Capturing the Beauty of Our Flowers

I often say how forgetful I am when it comes to taking pictures of my work. And I say that because it's just so painfully true. I regularly have to contact photographers from weddings we provide arrangements for, asking them if I can use their pictures of the floral arraignments because I have none. And honestly, the pictures I snap with my iPhone are pitiful compared to the pros, no matter how much time and energy I put into taking a quality shot. A big professional goal I have for myself this year is to really become the face of my business and stop relying so heavily on the flowers to do all the work.

Luckily, Missy contacted me, it's like she knew I needed help with photography! She was interested in collaborating on some of our work, she as a photographer and me as a florist. She not only captures many beautiful weddings but is wonderful at obtaining stunning outdoor sessions with clients. Her work can be found at Melissa Ann Photography. Her talent is limitless and we are looking forward to working more with her and having her as the featured photographer for our June, July and August Brunch & Blooms.

This winter while we both had a little time to spare, she invited us to her studio to photograph some flower arrangments and chat about what we wanted this season to look like. When arriving at Missy's studio we stepped into a lovely, bright and beautiful space. Missy was tidying up a bit while her two young children played and bashfully looked at the new comers with a baby in tow. I knew right away this was going to be a great experience. If you're a mom with littles at home, while trying to maintain a small business, you get it. There is nothing more reassuring that seeing another mom balancing what you try to balance every day, and doing an incredible job at it. Missy was so calm, her kids so well behaved and just doing their own thing as she started to pose the flower arrangments.

Now this time of year (March) we have nothing growing in Michigan that is useful in a bouquet, at least that's the case on our farm. Too early for spring bulbs to be blooming and we didn't start anything in the hoop house this year. To acquire flowers, we stopped at Kroger and I picked up several bouquets to utilize. After looking at the selection of flowers, I visualized what I could create after disassembling the bouquets, what colors I wanted to pair up, what arrangement styles we could create and make something similar to the mixed bouquets we offer in our seasonal flower subscription. I could not be more pleased with how the bouquet and arrangements turned out but Missy's photography took it to another level!

My first thought (after crying from seeing our family photos) was 'I liked how the arrangments turned out but WOW did Missy make them shine!' I couldn't believe that these were flowers I had arranged, they looked like...professional or something... I guess that is something I am going to have to get used to saying, because I am one. We are beginning our fifth season at Aurora Rose Flower Farm, which is hard to believe! We have two locations, each plot having more plants than ever this year. We are hosting events on the farm this year, for the first time! And we have some lovely weddings and friendly farmers markets lined up this year that we can't wait to share the beauty of our fields with!

Thank you so much for continuing to support and follow our farming journey! We can't wait to show you some of the new things we are trying this year on the farm and the new varieties of flowers we are growing!