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vendor reviews: floral designers
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Interviewing Pam Salisbury, Owner & Designer @ Flourish
When we met
with Pam Salisbury, it was obvious that flowers are her life. Her
passion for her work goes without saying.
Flourish was set up by Pam to appeal to what a bride wants most - unique, customized wedding flowers. She wanted to offer flowers that are as unique as the bride and groom they're created for. So from boutonnière to bouquet, Pam puts together bouquets, table centrepieces, alter arrangements, boutonnieres, décor pieces and more, Flourish is literally meant for every couple, event or setting.
So after running her own wedding floral business for two years, Pam says she's exactly where she wants to be in life. "I couldn't be happier than I am right now. I still love finding that one perfect rose, that creative new technique...." And that makes talking flowers with her irresistible. Let us explain...
Flourish style This owner and designer at Flourish describes her floral design style essentially as your style. "Custom is key," she told us. "I can be as eclectic, elegant, classical, casual or entirely funky as you want me to be," she explained, believing that it's all about the bride and groom, not about her. Pam says most of the brides who come to her, do so asking for "beautiful, classic flowers that are really well done..." Pam specializes in tying everything together, so that the flowers are complimenting the entire entire look and feel of the wedding. Even when she's adding accessories, trinkets or fabulous wire detailing to items like bouquets, Pam says that her approach is usually subtle, adding to the look of the flowers without taking over. "While I love the classic look, I can pull off something eclectic or avant-garde if it suits the bride, her dress, and the overall wedding theme."
Even before its doors officially opened in January 2007, Flourish was designed to offer creative, customized flowers to as many brides in the K-W, Cambridge, and Guelph areas as possible. "I love designing fresh flowers for weddings. Each couple and each wedding is so different... A bride's flowers should reflect that." That said, Pam limits her weddings to three per weekend at the most, ensuring that she's able to give the day - and your flowers - her full attention. If Pam has a large wedding, she'll block off her schedule for the entire weekend, for this same reason.
Awards, experience & training Even if not on paper, Flourish has been alive in Pam's world for a long time with all the experience and freelance work she has under her belt. It's been more than twenty years since Pam's love of flowers began taking on a path all of its own. She is one of those people that are blessed with ability to work full time in a profession that she loves.
Pam was the winner of Florist Magazine's 'Designer of the Year' competition, with her work being showcased twice in the magazine which was sent to FTD florists all over North America. She is a member of the American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD) and the Canadian Academy of Floral Art (CAFA), both requiring portfolio and hands-on exams of floral designs. In fact she's a CAFA Cup overall winner, a CAFA Cup category winner, and a winner of various other smaller awards as well. "I like the AIFD and CAFA because they promote education and advancement of floral designs as an art form," explains Pam who says that she also participates in florist shows produced through these organizations. "The shows are a lot like an episode of Fashion Television."
For as long as she can remember, Pam has kept busy with her own clients. For about ten years, she also worked closely with event organizers and flower shops, creating custom designs their clients would love, as well as doing custom work for clients directly. Through word of mouth and a well-earned reputation, Pam's flowers have been created for weddings all over Guelph, Stratford, London, Mississauga, and surrounding areas.
Pam most often works with fresh florals because, she says, "I just love the scents, the textures, and the vibrancy that you get from them..."
A focus on Eco-Friendly Flowers... Pam has always been environmentally conscious and this remains an important part of her business. She strives to deal with suppliers who share her regard for the environment as well as the people who inhabit it. "I try to use as many suppliers who are committed to sustainable, environmentally-grown products as possible...," she told us, admitting that there is a difference in what one company may believe is friendly to the environment and what another one would. "Essentially, I take it upon myself to research where flowers come from and why, and base my buying decisions on what I find." Pam says that she also tries to buy locally wherever possible and avoids the use of chemicals and sprays. By doing so, she decreases their carbon footprint. "Many brides have no idea of the abundance of flowers, including tropical varieties, that are grown right here in Ontario."
Pam invites brides to ask her about how they can incorporate eco-friendly flowers in their weddings.
From start to finish To begin designing your fresh flowers, you will meet with Pam in person. This meeting is most often six to nine months before the big day, though Pam admits she prefers having nine months notice or more, just so that she can make sure she is available on your wedding day. Depending on what's easiest for you, Pam can bring her flower portfolio to you, or you can come to her.
Throughout your meeting, you'll cover a lot of ground, from colour scheme and overall theme to the entire look and feel of your wedding day. Pam takes extensive notes as you chat and visualize. Often, she'll sketch out what you're looking for as well, just to make sure that you're all on the same page. "I want their wedding flowers to not only fit into the bride and groom's wedding plans, but also contribute to the overall impression and esthetic feel of the day."
