Local Vendor Highlight: Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Love ‘n Fresh Flowers is a local, sustainably-managed flower farm, and full service event design studio. What sets Love ‘n Fresh apart from many floral design companies here in Philly, is that they focus on using locally grown organic flowers and foliage for all of their floral art. When planning for your big day, Love ‘n Fresh offers three different packages for brides and grooms. They even offer rentals for table numbers, vintage tins, antique silver, hand-painted signs, and much more! No matter what floral needs you require, whether you need a bouquet, matching boutonnieres for the groomsmen, or the full-service floral design for your reception, for the Eco-lovely bride Love ‘n Fresh Flowers might be the perfect match for you! We also had the chance to chat with owner Jennie Love, to get some more insight about Love ‘n Fresh Flowers!

1. How did you become interested in flower farming and floral event design, and where did the idea for the name Love n’ Fresh Flowers come from?

(JL) I grew up on a farm and have had a flower patch since I was four years old. Farming flowers for a living came naturally to me as a result. I got into designing florals for weddings in 2009 when a customer at a farmers market I was selling at asked me to do her wedding flowers. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing but I figured it would be fun to try my hand at more formal arrangements. From there the wedding business grew quickly by word of mouth as we had more and more happy couples.

The name Love ‘n Fresh Flowers is a combination of my last name (Jennie Love) and what the business is all about: fresh flowers!

2. How would you describe your design style, what is your signature?

(JL) Our signature style at Love ‘n Fresh Flowers is “earthy elegant”. We have a natural, flowing, textural aesthetic that is a bit wild yet decidedly refined and thoughtful. We don’t really do the messy rustic look so much anymore. Our couples are really seeking a balance between showcasing seasonal natural blooms and still having a very polished look for their decor.

3. What do you love most about your work?

(JL) I love that my job is so unpredictable and ever-changing. Each day is completely unique, sometimes even down to the hour. I might be watering in the greenhouse at the start of the day, then go meet with a client in our office in Chestnut Hill, then go back to the farm to hop on the tractor to do some field work, then go collect eggs from our ducks, then head into the studio to design for a wedding, and finally finish up my day at the computer putting together wedding proposals or preparing an agenda for an upcoming workshop. It’s a lot of fun and keeps me busy from sun up to sun down!

4. Why all locally-grown flowers and how did you come up with the concept behind your design philosophy?

(JL) There are so many reasons to choose locally grown flowers! Rather than get on my little soapbox here, I’ll just encourage readers to head over to our website and read the “Why Local” page that explains how important choosing local is in the grand scheme of things. As for how I came to embrace this design philosophy, the catalyst was reading Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart, which takes a very candid look at the state of the floral industry. Since I started Love ‘n Fresh Flowers in 2008, I’ve been extremely pleased to see the industry changing for the better and embracing more sustainable practices! Martha Stewart Weddings recently picked Love ‘n Fresh Flowers and a few other “farmer florists” as among the Top Floral Designers in the nation. Getting that recognition is proof that the industry is evolving to make locally-grown flowers mainstream. Woot! Woot!

5. What color/flower combinations do you think are most popular for each season?

(JL) In the spring, ranunculus, anemones, tulips, and hellebores in pastels are the most popular. In the summer, bright bold tones for lisianthus, zinnias, and rudbekia are regular requests. The autumn is always full of dahlias, dahlias, and more dahlias in rich jewel tones.

6. What flower/decor trends do you think will be popular this upcoming spring season?

(JL) For 2015, we’re seeing couples embracing Marsala (deep warm red), the Pantone Color of the Year, with gusto, and we love it! Peach is as popular as always and is a wonderful companion to the marsala.