Meet Laura Cavanaugh | Floral Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Cavanaugh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
This is a very personal question but I feel like my background does affect who I am today. I come from Finland. I moved to the States 6 years ago. I’m kind of a gypsy soul. I’ve moved around a lot. It has taken me a while to find a place I can call home. I can’t say I never had a home nor a family, but I did move to live on my own at the age of 15 so I grew up with my friends being my family. Coming from a background of not having that ideal family to support has made me realize how much I value family. And family to me doesn’t mean family by blood. It can be anyone who appreciates who you are and supports you in the best way they can, no matter what. This is one of the reasons why I love weddings. I love to see families coming together from both sides. I love intimate weddings where it is just the closest people. The couple’s best fans are there rooting for them. When there isn’t a father to walk the bride down the aisle, we get creative. It can be an uncle or future sister-in-law, or even the couple together. Weddings to me represent the birth of a new family and whether or not one has the ideal family behind them, they have someone. If they don’t they can always come to me, and I’ll adopt them. I have been helped by friends so often that I want to pay that help forward, whether it’s by sharing my knowledge, providing a heartfelt client experience to our couples, or just encouraging people to pursue their ideas that may seem crazy at first. Because of my friends across the globe from different cultures, practicing different religions, I am who I am today.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love working with wedding flowers. Being able to grasp the couples vision, even when they are not 100% sure what they want, and then bring that vision to life, is so fullfilling. Being able to play with textures, colors and different shapes and styles to give the couple what they want, is a fun way to creatively express myself. But that wasn’t always the case. I aim to please. That’s just who I am. So learning to say no to some design projects and finding my own voice and artistic expression did not come easy. It took a lot of money, many bouquets and centerpieces and a few years to find the clients who like my designs and trust me to create beautiful flowers for their wedding. And that didn’t happen until I found the confidence to design my own way and started to trust in myself and my design skills. So now, when I design, even though I design for the client, I actually design for myself. To get the best result, I always keep in mind “If I don’t like it, why would my clients like it”.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’ve lived in Colorado for almost 5 years now but I still feel like a newbie. I wish someone would take me on this kind of fun tour to show me the best spots to hang out. But, I do love nature, and I think that’s what Colorado is mainly known for so whenever I get visitors, we always go see the Garden Of The Gods and drive to Breckenridge to walk around. And of course, if Avalanche is playing, we have got to try to get tickets to the game. After all, there are always Finnish players on the team.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh my, the answer to this question might be really long because there as so many who I could give this shoutout to but I’ll try to keep it short, starting from the beginning. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. I tried finding someone who would hire me, even as an intern. But I got nothing. I was new to the city, fairly new to the country, so I understood that my CV writing skills weren’t the best. My education wasn’t appreciated in this county, nor I didn’t have any connections who could help me out. My University teacher repeated often that “if there isn’t work for you, create it for yourself”. So I did. A couple of months later, I met Frances Harjeet from Prema who took me in as an intern. Freelancing for her a couple of seasons taught me so much. Being able to help her with the luxury weddings she does, showed me a totally new aspect of weddings. Frances is a social butterfly. She invited me to her parties and other gatherings, introduced me to other industry professionals, and through her, I met Shannon from the Olive and Poppy. I was lucky enough to be able to work as a freelance designer for Shannon. She trusted me, even when I didn’t trust myself. She is a kind and encouraging soul and everyday inspiration in every aspect of life. These two ladies deserve a huge shoutout and a massive thank you from me! But I think the one person who actually is the reason I even decided to pursue weddings as a career, is Jill Landry. The owner of Beach Plum Floral from Marshfield, MA. She has been my inspiration for years and I kind of consider her as my mentor as I can always go to her when I need help. I’ve been lucky enough to work with her on a few weddings and other projects. Of course, without my husband, Lummé Creations wouldn’t be here. He pushed me to follow my dream. He has been my shoulder to cry on and the muscle on wedding days. He’s been very patient with listening to my stories and trying to help me in any way he could. Without him, none of this would have ever happened. So I’ll dedicate my biggest shoutout to him.

Website: www.lummecreations.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lummecreations

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lummecreations

Image Credits
Jenna Wren Photography Ashley Tiedgen Photography Alyssa Reinhold Photography Colby & Jess Photography WalnutStreet Photography Once West Photography