At Flourish, the bride and groom are able to choose flower types, sizes and styles, among other things. Staying true to her customized floral trademark, Pam uses the bride and groom as her biggest influence. That said, she can just as easily design using photos, books or magazines if you prefer. She will often lend a hand in decisions as to what will work best with your style of dress, invitations and other little details of the day. "... after all, your flowers are one of your most important accessories."
Pricing customized flowers Pricing can be all over the board when it comes to fresh, locally grown, gorgeous flowers. But to give you an idea of what to expect, Pam says the average Flourish bride spends between $1500 and $2000 on her wedding flowers.
From a basic wedding party floral package to one that includes bouquets for the bride and three bridesmaids, corsages, boutonnières, table centerpieces, and church arrangements, your options are wide open, depending on what you want to spend.
Adding another reason to love her, Pam rarely misses delivering the flowers personally. "I love seeing the bride's face when she looks at her bouquets... I love seeing her, in her bridal gown, with her flowers in hand... How the entire picture can come together and be so unified, and that fresh flowers can be such a big part of that... It makes my job so rewarding." Of course, if centrepieces are involved, Pam sets them up at the hall for you personally. Travel or set up fees may apply in certain circumstances.
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• The balance of your bill is due 2 weeks prior to the wedding. • Taxes (GST and PST) are in addition to any quoted prices. • Travel and set-up fees may apply in some circumstances.
"We hired Pam Salisbury as our florist for our wedding in July of 2006 and she did an amazing job. Pam’s service was very professional and she went above and beyond just handing us flowers on our wedding day. Pam worked with us to create all our wedding party’s flowers, urn arrangements, assisted in decorating our tables at the reception hall and added the perfect flowers to our wedding cake.... We were so pleased with all the arrangements that she created. Both of us don’t know much about flowers and didn’t really know what we wanted in the beginning. Pam had the ability to take what we vaguely described and translate that into floral art. The day we were married was extremely hot but Pam knew exactly what flowers would hold up and gave us tips on what to do with them throughout the day to make them survive as best we could. We had numerous compliments on all our flowers from our guests. What a wonderful feeling." - Colleen & Craig
"Our wedding day has now come and gone but Tom and I are left with wonderful memories of this special day in our lives. We were so fortunate to have had the experience of working with you at Flourish. Your creative artistry with flowers made our vision into a beautiful reality. From our initial consultation, Pam, I found your ideas to be fresh and unique. When the bouquets were delivered on our wedding day I was not surprised, but very moved to see how beautiful and perfect everything was. You created florals that were absolutely stunning and complimented our day both at the ceremony and reception. Our guests told us repeatedly how stunning the flowers were and everyone wanted to take home a table centre arrangement. It was such a pleasure to work with someone so professional, and personable who just knew how to create such magnificent florals. We thank you very much and would not hesitate to recommend you again and again." - Shelley To meet Pam... Pam Salisbury of Flourish invites you to contact her with any questions you have - she's ready to chat about your wedding design ideas or meet with you in person to begin planning the details of your day. She is available by phone at 519-579-5103, or by email at pamflora@rogers.com. You can also see more of her work online at www.flourishflorals.com.
- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca * Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of Flourish. * First photo in first horizontal strip, third photo on the right side and third photo in the third horizontal strip courtesy Stone Photography. Third photo in second horizontal strip and first photo in third horizontal strip courtesy of Pamela Wideman Photography. First photo from the top and second photo in the second horizontal strip courtesy of Heather Fritz Photography. |
After spending more than
twenty years in the profession of floral design, she still looks like a
kid in a candy shop when she's shopping at flower suppliers or designing
the next wedding bouquet. "I'm always going for something lush, exquisite when I'm
designing a piece... Being eco-chic is also equally important to the
brides who come to see me."
Pam
explains, "You don't have to sacrifice beauty to get eco-friendly,
organic flowers. You can still expect top quality blooms." That said,
she knows that it's nearly impossible to be entirely environmentally
friendly. So in Pam's professional opinion, it's a balance. In her own everyday practices, Pam is committed to reusing, composting and
recycling all materials and packaging wherever she can. 
As
you get closer to the wedding day, you'll meet with Pam a second (and
sometimes third) time to
go over details again, just to make sure again that the bride will be
getting exactly what she was hoping for. Second meetings are
particularly important if Pam is going to be taking care of decorative
touches including centerpieces for the tables at your reception. 
"If you are
looking for someone to make your church/hall/home extraordinary, look no
further. With almost no suggestions from us, Pam came into our home and
created an elegant backdrop for our home wedding. Bouquets were designed
and created to perfection without even seeing the dresses. I would
highly recommend Pam to every bride."
- Jan &
Martha