Behind the Stems

Welcome to the first episode of a new series, "Things Your Wedding Florist Would Say If They Weren't Worried About Offending You" Consider this the rant you've been biting your tongue on for years, finally said out loud to the only people who actually get it. First up, the big one. "Why are wedding flowers so expensive? Once you say wedding, the price just triples." If you've been in this industry...

Okay I went on a bit of a rant this week & I'm not sorry about it. There's a sentence I hear florists say constantly that makes me want to shake you (with love). It came up on a call in the Academy last week & I haven't been able to let it go since. So now you're all getting the rant. We're getting into tradwives, the plumber who quoted me $16k without flinching, the word "spinster" &...

If your website has 57 different inquiry pages, your calendar is full but your bank account isn't, and you've nearly started a retail shop, a wreath business, a ceramics side hustle and a workshop series all in the same year, this episode is going to make you a little bit uncomfortable. Good. Because here's what I actually think is going on. The multi-passionate, jack-of-all-trades, chaotic creati...

Six years in, Chloe from Your Day By Chloe has planned and styled some of the most beautiful weddings in NSW and I interrogated her. About quotes (she doesn't believe in them), about petal tosses (she's over it), about florists who send a stranger on the day without a style brief (we don't talk about those people), and about eggs as a wedding trend (yes, eggs, stay with us). This episode is essent...

So my comments have been absolutely wild lately and I owe you guys an answer. If you saw my recent carousel about my business journey, you'll know I mention a book that changed the way I thought about business. And now I have dozens of comments all asking the same thing: What's the book? I've been avoiding answering because I don't want you to think it's some magical solution that's going to make...

Okay, confession: I started a third Instagram account. I'm not proud of it. But it forced me to get really ruthless about how I'm spending my time on social media, and the three strategies I landed on are working well enough that I wanted to share them. In this episode I'm sharing exactly what I'm doing on Instagram in 2026. Trial reels — Instagram's tool for getting your content in fron...

In this episode, I’m chatting with Jade from Willow & Sage Botanics, an Auckland-based wedding florist who stumbled into flowers during COVID, ditched retail (because… no), and built an incredibly intentional brand by doing one bold thing: she committed to a 52-week design challenge. We talk about what it really looks like to go from “I make pretty things” to "I run a business" and how Jade us...

I accidentally started a third Instagram account. And no, this is not something I ever wanted to do. In this episode, I’m sharing a very honest, behind-the-scenes snapshot of how I’m using Instagram in 2026 , why marketing feels so different to even a few years ago, and the exact systems I’m using to grow multiple accounts without letting social media take over my life. This year, I’m running: my...

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Luen Free — flower farmer, former DJ and radio host, and one of the most thoughtful voices I know in the local growing space. We talk about Luen’s path from nightlife and DJ booths to permaculture-style flower farming, and what it really looks like to build a values-led business that actually suits your nervous system, your energy, and your brain (especially...

Okay, so this episode started as a casual drive to a friend’s house… and somehow turned into a full-blown rant about what I actually think is damaging the floristry industry. (You’ve been warned.) In this episode, I’m talking about the moment I nearly got kicked out of a floral Facebook group — all because I didn’t join the pile-on when another florist launched a $16 DIY wedding flower ebook. The...

This episode started as a conversation about mindset — and turned into one of the most grounding, clarifying, and honestly relieving conversations I’ve had in a long time. I’m joined by Giorgio, a mindset coach who works with high-performers, creatives, business owners, and people who feel like they should be doing better… but keep feeling stuck anyway This isn’t an inspirational pep talk. It’s a...

I recorded this episode in my robe (again), slightly over-caffeinated and fresh off scrolling a comments section that honestly made my eye twitch. I saw thousands of people yelling at the head of Instagram because their posts weren’t getting views and it sparked something I think a lot of business owners need to hear: You are not entitled to success on social media. In this episode, I unpack the q...

