Dream Team Edition 1-Lilly love
Lilly Love started in 2012 in Pretoria when I was working full time, but wanted to start doing what I loved in my spare time. I started off just with decor rentals, hiring out stock and setting up decor at weddings. In this time, my love affair with flowers began - getting to know flowers, learning how to buy flowers at the market, the names of flowers, their seasons and which flowers complement each other visually. This can’t be learned overnight and you need to also have the natural feel for it, I believe. Many hours of practice, making mistakes, exploring the unknown and trying original arrangements all turns into experience.
As soon as the business began to take off, I needed a partner in crime. Mynie, my beloved Mother-in-law, was the perfect match for Lilly Love. She had experience with flowers and her passion rivals my own. Mynie taught me the ropes as we ventured into the floral industry. We both went for numerous courses, to learn new ways and refresh old ways. From there it’s been non-stop success.
About 3 years ago we relocated to the pristine South Coast. We had to start all over again not knowing anyone, not knowing venues and not having done any work here. It was hard but I knew our name would get out there and before we knew it, relationships were built, friends were made and Lilly Love started to boom. The South Coasters started to know who we are and appreciate the quality we stand for.
Our dream going forward is to have a flower wholesale shop, where we can sell fresh flowers on a larger scale than what we do now so that we can be more versatile. We will, however, always keep weddings and functions as our main objective. Besides weddings, we do flowers for funerals, graduations and birthday parties. We LOVE to do kids’ parties and candy buffets, which is part of our service package. Our kids’ parties are elite and custom design work creates a masterpiece for any birthday girl or boy.
Our arrangements are full, with an abundance of flowers and a rich variety of textures and colour. We love designing and putting a table together that aptly reflects the bride and groom. We love being creative and love being diverse.
Roses are my favourite flower – cliché, I know! The Faith Rose specifically. It’s a dusty pink and mauve combination which is so unique and soft. Mynie adores the smell of Pennygum and is always taking leftover Pennygum strips home if there are any (sshhhh!). Mynie and I are unified in our style when working together and so you would not be able to distinguish whose arrangement is whose. This is why we are the original “dream team”. We are blessed to be part of the Umtamvuna River Lodge Dream Team. We have worked with the venue for a while now and are blessed to be booking brides at this gorgeous venue. This is a real South Coast style venue: Rustic / Palm Trees / Wood / Water / Mountain / River. The look and feel of the space allows us be truly creative. Umtamvuna River Lodge also boasts friendly staff, a great vibe and a lovely network of suppliers. We just LOVE having the opportunity to work here.
Lots of Love,
Chanel
