Flowers - A Blooming Good Business

  THERE IS something about Mari Nielsen that is so warm and confident that you immediately want to throw an enormous party so that you can have her arrange a display of fresh flowers. Mari and her colleagues, Antonio Magi and Gianni Berni, are the creative and business hands behind Tuscany Flowers which they founded exactly ten years ago.
  Mari, from Denmark, met Antonio and Gianni through friends in Florence when the two men owned flower shops. Both of the men have worked with flowers since they were 18. 'They've pretty much been in the flower business all their lives,' Mari says with a smile 'and they have been friends since they were at school together.'
  Mari met the two friends at a dinner party ten years ago and was asked almost immediately to work with them in setting up Tuscany Flowers. Mari was planning on leaving Italy at the point at which they were all introduced but Antonio persuaded her to stay. 'He became my boyfriend,' she says, chuckling, 'so I guess that helped.'
  Antonio's family has always been in the florist industry but Gianni discovered his passion for i fiori by himself. Mari studied at art school and when she graduated she went to work as a florist in America, followed by Sweden, Switzerland and finally Italy. 'The good thing about having travelled is that I've come across many, many different cultures so am happy working with every type of nationality and understand that every one is different when it comes to weddings,' says Mari.

HIGHLY THOUGHT - OF

It seems that one of the most popular ways of stumbling across Tuscany Flowers is through the internet or, as is the way in Italy, by word of mouth. These first-class recommendations also come in droves through the wedding planners that they work with, including By Cassini and Stelle Events. Mari and colleagues also work directly with venues and caterers throughout Tuscany, as their name suggests.

  Mari went to floristy school in her native Denmark for three years and was taught every possible way of displaying a flower from simple vases to large window dressings. The course was a mix of both theory and practical and Mari loved it as she has always been creative, as are Antonio and Gianni. Antonio teaches floristry in private schools throughout Italy and all three love to draw in their spare time, not that there’s much of that though.
  Mari’s advice to a wedding couple looking for a great florist for the big day is to look at the way the florist usually puts their creations together - is it more rustic, romantic or contemporary? What kind of containers do they use? These are small details, perhaps, but ones that will make a huge difference to the theme of the wedding.

PLENTY OF NOTICE

Generally, when getting wedding flowers prepared, Mari and her colleagues recommend that florists are contacted around six months before the wedding day. It may not be possible to go and see the florists in person but it would be worth a trip to see up close what they can do. Most good florists should have a substantial portfolio and a showroom with examples they will make up for you, having had an initial conversation on the phone about some variations that might be interesting.
  It obviously also depends on the venue chosen and Mari, Antonio and Gianni know and work with many venues throughout Italy, from small chapels to enormous castles. With their team of staff, Tuscany Flowers covers around 200 events a year. They aren’t just weddings however. They also work with some of the biggest designer names in Italy at fashion events such as Pitti in Florence, providing beautiful displays for stands and catwalk shows every year, as well as working year round with top design firms such as Roberto Cavalli, Tommy Hilfiger and Salvatore Ferragamo. In fact they work particularly closely with the Ferragamos, having provided flowers for many of the family weddings, the office buildings, shops and their beautiful family home up in the Fiesole hills.
  Mari thrives on organising flowers for weddings. 'To be honest, I find it fun to work with anything that is a party and, let's face it, that could be just two people!' She says that as each bride has a very different idea of how she wants her day to turn out there is never a possibility to get bored. As well as displays and bouquets, Tuscany Flowers also arranges wonderful wedding favours. Again, what’s ordered varies depending on the wedding couple’s nationalities and can include terracotta pots, hampers, oil and food from local suppliers for guests to take home a wonderful reminder of Italy, whereas Italians tend to go for something simpler, such as an aromatic candle with a silver holder.

NO JOB TOO SMALL - OR BIG!

The company works with every different size of wedding. 'The smallest we ever did was for six people - we had the bride, groom and their parents and the ceremony was held in a tiny church and afterwards they had a little picnic - it was truly lovely.' The largest event she and her colleagues have ever worked on was for 1,500 people during fashion week. 'Yes, that was quite a different affair.' Mari says with a little sigh.
  So what would she say is the current trend for wedding flowers? 'At the moment we're finding that the brides that come from outside of Italy, particularly the States, like the Tuscan look,' says Mari. 'The decorations are terracotta and the flowers are mixed with local herbs.' Other nationalities, including some British or Japanese clients, look at more contemporary flowers like simple calla lilies. What kind of flowers do the Italian brides look for? 'Well, because of tradition and superstition they would never go for purple,' says Mari, 'but we had a lot of Brits and Americans that wanted purple flowers in their bouquets - the locals looked on with their mouths open!' she says.
  On the subject of her work schedule, Mari says that no two days are the same. 'We visit venues, meet with smiling brides and grooms (obviously just the bride when the bouquet is being discussed), we visit wedding planners, caterers - you name it.' she enthuses.
  So does Mari have plans to marry and indulge herself in some beautiful floral displays? 'It's not on my list just yet,' she says with a giggle. 'As I spend my entire time thinking about flowers I might postpone it a little longer and just enjoy everyone else's.'