Brittni Williamson, the owner of B Marie’s Flowers, is all about southern sweet tea, hyacinth, floral dog collars, and so much more. Get a glimpse of her world of floral design in this edition of The Wedding Tea!
The Wedding Tea: Sipping on Southern Sweet Tea and Talking Floral Design with B Marie’s Flowers
Christen: Hello, Mrs. Brittni Williamson, owner of B Marie’s Flowers! First question, as always – how do you take your tea?
Brittni: I don’t drink a lot of hot tea, but I remember so clearly the first time I had southern sweet tea. Growing up in Iowa but we didn’t really drink sweetened iced tea. I was visiting my aunt in Nashville, and she asked if I had ever had sweet tea. I tried it and my mind exploded!
C: Do you remember when you made your first floral arrangement?
B: Yes, I do! I worked for my high school boyfriend’s mom at her shop. Everything that shop did was “FTD” style. It’s a little ginger jar type of vase, and there are 5 carnations evenly spread, 4 daisy poms and filler flower. Many shops operate this way, and for the first several years of my career it was all I really knew. I wasn’t worldly enough yet to know a lot about other types of more artistic floral design. Later, I worked at a shop in Grapevine for several years and got on Instagram, and that really opened my eyes to the different types of designs and out-of-the-box styles. I figured out what I personally liked, and that turned into the B Marie’s style that you see today!
Spilling the wedding tea: Floral design dreams
C: When you first started B Marie’s Flowers, what were your dreams for the business? How has that evolved over time?
B: My biggest dream is to move from a home studio to a storefront, and we are right on the cusp of being able to do that! It is so crazy to think that type of growth happened in spite of a pandemic, but God is good. There are a lot of things about owning a business that you just can’t understand until you do it. Something I learned, occasionally the hard way, is the importance of work life balance and not taking on every single opportunity that walks in the door. I’ve learned to be more intentional with what I commit to, because it can so quickly spiral out of control.
…There is really nothing that makes a florist’s heart sing quite like when clients provide us with creative freedom.
C: What has been one of your most memorable and exciting floral design opportunities thus far?
B: It is really difficult for me to pick just one. However, I will say that there is really nothing that makes a florist’s heart sing quite like when clients provide us with creative freedom. Also, a particularly memorable moment was when I had four weddings in one weekend, and I was nervous about it. They all turned out beautifully and I accomplished way more than I thought I could. That was a really proud moment.
Spilling the wedding tea: Picking petals
C: When we work together, there is something that you do that not all wedding vendors do on the wedding day. Before your team leaves, you go up to the bride and ask her if everything is to her expectations. I think that sets you apart!
B: It can definitely be a scary question to ask a client, but I think it’s really important to be brave enough to ask. If their answer is, “no this isn’t what I pictured,” then I’d like to have the opportunity to make it right. I can’t really imagine just delivering it and walking away, that wouldn’t sit well with me.
C: If you were a flower, what kind would you be and why?
B: That is the world’s hardest question! It is like asking who your favorite pet or child is! I think I would probably pick hyacinth. There are so many flowers that I say, “when I die, this is what heaven will smell like.” With hyacinth, there is some anticipation because it isn’t available all the time. It goes away, and then when you see it again, you’re like, “oh I forgot how much I love you!”
C: How do you feel about someday creating a floral dog collar for me? It is something that has been on my mind forever and I know my dog would look crazy cute…so I need to know if you’d be open to that.
B: YES. Absolutely. All day long, I am here for that. If you want to decorate some animals, count me in!