Meet Lyndsay Whitlock | Wedding Florist

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

Hi Lyndsay, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

I decided to start my business, The Joyful Poppy, because it was my dream. I had been a freelance floral designer for 15 years and had always wanted to own my own company and design weddings directly alongside my couples, but I never felt the time was right to jump into business and take on all the risks that come along with it.

As my husband and I raise our daughter I am constantly growing and learning more about myself, life and my faith. I decided that we only live once and I wanted to show my daughter that her mother follows her dreams, and so can she. Even if it didn’t work out and my business was a huge flop, I needed this. Not only for myself, but for my family.

I sat down and wrote out an entire business plan along with how I was going to get to where I wanted to be and who I could connect with. I applied all my knowledge of networking, business and customer service that I had learned over the years as I built my first business. Starting a new business is scary, and hard, but I feel so energized as I build something that I am truly meant to do.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I have over 15 years of wedding design experience starting out in Las Vegas working for a busy wedding chapel. The wedding chapel was a crazy experience. They had three different areas where people could get married, and days live valentine’s day or dates like 7.7.7 would bring in hundreds of couples, all needing flowers. From there I went to college for Ornamental Horticulture and got to compete in an AIFD competition during their national symposium, winning first place for my head table centerpiece.

When I left the chapel I got hired on at a wedding florist. Not only did I design weddings, but I did the consultations, linen, up lighting, draping, arbor construction and ordering. It helped me become well rounded so I had a lot of background knowledge before starting out on my own. Once I moved to Colorado, I continued my floral career as a freelancer, ultimately designing and helping hundreds of couples.

One of the things I love most about floral design is that every piece is different. Every flower is unique, every event is different and every couple has their own story. This is what makes it so fun. Each time I step back from a design it is different than anything I have done before, even if it is modeled after an image or it’s the same on paper. Nothing in design is truly ever the same, and I LOVE that. I love to learn new designs and skills, and that isn’t limited to flowers. I am always up to take on new tasks and often do custom signs, guestbooks, place cards or other special requests for my couples.

Some of my most exciting experiences were figuring out the mechanics for a floating arbor for a styled shoot and designing a custom book arch for a couple who had a passion for literature. I love to sit down and figure out how things work, and this translates into floral installations and vision boards where I help a couple design their perfect day.

As I grow my business, I am always learning something new. I love to collaborate and help other business owners. That is the biggest lesson for me, we are all in this together and even those that seem like they would be our greatest competitors, can be fierce allies.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love going up to the mountains and strolling through the downtown areas. Estes is one of my favorites, but I love Telluride, Georgetown, Nederland and Grand Lake as well. One of my favorite things to do is experience things with my daughter, so we would go to the local farms for flower picking, a local art studio, strawberry grazing and the petting zoos. The Colorado Springs zoo is one of my favorite places, so we would make a trip down there.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been incredibly blessed to have a huge support system. My friends and family stand behind me 100% and I couldn’t do it without them. Every time I run an idea by them, they are always open and willing to listen and give input and share in my successes and failures. My husband, Joe, is always enthusiastic about my journey and the many highs and lows that come with it.

Website: www.thejoyfulpoppy.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thejoyfulpoppy

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thejoyfulpoppy