2021 Year in Review
If your 2021 was like ours, it was jam-packed! The wedding industry bounced back hard after the unfortunate circumstances of 2020, which meant there was a lot - and we do mean A LOT - of weddings on our docket. It was a year full of new faces and new challenges that left us inspired and itching for what's next.
In January, we took a pause for some much-needed rest, recovery, and reflection - not to mention a little Marie Kondo action and a nice deep clean! But before we jump back into the deep end, we wanted to take a moment and highlight some of our absolute favorite things about 2021.
Bountiful Bouquets
The bread and butter of any floral company is, of course, the bouquet. Our lead designer and company founder, Christen, designed around a hundred bridal bouquets last year! And that's not even counting the bridesmaids!!
The bridal bouquet is a reflection of the bride herself. It sets the tone for the rest of the wedding flowers, and capturing that essence is always our goal. We're lucky to have so many unique and creative brides that Christen always gets a creative workout.
It's hard to pick, but here are some of our favorites!
The Rise of the Microweddings
We love the big traditional weddings - after all the more flowers, the better - but there is something so charming and personal about a microwedding. Being surrounded by only your closest family and friends, turning unconventional places into wedding venues, and being able to focus on what's most important...the bouquet. We're kidding! Of course, we meant to say the declaration of love between the newlyweds. Small & intimate is the new black!
We did a lot of microweddings in 2021, but a standout favorite of ours was the front porch wedding for Robert and Emily. The duo had the wedding at their house. Complete with the reception in the backyard and the ceremony on their literal front porch! The event captured the couple's welcoming, casual personalities but still had a few traditional elements thrown in, like the front porch floral installation and Emily's stunning jewel-toned bouquet.
We love microweddings so much that we're working on a project that will make Hedonia Flowers the go-to microwedding florist in Chicago! Stay tuned for more details...
Installation Mavens
You know what they say, "if you can install flowers on a front porch, you can install them anywhere!" Ok, so maybe that's not the saying but it was the unofficial motto of our season. We installed arches, floral walls, chuppahs, hanging backdrops, mandaps - you name it, we probably installed it. We even installed a floral waterfall on an epic five-cake display!
One of our most memorable installations was at Room 1520. We installed a bright, floral chandelier over every table with draping wildflowers and twinkling globe lights. It took over a year of planning with our stunning couple, Ellen & Rahul, but all the work was worth it! It was a midsummer fairy tale dream.
Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork
It'd be pretty impossible to successfully handle all those installations solo, not to mention the double wedding days, so we expanded our team! Christen, the founder of Hedonia and the lead florist, brought on three new employees this year.
Stephanie, a California transplant with a background in floral design and wedding photography. Alexis, a former wedding planner and current digital denizen. Last, but certainly not least, Hannah, a fiber and textile artist with a keen eye and a go get em attitude.
We don't want to brag, but our team rules.
Christen and Hannah working hard!
The Numbers Don't Lie
Finally, no wrap-up list would be complete without a few statistics thrown in! In 2021 the grand total of weddings we did topped out at 104. 104 individual weddings! Can you believe it?! That includes pick-up bouquets & bouts, microweddings, traditional weddings, and big giant installs. Our last wedding of the year was literally on New Year's Eve, so we really were working until the final stroke of midnight!
It's not an exaggeration to say the last couple of years have been both unusual and tough on the wedding business. But we're proud to be a part of such a creative and inspiring community. We worked in venues across the city (and even a few out of state) and were lucky enough to team up with some of Chicago's finest wedding professionals. Weddings really are a team effort! We can't wait to see what everyone does this season.
And, of course, a special thank you to all of the incredible couples who chose us to help make their wedding dreams come true. Thank you for making 2021 our most memorable year yet!
(header image by Indigo Lace Collective)