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Yen from Sonder Studio. We talk about what actually happens when you move from freelancing into business ownership, why “just vibing it” works… until it really doesn’t, and how Sonder Studio grew quickly without having a plan, then had to slow down, reassess, and rebuild in a way that didn’t destroy their nervous systems. Yen shares her journey from corporate...

I recorded this episode in a hotel-grade robe, drinking what accidentally turned into garlic tea, which honestly feels on brand for how this year is starting. This episode is for the wedding florists who know they should be showing up on camera… and are still hiding behind bouquet shots, pretty installs, and silent Reels. You’re not lazy. You’re not bad at marketing. You’re just avoiding something...

I’ve been a wedding florist for over 15 years, booking $20–40K+ weddings… and I don’t have a van, a cool room, or a fancy logo. I'm talking through the things I don’t think you need to invest in when you’re growing your floristry business (even though everyone tells you that you do), and the things I genuinely believe are worth your money early on. This is very much based on my own experience, wha...

I’m joined by Josh Jay a former wedding photographer turned business coach who somehow went from hating structure to becoming obsessed with helping creatives understand money, energy, and how business actually works. Josh started shooting weddings ridiculously young, built a seriously successful photography career, and then did the plot twist none of us expect, he fell in love with the busine...

For years, I told myself I didn’t want high-budget weddings. I said they were boring. Too basic. Too polished. Too “not me.” But the reality was they scared me and I was avoiding doing the hard work So I criticised them instead of chasing them. In this episode, I unpack the stories that kept me stuck under $10K weddings and the mindset shifts that helped me move into higher-spend work, work l...

I’ve been starting my mornings with coffee, headphones, and a blank page, just writing instead of scrolling. One morning, a single journal prompt cracked something open in my brain and sent me straight down memory lane. This episode is about the years I wore my chaotic creative energy like a badge of honour, especially at the flower markets. No recipes. No plan. Just vibes. And while it looked rom...

In this episode, I’m talking about how I survive insanely hot wedding days as a florist who is, admittedly, a delicate little flower who wilts the second the temperature hits 30. I share why I blocked out December and January from my calendar, what it took to design my business so I could afford to do that, and how I still end up at sweltering weddings anyway. I walk you through everything I did f...

I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes story from a scorching hot Redleaf wedding where the entire ceremony location changed the day before and how I pivoted the design without any stress (or crispy flowers). I also answer a Wildflower Academy member’s question about what to do when a venue gives you incorrect information, the client wants something physically impossible, and you have to make a call...

In this episode, I’m talking about something I never thought I’d have to learn: how to be a leader. Not a corporate manager, not a clipboard-wielding supervisor… just a wedding florist who suddenly had people relying on her and absolutely no idea how to direct them. For a long time, I felt like I was doing it all wrong. I hated the idea of telling people what to do, so I over-explained everything....

Episode vibe: It’s me chatting through how I actually handle wild weather on wedding days, what I pack, what I say to couples, when I pivot, and where I draw the line. No doom, no fluff, just the stuff that’s saved my butt (and my bouquets). Who it’s for: Florists who work outside (so… us), are sick of “It’ll be fine,” and want a calm plan that doesn’t rely on luck. Listen if: you’re tired of wing...

I want to dedicate this episode to one of the most painful things we experience as florists, comparison. That gross, icky feeling that creeps in when you open Instagram “just to post something” and suddenly find yourself spiralling down a rabbit hole of envy, doubt and mental gymnastics over who booked what and why it wasn’t you. In this chat, I’m breaking down what’s actually happening when compa...

When I first fell in love with floristry, I was obsessed, completely consumed by it. I wanted to learn everything, do everything, say yes to every opportunity. I thought being busy meant I was successful. But somewhere along the way, I built a business that was running me instead of the other way around. In this episode, I share how saying yes to everything led to exhaustion, anxiety, and, ironica...

Are you tired of couples handing you a shopping list of specific flowers and expecting you to magically source every single one, even when it’s out of season or unavailable? You’re not alone. So many florists feel stuck working with clients who micromanage their designs, but it doesn’t have to be this way. In this episode, I’m breaking down why this keeps happening and, more importantly, how you c...