Emily at Soulflower is an amazing amazing woman who has to be the kindest, most patient & creative florist in the Bay Area.
When I was first recommended to her and made an appointment I braced myself for another florist who would be bored with my vision and laugh at my budget (c'mon times are TOUGH)... not so with Emily!
On our 1st meeting she came to my work (SOMA) during the lunch hour and brought books and books of examples of her work. That alone surprised me as at that point I had met with 10 florists (yea, I KNOW!) and was shocked by the lack of customer service as they totally lost interest after hearing my budget, Emily was such a breath of fresh air because she was able to come up with creative ways to scale back but still have lovely flowers that I would love and my guests would remember.
(And here let me just add that the other vendors I met with were either not professional--ie, took FOREVER to respond to repeated calls and emails -- outdated, had grand visions of cascading bouquets and centerpieces without listening to what I wanted, or just had quirky personalities I couldn't quite see meshing with mine).
I changed my mind 3 times on my primary colours and the whole time Emily was patient and gracious... she was able to read what I was feeling but couldn't express (I just don't understand flower language I guess!) ... I showed her a couple pictures for a general theme/idea and from there she brought my vision to life!
When I arrived to the ceremony on D-Day I SCREAMED. My bouquet was AWESOME- sexy, feminine, unique with so much personality - (deep red/burgandy calla lilies, chocolate cosmos and peacock feathers) ... gosh, it's been over 1+ month already and I'm still tearing up at the memory. This sounds weird but I wanted to eat the darn thing (has that feeling ever happened to another bride? Man, I must have problems...or maybe I was really hungry since I'd been dieting for months, ha!) .
The bridal bouquets were darling- I requested mini bouquets that were fresh & light but still managed to tie into mine (she more than pulled that tough feat off my incorporating the chocolate cosmos in there).
The corsages for the Mom's were also a hit- we requested traditional and they loved that magnets were used instead of scary pins so they could safely secure them to their dresses without fear of poking themselves (yes, this is hugely important, TRUST ME).
The centerpieces were STUNNING- fresh & organic, she incorporated the different textures I had requested, mums, the brown tea leaves, the fantastic manzanita tree with little white tea lights... For days I dreamed about the flowers and wish I could've brought them with me to our mini-moon in Mexico a few days later.
To anybody who believes that a florist is just another florist, I challenge you to meet with Emily at Soulflower. I, too, thought that was the case but definitely not so anymore. I never knew flowers could evoke such a range of emotions from me- joy, passion, hope, peace... and I truly believe Emily is the reason behind that.
I cannot recommend Emily enough and wholeheartedly give her at least 10 stars!! Thank you Emily for all your incredible work, we're so lucky to have you here... I wish I could do it all over again! :) :) :) read more