FLOWER: How long have you been working with flowers?
Annmarie Meyers: I began dabbling with flowers in 2013. I started doing a couple of small weddings for friends, and then I did my own wedding knowing that I wanted to start my own business eventually. I worked other jobs for a few years, but then I decided to officially go out on my own in 2017.
When did you first realize you were interested in flowers?
My grandmother loved to garden. She would always have all kinds of flowers, vegetables, and other plants in her yard. Growing up, I would spend a month or so during the summer up in Michigan with her. We would spend time together planting vegetables and tending to her flowers. It piqued my interest, and my love just developed from there.
Tell me about your creative process. How do you approach each design and each client?
We approach each client based on their individual wants and needs. What I always tell people is that no two weddings are alike and no two clients are alike. We want everything to be a reflection of the client and what they want. We look at their inspiration images, and then we also have to account for the venue. I use the images as a jumping-off point to pull different ideas from Pinterest, Google, and some of our past projects. Then I will start building out the color, textures, and varieties based off of what I’ve collected. I also always try to find something different and unique to see if we can push the boundaries a little bit. If we can get away with doing something a little less traditional and unexpected, we will.
How would you describe your style?
My style is heavily influenced by the garden. We still like to have a little bit of structure , but we try to keep things loose and open overall. We let the flowers dictate the movement, so we don’t try to force them to do something they weren’t naturally meant to do. We avoid super tight and structured things unless that’s what the client wants. We like to let the flowers speak for themselves.
What floral design trend right now really excites you?
I like that people are going bigger with design. I see designers focusing on big impactful moments instead of having small little moments everywhere. As more unique varieties of flowers become available, people are starting to embrace more unusual styles. I see design boundaries being pushed more than they were before. People are opening up their minds more to different possibilities, different textures, and doing different color palettes. Designers are being more exploratory, and I like it!
Do you have a color palette that you usually gravitate towards?
No, I like all colors! I’m down with any palette that has a lot of color! We do get a lot of requests for white and green, which can be very beautiful, but it’s even more fun to play with color and put things together in an unexpected way. I love trying something a bit more bold.
How has living in the South inspired your design?
We try to consider the environment depending on the venue. We incorporate things like Spanish moss to create that lilting softness of the South. We also like there to be an effortlessness in the design which kind of mirrors the slower Southern lifestyle.
How does managing the heat at an event affect your work?
The heat is the tricky part. It’s a lot harder in the summer to keep things alive. We have to spray things down a lot, hide things in the shade until the absolute last minute, and make sure that we ourselves stay hydrated. I have definitely almost passed out at ceremonies before.
What was your biggest challenge when designing for the Showhouse rooms and gala?
The number of different styles was challenging. I had to make sure that every room and designer had their own voice, while still maintaining our overall brand image and style.
What was your favorite design that you did for the Showhouse and why?
I loved the arrangements we did for Veronica Solomon’s room. They were full of color and texture, and they were so vibrant!
What’s your favorite shape to play with in your designs?
I definitely love anything asymmetrical. We like for there to be a lot of in and out, push and pull. We don’t want the eye to stop. We like to play with movement. The flower stems are sometimes perfectly straight, and sometimes they have a funky little curve. We like to highlight that funky curve.
What room really spoke to you at the Showhouse?
I really liked Lisa Palmer’s bedroom. The gold wallpaper was so cozy yet still elegant, and the bathroom was to die for! I also thought the art choices were spectacular.
Why do you think flowers are so important to the design world?
They’re important to every world! They have the ability to transform a space by adding life. And they bring so much joy.
What’s your favorite flower and why?
That’s hard to say. It’s like trying to pick a favorite child! It really depends on the time of year. Butterfly ranunculus are so fun and delicate and have such beautiful movement. As far as versatility goes, there are so many different colors and varieties that can work with different things. I also love a good fluffy garden rose that smells beautiful. You can’t beat that.
Do you have any tips for someone looking to step into floral designing?
I would say work for someone else first. Shadow, freelance, or take some classes. Education is so important in our industry. You want to learn the overall mechanics of design and how to do things successfully. If you want to do something like wedding work, that’s a big day on the line so you have to get it right. My second piece of advice would be to just play around. Buy flowers as often as you can and just create things with them to get a feel for what you like. Practice, practice, practice!
What’s next for Hummingbird Floral Studio?
We don’t really know! This January and February, we took a little break to catch up on some administrative work and to restructure a few things. For now, we will just continue doing beautiful weddings. We’d love to eventually introduce some sort of subscription service or custom home flowers.