You may have noticed Gwen Floral Co. is not named after its owner, Sarah Luthy. In fact, Sarah named her business in honour of her late grandmother, Gwen. (Cue tears!) Gwen always nurtured her granddaughter’s creative endeavours – little crafts, seashell collecting, piano-playing, and in her final days, flowers.
I would venture to say Sarah is doing her grandmother proud with her beautiful creations and heartfelt approach to her craft and business. I asked Sarah to let us in on what makes her tick, how she got started in wedding floristry, and what’s trending in 2020-2021 wedding flowers!
Sarah, tell me about how you came to work in the wedding industry.
I’ve always loved weddings. I remember when I was 12 and I was invited to my older cousin’s wedding, I was SO excited. I paid so much attention to the details — I still remember the favours, the seating chart, the dress, the moment she walked down the aisle.
My love for weddings was reignited when I got married in 2016 – this was around the time I was creating flowers for my friends’ weddings. I loved planning my own wedding and communicating with my various suppliers, and not long after I got married, I decided I wanted to work in the wedding industry!
The business is three-years-old now, which feels so young, but at the same time I can’t imagine doing anything else. I’ve been blown away with the growth of the business over the last three years and am honoured that so many couples have chosen US to play a part in their day. As the business was quickly growing, I realised that I couldn’t possibly do it all on my own so I now have a small but mighty team of assistant designers that help me out when needed.
What lead you to become a wedding florist?
I’ve always been a creative. Music and art were my ‘things’ in school. I’d picked up flowers as a bit of a hobby when I was freshly out of high school while I was studying my music degree. After creating flowers for a few friend’s weddings, I realised how much I loved it and that just maybe I could make a living out of it! I quickly decided to change my career plans and started Gwen Floral Co the following year.
What’s trending in wedding floristry right now?
The sophisticated luxe and lush floral theme is definitely in! Dried flowers are also a hit. We are definitely seeing trends move away from rustic more of a chic look. Brides are opting for quite lush floral-heavy designs with quite minimal greenery and incorporating interesting dried textures. I’m here for it! Buuut I’m also a lover of all things romantic and whimsical, so I do love creating luxurious garden-inspired designs too.
What’s something you live for?
I’ve watched the FRIENDS series at least seven times. It’s kind of embarrassing. My husband and I have it on repeat; it’s our go-to show when we want to watch something that doesn’t involve thinking! I’m also a dog mum to two labradoodles. If you like FRIENDS or dogs, then there’s a very good chance we will get along really well.