flowers ended up to be one of my very favorite details of my wedding day! This girl is LOADED with style, spunk and creativity! Before I share my interview with her, I just have to post some of my favorite shots Gail took of my wedding flowers. She did a phenomenal job!!

 

Let’s start at the beginning. How did you get into floral arranging?

I’ve always been creative, and I’ve been talking about nature and science since middle school. I’ve always been good at making something out of nothing. I studied Horticulture at IA State, and had a couple really great summer internships. One was landscaping, and I learned that digging is a bad job for someone as small as me! Then I worked in a flower shop in Chicago for a few years. I worked with the event coordinators and loved it! I later became the manager of a Bridal & Floral shop, until I decided to branch off and do my own thing. I learned that to stand out in my business, I need to be different from the other florists, so I decided to specialize in only weddings. Every order I do is completely customized for each client.

What is your favorite style of wedding to design for?

I have two distinct favorites: garden-nature-twig-moss style and then a super modern style with crystals and gems!

How would you describe your ideal client?

Open-minded. They have an idea of what they want and are able to communicate it really well. Communication is huge in my business.

What is the best advice you can give brides to help ensure they’ll end up with gorgeous flowers?

Don’t be stuck on one type of flower. Trust your florist’s expertise and be open to her suggestions. Let her direct you to the best flower for your season of wedding and your colors. Also, bring lots of pictures to show what style of flowers you want.

When you are not busy with weddings, what do you love to do?

I love to dance – swing and salsa! I also love to watch movies and travel.

Favorite place to shop?

Express and Gap – I shop for quality!

Any other fun details about yourself you’d like to share?!

I love cars. FAST cars!!! and motorcycles!

I am starting a new segment on my blog to feature a couple of my favorite wedding vendors in the Des Moines area. After planning my own wedding, I know how crucial it is to not only find vendors who offer what I am looking for, but also have a personality that I can connect with and professionalism I can trust. It also makes the whole experience more fun

So, I would like to introduce to you Kylee and Nikki of Down to Details Event Coordination and Design! These are two lovely ladies who have a true passion for what they do…and have a crazy knack for wedding design!! To view their website, go here, and to see some of their recent work, go to their facebook page here. Enjoy this fun interview!

Tell me about the journey of starting up Down to Details.

Nikki: We met through Delta Gamma; we were introduced through the Alumni group in Des Moines and began hanging out socially. As we began to get to know each other, we both expressed our dream of starting our own businesses – I wanted to start a wedding coordination business, and Kylee wanted to start a wedding decor and printed materials business. At first, we said it would be great to refer clients to each other…but then we realized that if we started a business together, we would be able to not only support each other but also offer something that didn’t exist in the Des Moines wedding market. We decided we would be better together than doing our own things!

You offer a wide range of different services..exactly what services are involved in your business?

We offer print design for things like invites, programs, welcome 6-packs, linens and centerpieces, as well as providing coordination services. We are involved as little or as much as each bride needs. We provide planning and coordination leading up to the wedding day, suggest vendors and plan out the schedule, and also offer day-of wedding coordination.

What are your favorite types of weddings to coordinate?

We LOVE two different styles: 1) Preppy J-Crew and 2) Rustic weddings! We love to think up one really cool & unique stand-out element that will catch everyone’s attention, like a champagne or candy bar.

How would you describe your “ideal client”?

She has a vision of what she wants, but it needs some finessing to bring it to life. She likes to party and have fun! Of all the different brides we’ve worked with, we haven’t had a single bridezilla!

Where do you go for inspiration?

Kylee: Everywhere! I will think up a really sweet centerpiece idea at the most random times, so I’ll have to draw it out to remember it later. A lot of inspiration for me comes through traveling.

Tell me about the process I’d go through if I were a bride hiring you for my wedding.

We would give you a questionnaire to get to know as much about you as possible – your style, your vision, what you like to do for fun, etc. We would discuss what your needs are for your wedding, and then we would put together a proposal for you of different services we could offer you and then sign a contract. Some brides need to get together many times during the planning process, and others trust us to make everything come together that we only get together one or two times before their wedding.

When you are not working on weddings, what do you love to do?

Kylee: I love taking photos, traveling, kayaking…anything outdoors, really! My husband and I are also working on building a barn, so that’s pretty time consuming.

Nikki: I’m a foodie! I love traveling to new restaurants – I even used to have a food blog! I’m also big into wine and broadway and office supplies. I could go nuts in Office Max!

What encouragement would you give to new brides?

Keep it all in perspective. Planning a wedding can be so overwhelming. Pick out the three most important things to you, and don’t worry too much about the rest. Take it one decision at a time. Hire a coordinator, at the very least for the day of your wedding. We’re all about relieving stress for brides!

Thank you, Nikki & Kylee, for the interview. You two amaze me with your talent and spunky personalities! Thank you for all your hard work in the wedding world!