When mother-and-daughter duo Debby and Abby Quinn acquired Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland floristry business Wildly Madly Deeply five years ago, their true love for flowers saw their enterprise grow exponentially. Their recent expansion into online delivery brings bespoke floral arrangement to doorsteps all over the region, while their event and wedding planning provides a flourishing, full-service experience for corporate clients and couples. Here, Abby shares some insights into their petal-powered process.

The perfect pick

We love purchasing flowers from local growers and visiting the flower markets. We work with brokers and growers, and pick carefully from the selection they have available on any given day. It’s a daily task to ensure the flowers we have for our bouquets are as fresh as possible. There are so many elements that need to be considered when creating a floral design. We don’t limit ourselves to one style but we do love brights and pastels done in a modern way, using in-season flowers, and we tend to focus more on flowers and less on greenery. For our online store, we like to stay within the realm of brights or pastels to keep the ordering process simple. When it comes to custom floral designs, the crucial part is understanding the brief from the client. We work from inspiration photos people show us, but they can often be a wide variety of looks and styles, so it’s our job to unpack them and guide people to refine what they’re really after. 

Meeting the brief

When wedding and event clients are referencing a specific aesthetic, we apply that filter across every design we create for their event. Once we’ve arrived at the final concept, we begin the ordering process. Another key to success is getting the vessel or structure right to bring a design to life, which might involve sourcing vases, plinths, vases or arches. It takes time to perfect but is a crucial step in taking an arrangement to the next level.

Adapting to trends

From overseas florists working a season ahead to colour palettes coming through from the fashion world, we consult several different sources to determine which direction floristry trends might be headed in. For our wedding and event clients, there’s an overwhelming amount of content on Pinterest and Instagram to draw inspiration from, but we find that the venue is a powerful reference point to determine the styling of their event. For example, if the space is rustic, we lean into classic white and green or pastel cottage flowers; if it’s a modern venue or a hotel, we’ll find ways to incorporate stronger colours or monochromatic tones, or create interest by draping certain areas in flowers to achieve that wow factor. 

Making event planning beautifully hassle-free

Wildly Madly Deeply has a specific style that brides gravitate towards. For weddings, we offer a complete service that provides not only stunning floral arrangements but also wedding planning, styling and coordination. This trims down vendors and makes our couples’ lives easier. We do more than 40 weddings every year, so we’re well connected in the industry and can call on the right people to ensure every celebration lives up to our clients’ vision.

Visit wildlymadlydeeply.com