Meet Jillian Nicole of Mimi Nicole Events

It's "Meet the Designer" day at the cafe....thanks so much everyone for all the great feedback on the series...so glad you all are loving it as much as I am....and stopping by the cafe today is the oh-so-lovely and talented Jillian Nicole of Mimi Nicole Events....Jillian's company is based in South Carolina and she designs florals for events up and down the coast from Myrtle Beach to Charleston with the majority of her weddings taking place in Charleston. I love her style and Jillian's floral designs are simply beautiful...it's hard to believe that she hasn't been designing floral for very long.....I'm so happy to have her stop by and share her beautiful work with us....let's check out Jillian's floral story....Enjoy...xoxo

TBC: What's a typical day like for you?

JM: It just depends...sometimes I'll be meeting up with a bride or chatting over the phone. Sometimes, I'm out lookiing for interesting new vessels to add to my collection, other times, I'm just emailing and working on proposals with a little bit of pinning thrown in!

TBC: Describe your client.

JM: I've been really lucky with super laid back Brides who have a general idea of the feel they would like for their day, but are really cool about letting me kind of run with what I think will work! Plus, they've all really been flower lovers, which makes it so much more fun!

TBC: What wedding trend would you like to see disappear?

JM: Trends are a tricky thing because no matter how many times I've seen something done, a Bride is only really seeing it for the first time. So as long as the trend really represents the couple and they loved it prior to seeing it on blogs or Pinterest, I say go for it!

Name one of your favorite "vendor" sources that you just can't do without.TBC: Where do you find inspiration?

TBC:

JM: Since there aren't any flower marts within driving distance, I rely heavily on Mayesh Wholesale and I'm never disappointed! I also love Etsy for interesting vases and different knick knacks.JM: I love interior design blogs and magazines for finding new color combinations, as well as looking up artists on Etsy and Pinterest. Other florists are amazing inspiration too and I quite often find myself scrolling through their blogs for hours!

Describe your design style.TBC:

JM: Probably booking my first real wedding...there's something really encouraging about a stranger hiring you because they love what you do and trust you to make their wedding look amazing!!
JM: On the whole, I think I'd probably describe it as whimsical, textured, and garden-y!

TBC: To date, what has been the highlight of your career?

TBC: What was your "big break"?

JM: My good friend Erin owns a stationery company, BerinMade, and she asked me to design an editorial shoot for her new line. At that point, I was still doing planning + design for weddings, but really wanted to branch out into florals and Erin encouraged me to design the flowers myself instead of outsourcing it and they turned out better than I could have expected. Abby Larson wrote the most amazing write-up about the shoot and flowers on TBC: Style Me Pretty and it really gave me the confidence to fully merge into floral design.

JM: I'm just starting out myself, so I'm probably more well suited to receiving advice than giving it, but one thing I wish I had done was to apprentice with an established floral designer. I hear from so many people how invaluable that was for them and it's something I really wish I'd done!

What advice would you give to upcoming floral designers?

Finish this statement: A bride's bouquet should reflect......TBC:

JM: The overall feel and vision of the day!

What's your favorite part about weddings when it comes to the florals?TBC: When I'm designing, I love to light my candles and play "old school" music. Do you have a ritual that you like to do when designing?

JM: I like to listen to music while I design...anything I can sing along to...my husband is much cooler than I am, so he's always in charge of my working playlists and puts together some really good stuff!

TBC:

JM: I think the florals really make an event! My favorite might be the tablescapes as a whole-there's so many different pieces to it and it's just so fun to design! Also, the Bridal bouquet because it's usually a splurge piece that I get to go a little crazy with!

Describe a "wedding weekend and how many additional staff do you hire?TBC:

JM: A wedding weekend usually really gets going on Wednesday. I get everything labeled and organized and then on Thursday, the flowers come in. I'll spend Thursday processing them and then start designing on Friday. I usually save the Bridal bouquet and bouts until the morning of the wedding, so they stay fresh. As far as additional staff...does my husband count?:) At the moment, it's just me with Edward doing the majority of the heavy lifting!

TBC: If you had to make a career change, what would you do?

JM: I love all types of art, so if I wasn't creating it with flowers, I would still want to be involved in that area, so probably photography, graphic design, interior design...anything where I was still able to be creative!

Describe your personal style...what are your favorite stores to shop at? Personal as in your fashion style or your home.TBC:

JM: For everything I buy, I really have to LOVE it! So our home is probably a bit more sparse than others, but you can bet that everything in it is really special to me! My favorite piece is a painting that I brought with my mother-in-law at Portobello Market. And stores I like to shop in...J.Crew Factory, Anthro sales section and Target!

Just for fun.......

TBC: Do you prefer tea or coffee?

JM: Tea with a bit of milk!

TBC: Do you prefer blogs or magazines?

JM: I love blogs, but magazines are great for sitting there with a cup of tea and just flipping through...so relaxing!

TBC: Chocolate or Vanilla?

JM: Chocolate for sure!

TBC: And, I have to ask...what's your favorite flower?

JM: Ranunculus! I just love how they move and they always seem to find a way into each of my designs! Plus, they come in a million different colors and always seem so happy to me!

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