to do great work you must love what you do…
This is us! My boys, Ethan and Carsten are the “why” behind this little floral studio in the heart of Richland, WA. I started Simplified Celebrations from a converted third bay garage in 2009 so I could be a work at home mom. Being a new mom, new business owner, new to networking made me feel like I had a scarlet letter “R” for rookie status on my chest at all times. I look back at the infant years of this endeavor and truly know that the only thing that kept me going was the grace of God. I think it is so important to note that the Tri-Cities is surrounded by small businesses and a lot of them mentored me on my journey. I have many thanks to venue owners, photographers, bakers, planners, and other vendors that saw me out there every Saturday delivering weddings and took a chance on referring me. Then there are the brides of the early years … when roundy moundy bouquets were all the rage, purple was HUGE, and there was rarely a stitch of greenery threaded through bouquets. I did what brides asked and never felt the obligation that I do now to offer them design assistance or educate them on what blooms hold up on a 102 degree day in the Tri-Cities or that baby’s breath smells like cat urine… yes it does!
Fast forward several years to when I made the leap to continue learning and educating myself in my own field by attending a Chapel Designers Workshop. This is when I finally felt confident in what I was saying to clients, confident in offering large scale installations, and confident in my pricing. Simplified Celebrations is now 13 years old. I love it more and more each wedding season. I have seen a lot of vendors come and go, and pray that I continue to love what I do for several years to come. We have designed well over 900 weddings and events all over the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, Prosser, Yakima, Moses Lake, Dayton, Hermiston, and Quincy.
I feel honored when clients contact us to tell me their wedding dreams. Each year we also add more couples to our floral + planning portfolio. Wedding planning is a service we added in 2010 as it paralleled with our design services. Though we limit these spots, they have become some of our favorite clients over the years. We excel in our month of coordination package, which allows the couple to do 75% of the planning but eliminates the stress the last month and most importantly the day of their wedding.
When I am not designing for brides or working on timelines, you will catch me spreading my love of flowers and teaching Sips & Stems classes. We bring all the instruction, unique blooms, vases, tools and you bring an open mind to try something fresh and new. Classes are held at local wineries, breweries, restaurants, private venues & businesses, as well as our studio. We hope that after you come to a class you will be under the flower spell.
Cheers!
