Behind the Stems

I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes story from a scorching hot Redleaf wedding where the entire ceremony location changed the day before and how I pivoted the design without any stress (or crispy flowers).

I also answer a Wildflower Academy member’s question about what to do when a venue gives you incorrect information, the client wants something physically impossible, and you have to make a call on the day.

We chat about:

How I handle last-minute changes with confidence

The questions I ask early to avoid surprises later

Why understanding a client’s intention matters more than the exact inspo photo

My go-to backup structures and on-the-day prep

How to communicate clearly with clients when things can’t go to plan

A short, practical episode that will help you stay calm, flexible, and in your leadership energy — no matter what the wedding day throws your way.

Want help applying this to your own floristry business?

Wildflower Academy is where we do this work properly, blending mindset, strategy, and real-world systems so wedding florists can grow without burnout or constant comparison.

Inside the Academy, you’ll learn how to:

If you’re ready to stop spiralling and start building with intention, you’ll feel right at home in Wildflower Academy.

Click here to join!

In this episode, I’m talking about something I never thought I’d have to learn: how to be a leader. Not a corporate manager, not a clipboard-wielding supervisor… just a wedding florist who suddenly had people relying on her and absolutely no idea how to direct them.

For a long time, I felt like I was doing it all wrong. I hated the idea of telling people what to do, so I over-explained everything. I didn’t want to come across as bossy, so I softened all my instructions. And then I wondered why people didn’t know what I meant. Every drive home was a spiral: was I too much? Not enough? Did I make someone uncomfortable? Did I make sense at all?

It took one uncomfortable moment for me to realise the truth I’d been avoiding: I was the bottleneck. My team wasn’t confused because they were incapable. They were confused because I was trying to lead in a way that kept everyone comfortable… except myself.

So I started asking better questions. What would actually help my team do their best work? And what do I love or hate when I’m freelancing on someone else's wedding? From there, everything started to shift. I stopped trying to be liked and started trying to be clear. I stopped filling the silence with explanations and just said what needed to be said. And for the first time, leading a team didn’t feel heavy, it felt supportive, collaborative, and surprisingly simple.

This episode is the behind-the-scenes of that turning point: what changed, how I changed, and how it made every wedding week run smoother than ever.

If leadership has ever felt awkward, overwhelming, or just not your thing, I think you’ll feel really seen in this one.

Want help applying this to your own floristry business?

Wildflower Academy is where we do this work properly, blending mindset, strategy, and real-world systems so wedding florists can grow without burnout or constant comparison.

Inside the Academy, you’ll learn how to:

If you’re ready to stop spiralling and start building with intention, you’ll feel right at home in Wildflower Academy.

Click here to join!

Episode vibe:
It’s me chatting through how I actually handle wild weather on wedding days, what I pack, what I say to couples, when I pivot, and where I draw the line. No doom, no fluff, just the stuff that’s saved my butt (and my bouquets).

Who it’s for:
Florists who work outside (so… us), are sick of “It’ll be fine,” and want a calm plan that doesn’t rely on luck.

Listen if: you’re tired of winging it, sick of soggy blooms and ready to be the calmest person on-site no matter what BOM says.

Want help applying this to your own floristry business?

Wildflower Academy is where we do this work properly, blending mindset, strategy, and real-world systems so wedding florists can grow without burnout or constant comparison.

Inside the Academy, you’ll learn how to:

If you’re ready to stop spiralling and start building with intention, you’ll feel right at home in Wildflower Academy.

Click here to join!

I want to dedicate this episode to one of the most painful things we experience as florists, comparison.

That gross, icky feeling that creeps in when you open Instagram “just to post something” and suddenly find yourself spiralling down a rabbit hole of envy, doubt and mental gymnastics over who booked what and why it wasn’t you.

In this chat, I’m breaking down what’s actually happening when comparison hits and how to shift it from something that drains you to something that drives you. We’ll talk about why that jealousy might actually be clarity in disguise, how to stop designing from imitation instead of intuition and why your competitors are secretly doing you a favour.

If you’ve ever felt triggered by another florist’s success, stared too long at someone else’s bouquet, or muted half your feed just to breathe again… this episode’s for you.

By the end, you’ll walk away with a calmer mind, a clearer sense of direction, and a reminder that someone else’s win doesn’t take anything away from you, it just proves what’s possible.

Want help applying this to your own floristry business?

Wildflower Academy is where we do this work properly, blending mindset, strategy, and real-world systems so wedding florists can grow without burnout or constant comparison.

Inside the Academy, you’ll learn how to:

If you’re ready to stop spiralling and start building with intention, you’ll feel right at home in Wildflower Academy.

Click here to join!

When I first fell in love with floristry, I was obsessed, completely consumed by it. I wanted to learn everything, do everything, say yes to every opportunity.

I thought being busy meant I was successful. But somewhere along the way, I built a business that was running me instead of the other way around.

In this episode, I share how saying yes to everything led to exhaustion, anxiety, and, ironically, less profit. I talk about the moment I realised that more weddings don’t equal more growth and what actually does.

If you’ve ever felt like your business is thriving on the outside but draining you on the inside, this one’s for you.

Inside Wildflower Academy this month, we’re diving into this exact topic in a module called The Floral Empire Architect where I’ll teach you how to design a business that gives you freedom, not fatigue.

Click here to join 🌸

Busy isn’t the goal. Fulfilled is.

