Every Saturday, May through October, we have all hands on deck to handle three markets and sometimes multiple weddings. Much planning goes into every weekend, making sure we have the staff, vehicles, and time to do it all.

Since we do three markets on Saturdays, most staff members are required to work, but we do rotate and try to give everyone some time off.  We understand that nobody wants to work every weekend through the whole summer—we were young once. With two people at each of our three markets, that means six people and three vehicles need to be ready to go.  If we have weddings to set up on Saturday, that adds another layer of planning as well as more staff.  Last year, we also had someone at the farm Saturday mornings to harvest lilies and sunflowers, water the seedlings, and do a few other chores. It was really nice to have that done when we got home from market and it also allowed us to skip harvest most Sundays. 

Above: succulents can be wired on Tuesday so bouquets go together quickly on Thursday.

In order to make the busy weekends a success, here are some steps we take to help organize the flow of flowers and manage staff. 

On Friday, we assign someone the job of getting all the vehicles ready for Saturday. That includes packing the market boxes, checking gas levels,  getting money boxes and clipboards ready, packing portfolio books and snippers, and anything else we want to take with us. We have a checklist on a chalkboard in the studio of what needs to be in each market vehicle.  We keep track of what is sold at market each week by taking inventory at setup and tear down.  We also make notes on that sheet if anything was forgotten or needs to be restocked for the following week.

All of our bouquets that go to market are pre-made at two price points, $12 and $20.  They are packed into different size crates so there is no confusion which ones are which.  Friday morning we make a chart on the chalkboard that lays out how many zinnia bunches we will be bunching during harvest, as well as how many bouquets are going to each market. The chart makes it easy for the person filling buckets for zinnia harvest or bouquet time, and also is accessible during loading time so there are no questions in the morning. We do take other flowers to market, but we first see what the bouquet session uses up, then we divvy out the buckets of lisianthus, sunflowers, dahlias, and Oriental lilies, making sure to put them on the inventory chart. Those are really the only things we take to sell in bunches, unless there are any buckets of loose flowers which we take to “bulk it up”, or if someone wants to buy just a few stems. There aren’t always extra flowers, so they are not included on the chart. It just depends on whether there is room in the vehicle and what we know each market can sell. Keeping inventory of what we sold at each market helps us better estimate sales for the weeks to come.

Wedding preparations begin two weeks before the wedding, when the final payment is due and all details finalized.  At that point, we check on supplies, order anything in that is needed, and make a sheet of everything that we need to harvest for the wedding. Having the list ready the week before ensures that we know what we can offer for florist sales. If I need all the purple lisianthus next weekend for a wedding, my husband Steve won’t promise it to someone else while he is on his florist route. 

We also plan the wedding delivery well in advance. If the setup is not until after market, I will just unload and reload whichever market vehicle gets home first. If it is just the ceremony flowers that need to be delivered before market is over, I can usually fit them in our Subaru. By the time we need to deliver for the reception, a market vehicle is usually available.  

If all of the wedding setup is during market time and the flowers don’t fit into the Subaru, we rent a cargo van for transport. We set a $1500 minimum for full service weddings, which includes delivery and setup, and that ensures I am compensated for my time away from market.  (There is also a service charge added on accordingly, but I will tell you more on that in next month’s article.)

Wedding prep resumes on Tuesday the week of the wedding when we harvest all of the long-lasting flowers needed.  Although it is early in the week, this allows me to gather the remaining flowers during Wednesday harvest to begin arranging on Thursday. We make grocery store bouquets on Wednesday, and when we are done with those, we prepare everything we will need for the wedding. That includes counting and washing vases, making bows, labeling corsage and boutonniere boxes, and wiring succulents if needed. Then I am set up to just start cranking out bouquets Thursday with the help of my designers Kumiko and Amanda. If we have to, we can pull a late night Thursday and still have Friday, after harvest and market prep, to tie up any loose ends. If the wedding or pickup is on Friday, we have everything done Thursday night, packed and ready. I used to always wrap bouquets on the day of the wedding, but I never gave myself enough time.  Now we do it as we are finishing up, but make sure there is only a little bit of water in the vase so it doesn’t damage the wrap. As much as you can have done before the day of, the less stress you will experience during crunch time. 

Last year we provided florals for almost 50 weddings! We never intended to make our weekends this crazy, but with such a large percentage of our business happening on Saturdays, it’s hard to avoid. Some florists we sell to do up to eight weddings in a weekend, so I know it is possible. I don’t want to spend so much time organizing and managing that I lose touch with the design part of it, so will keep it more contained than that. Our goal this year is to do fewer weddings but choose those that are higher dollar events. 

Some farmers whose wedding business has taken off have opted out of doing farmers markets completely.  I love being at market and wouldn’t want to go without, so it is hard to say where we will cut back when it comes to that point. At this point in our careers, we’re going all in—we can rest when we’re old!

Gretel and Steve Adams own Sunny Meadows Flower Farm in Columbus, Ohio. They can be reached at sunnymeadowsflowerfarm@gmail.com.