There are many online courses teaching floral design for weddings. And there are courses teaching flower farming. But none have brought together the business side of weddings as well as growing the flowers for them to capture and explain in detail the process necessary to be a truly successful farmer-florist. That is until now.
Weddings deliver a beautiful final product that gets a lot of admiration and glory on social media. But pretty pictures belie the stress, anxiety, and potential for real financial risk that often comes with entering the world of wedding flowers. What does it take to manage all the details of designing for a wedding, especially if you plan to be crazy enough to also grow the flowers?! Mastering the behind-the-scenes business and planning process, from initial client contact all the way through to post-wedding follow-up, is where true (profitable + sustainable) success lies for a farmer-florist business.
Or any other type of florist operation for that matter!
Learn about all the key administrative components to running a wedding-centric farmer-florist studio from one of the industry’s foremost leaders. Jennie has learned many incredibly hard lessons over the years and she’s keen to help students avoid as many painful pitfalls as possible. This course, Farmer-Florist School Online: The Wedding/Events Process, will cover many important topics such as:
– Determining which type of weddings and events are right for you (there are several models to pursue)
– Growing and sourcing sustainably for weddings (including top crops to plant specifically)
– Finding the right clients
– Communicating efficiently and effectively with those clients to save your sanity
– Crafting a proposal package that sells
– Pricing for profit and strategizing for long-term business growth
– Learning to say no and be graceful under fire
This 6-week self-paced course includes over 16 hours of video classes plus live weekly group coaching call sessions. Students will speak directly with Jennie and be able to ask anything during these Q&As to get her feedback and advice on their own farmer-florist efforts.
Registration for this course will be open October 1-5, 2020. The 6-week course will begin on November 4, 2020. Course cost is $695.
This course has been specifically designed for farmer-florists, but is open and helpful for any students curious about or already working in the wedding industry. It will serve as a great springboard for those designers who may not currently be growing their own flowers but who would like to start.
Meet Jennie Love:
Owner and Creative Director of Love ‘n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia, Jennie Love is a professionally-trained floriculturist and life-long farmer. Jennie took up urban flower farming in 2008 and launched her bustling event design studio in 2009. A charismatic and passionate entrepreneur, Jennie found her natural niche crafting sustainable wedding bouquets using her own farm’s flowers. Read more above in the BIO tab.
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What is NOT included in this course: This course is focused on the behind-the-scenes business of weddings. This is not a flower arranging course and will not include tips for designing. One of the six classes in this course is focused on growing flowers, but generally this is not a comprehensive farming course. Flower Farming School Online: Business Fundamentals, Annual Crops, Marketing and More! (Ziegler) and Flower Farming School Online: Bulbs, Perennials, Woodies, and More! (Dowling) courses cover the topics of growing flowers much more in-depth.
Deborah Gibson –
As part of any business plan, I had to figure out which way to take my flower farm/business. After the first few modules with Jennie, I knew I had found the place where my interests met my capabilities and they met a unfilled need in my surrounding area. Jennie taught us what we needed to know to take the leap into wedding and event work. Kudos to her for her forsight and knowledge and sharing it with us. Great class. I watch/listen to it often to refresh what I learned.
lynn baker –
I am so thankful I came across this course. When I began to grow flowers several years ago I had ordered hundreds of dollars in seed waiting for Spring to arrive. I had read a lot of cut-flower books and I even have a degree in agriculture BUT was so thankful to have read Cool Flowers with two weeks to spare to Fall plant my seeds. I had a completely profitable first Spring because of Lisa’s book, Cool Flowers that if I had neglected to read it even just a few weeks later the first year would have been a complete failure. I had the exact same benefit from this course. I had a bride approach me about wedding flowers, I had no clue how to price, what to say/not to say/how to say it. I knew I could grow them but I didn’t have the knowledge of how the wedding and events business worked. I signed up for the course and I am so thankful I did. I was able to book the bride and designed my first non-family wedding last weekend! It was beautiful and I have already had another bride contact and pay for a wedding later in the summer. I will forever be grateful for the time Jennie poured into the video, live Q&A, and even today she still shares information that is so helpful for all of us to create a sustainable business that honors the floral industry!
Terri –
Jennie is the real thing! She takes you step by step through her process of being a successful farmer-florist in a very accessible way. She shares the highs and is honest about the lows. This course is more than just beautiful photos. (Although she shares those, and they’re amazing!) I would recommend this course to anyone considering moving towards the farmer-florist model.
Seven Stems Flowers –
This course was top notch. The detail in processes, correct pricing and focus on profitability as a farmer florist is like nothing out there right now. Jennie gave us full access to her documents which are an absolute game changer in understanding how the wedding market works. This course is essential for farmer florists looking to increase revenue and turn their focus onto event design. Jennie is an amazing teacher and the q and a sessions were icing on the cake. She is an engaged instructor and takes time to answer- in detail- questions from all angles. Absolutely worth the small investment for this course.
Rebecca –
Wow – weddings and events are a big opportunity for flower farmers! This course is a thorough guide to what it takes to be a successful and profitable farmer florist. Jennie is both inspiring and realistic about best practices and valuing your time and your ability to create a beautiful product, all the while maintaining a high standard for customer care and compassion. Like Lisa and Dave in other courses, Jennie is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and encouraging comaraderie amongst everyone involved in the wedding/event, as well as flower-farmer florists.
Jonalyn Carver –
Having lifetime access to your courses is absolutely a life saver! All winter and spring I have been referring back to your cool flowers book and video and Dave’s class is still being referred to multiple times a week as I figure out something in the field, prepare to plant something new and plan for this fall. Last night I sat down and reviewed portions of Jennie’s class as I was preparing for a consult today. I love that everything is so clearly labeled and easy to find and you can just pop back and find just what you need!
Mary Turner –
For years, I have been trying to get to Jennie’s farm for a workshop and now she has come into my living room! Great course, lots of information – really tons of detailed information that is useful to our farmer-florist wedding business. Thanks everyone for such a fabulous course!!
Terry Turner –
Jennie’s class was fantastic, she goes over so many things that I had never thought of and offers so much detail into how she runs her business. I definitely will be changing and adding to how I run the wedding side of my business. Thanks so much to Jennie and the Gardeners Workshop Farm for all of the hard work put into the class.