Are you tired of couples handing you a shopping list of specific flowers and expecting you to magically source every single one, even when it’s out of season or unavailable? You’re not alone. So many florists feel stuck working with clients who micromanage their designs, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why this keeps happening and, more importantly, how you can change it.

We’ll talk about how your marketing might accidentally be inviting picky, controlling clients (without you even realising it), and how to shift into authority-driven marketing that shows people you’re the expert from day one. I’ll walk you through how to lead your consultations in a way that stops couples from dictating flower varieties, and how to build real trust so clients feel confident letting you take creative control.

If you’re dreaming of couples who say, “I trust you, do your thing!” and who get excited about your artistry rather than the exact flower list, this episode will help you get there.

Want help applying this to your own floristry business?

Wildflower Academy is where we do this work properly, blending mindset, strategy, and real-world systems so wedding florists can grow without burnout or constant comparison.

Inside the Academy, you’ll learn how to:

If you’re ready to stop spiralling and start building with intention, you’ll feel right at home in Wildflower Academy.

Click here to join!

Ever wheeled a market trolley piled high and felt that little knot in your stomach? Same. This episode is a calm reset before busy season: I’m making the case that profit doesn’t happen when you quote or invoice, it happens when you buy. If you’ve been panic-ordering “just in case” stems, this is your sign to shift into profit ordering so your designs still feel generous while your margins finally make sense.

We're going to get practical: how to design with function in mind, use every part of each stem, and swap strategically when availability or prices flip.
I’ll walk you through the five Savvy Stems Principles I use at the market and a real Wildflower Academy case study where we moved a wedding from about 50% to about 75% margin and saved over $2,000, without compromising the look.

Your one-question filter to take to market: “Is this stem paying me back, or just filling a bucket?”

Links & goodies:
Wildflower Academy: workshop replay is in the Library: https://www.wildfloweracademy.co/
Free mini-guide: Savvy Stems Profit Ordering Checklist
My Flower Recipe Calculator: The Bunch Cruncher 

Come say hi on Instagram and tell me your biggest “just in case” flower weakness 🌸

Fifteen years ago, I was a stubborn, purple-haired, 20-something-year-old florist-in-training who thought I knew better than my teachers. (Spoiler: I didn’t… but I also kind of did)

In this episode, I’m sharing the messy, unfiltered story of:

Storming out of TAFE after an argument with my teacher (yes, I literally binned my bridal bouquet and walked out).

Clashing with the old-school floristry rules; Foam, wiring, symmetry, “just follow the brief”

Making my first real wedding bouquets… only to overhear them being publicly torn apart

The hard-won lessons about ego vs service, and what it really takes to lead clients while staying true to your artistry.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between wanting to create your style and needing to deliver what a client asks for, this episode will hit home.
You’ll hear how I went from a sassy, rebellious student to a high-end wedding florist trusted with $30K+ budgets and the mindset shift that changed everything.

🎧 Listen in for a candid reminder: you’re both an artist and a service provider and knowing when to be each is where the magic (and the big bookings) happen.

Want help applying this to your own floristry business?

Wildflower Academy is where we do this work properly, blending mindset, strategy, and real-world systems so wedding florists can grow without burnout or constant comparison.

Inside the Academy, you’ll learn how to:

If you’re ready to stop spiralling and start building with intention, you’ll feel right at home in Wildflower Academy.

Click here to join!

I’m back in your ears, newly married, slightly bumbly and recording with a rolled ankle and a very full heart. Today’s mini-masterclass is for every florist who’s convinced bookings = being cheaper than the studio down the road.

Spoiler: couples don’t buy with spreadsheets; they buy with feelings and justify it later

I’m walking you through 10 specific reasons couples happily choose the higher-priced florist, things like response speed, brand positioning, referrals, friction-free booking, clarity, trust, and pricing psychology with real examples from my own studio (including this month I booked $68k in florals without a single consult). If you’ve been lowering your rates to “be competitive,” this episode will reset your brain and your booking flow.

Try this today (quick wins):

- Turn on an instant enquiry auto-reply that sounds excited and personal

- Cull 9 photos from your grid and keep the 3 that scream “premium”

- Add one higher-tier option to your proposal so “best” is easy to choose

Loved this episode?

Share it with a florist friend and tag me.

If you’re ready to build a premium on purpose brand, this month inside Wildflower Academy we’re deep-diving into client experience, pricing psychology, and enquiry systems that book at your real rate. Come join us!

This week I’m sharing a story that made my whole week. One of my Wildflower Academy florists sent me an email after we rebuilt her proposals together, she’d been sitting in the 4–5k range for years, and within a couple of days she booked her very first $12k wedding. Cue happy tears.

It got me thinking: why did she get that breakthrough with me, even though she was already in a big-name coaching program? The answer is simple, most advice out there just isn’t specific to wedding florists. And our world is… different.

In this episode, I talk about:

Why wedding floristry is such a unique blend of art, trade, service and luxury.

The 3 reasons Wildflower Academy works when generic advice falls flat.

How I design the Academy with accountability, clear roadmaps, and dopamine-friendly motivation, especially for brains like mine (hello ADHD).

What it means to learn from someone who’s still in the trenches, quoting weddings, hauling buckets, and navigating the same challenges you are.

If you’ve ever felt like coaching or courses just don’t quite fit the reality of your business, this episode will help you understand why and what to look for instead.

✨ Want to dive deeper and get support designed specifically for wedding florists? Come join us inside Wildflower Academy it’s where you’ll find the tools, strategies, and community to build the business (and the lifestyle) you actually want
www.wildfloweracademy.co