Interview: Mjm Designs

One of the exciting and fun parts of planning a wedding is the design aspect. Flowers set the mood from romantic roses to plush peonies. I am pleased to introduce you to Denver Wedding florist, Mandy of MJM Designs {LISTmember}. Describe your business and what sets you apart: I am a boutique floral design business that enjoys making a one-on-one connection with a couple to customize and create an overall vision for the their wedding day. I want my passion to show through the flowers yet show off the couple�s ideas and personal expression. I also enjoy making out-of-the box creations to even further express creativity of the couple, and myself. When and why did you start your business? I started MJM Designs last July. My brother was getting married and I had the amazing opportunity to create all of the floral arrangements. With the help of my family and friends, I decided to pursue my own business. How did you learn your craft? My experience has been all hands on from the start. In college, I worked for a floral shop and discovered my love for designing all things floral. Several years later, I worked as an intern with another wedding and event florist, while assisting several other designers during the week and day of their client's weddings. Designing and creating with flowers is truly my zen! Describe your floral style and approach to weddings. My style would be natural, wild, free form, artistic and often asymmetrical. I also enjoy more traditional styles like Martha Stewart's "roundy moundy" bouquets. I work with the couple to envision the atmosphere of their wedding, making sure the flowers are part of their story in a way that truly relates to who they are. Together we create a Pinterest board to work from, understanding the mood and style, as well as the other details, to see how everything comes together. I want the couple to feel confident and comfortable, trusting that I can create exactly what they are looking for, based on our collaboration What or who inspires you? Art � paintings - colors found in nature; and I also pursue inspiration through Pinterest and by following floral design blogs throughout the U.S. Any awards or features/publications? I have been featured twice on Style Me Pretty: Emerald Inspired Shoot and Thanksgiving Hanukka Inspiration Shoot. Favorite flowers to work with? There�s so many! I love hydrangea�s because they are full and soft; poppy�s always bring a �pop� to an arrangement; ranunculus because they have so many petals; all types of roses� you can never go wrong with roses! Favorite Wedding Trend. I enjoy seeing brides carry asymmetrical bouquets. The traditional styles are still popular, but it's always great seeing the bride choose something a little different. Tell us a little bit about planning florals for your own wedding As a florist, I know that people were expecting the flowers to be amazing, so there was a bit of pressure there! I knew fairly quickly into the planning process what I wanted as far as shape and colors; but the hard part was picking which flowers to use! I wanted to use all my favorites but had to keep in mind cost and which flowers were in season compared to those that weren�t. After all the hard work putting the flowers together amongst everything else in the last 3 days before the wedding, it turned out amazing and I love how everything looked. It is truly a great feeling seeing the vision in your head come to life! Advice for a couple planning a Colorado Wedding? My advice is to avoid getting caught up in trends like rustic chic, and vintage barn weddings unless they truly speak to who you are. All of those styles are amazing and gorgeous in their own right, but keep in mind what you two really want, and who you really are as a couple. No matter the style you choose, it will be amazing, because it will be you. Where did you grow up and how did you end up in Colorado? I was born in Virginia but I�ve lived in the Denver Metro Area since I was 3 yrs old. Even though I�m not a technical �Native,� I feel that I am! Here are just few favorites of her floral portfolio. View more on her website: MJM Designs.

Photography by Rachel Gomez Photographer {contributing photographer}