A Wedding Florist's Perspective: Le Petit Gardenia

Alison Franchi of Le Petit Gardenia is incredibly talented. I once had a bunch of left over sticks from the escort card display that I didn't want to get rid of but did not know what to do with. I gave them to Alison and she utilized them in the awesome display that she created for the cake table. I would never have thought to do that! Alison can do traditional wedding flowers, but really shines when she is given the liberty to do more avant garde stuff like the yellow and orange canvas she did for a wedding of mine at Marvimon. Enjoy her answers!

Q. Who are you and what makes you fabulous?

- I am floral designer / artist working in my field for eleven years.

- I run an amazing floral company in Los Angeles. Travel to oversee/create projects as well.

- I have a great sense of humor and adapt to all personalities.

- I Love to push the envelope and think out side of the box.

Q. What is it like working a wedding without a wedding coordinator?

Planners make my life so much easier and the entire process less stressful on all accounts. They know the business so it makes work move smoothly and efficiently during the whole planning process. I find working without a professional planner has been a bit chaotic as so many things change the day of and weeks leading into the wedding/event we are not informed of. We are one of many vendors that day and with out a planner we really do not know what's to come about until a few days before and sometime when we get to the venue. Planners make it possible to tweak things and organize the day so all runs well and orderly.

Q. What makes a coordinator good?

-Staying in constant communication with the client and vendors.

- Having good social skills and organization.

- I think a coordinator needs a creative edge as well to fully understand the vision and have the right vendors to execute it in a friendly/professional manner.

Q. Do you have any funny wedding stories?

We had a bride and groom that wanted us to dance with them on their wedding day. We smiled and joined in for just a second. :) We can not forget it is a celebration and when the client is that open they usually are extremely happy with the work and staff. It's a great way to show appreciation.