Silk floral arrangements give couple new lease on décor and business
Published:Saturday | September 17, 2022 | 12:07 AMKrysta Anderson /Staff Reporter
When Janice Riley Brown was planning her wedding, she found herself in a décor dilemma. A lover of flowers, she looked forward to copious arrangements. However, this was not in Riley Brown’s budget. Looking for options, the bride found an alternate arrangement that would see her planting seeds of creativity and ingenuity and providing lush luxury on her wedding day. This idea grew into a thriving business, but it didn’t stem from your typical garden, but rather an unexpected natural fibre, silk.
“When we saw the cost of the flowers during the planning process, we realised they were very expensive. And what we were getting for the money wasn’t much, so it wasn’t worth it. We had difficulty finding the right flowers at the right price. As a lover of flowers, I always wanted a lot of flowers for my wedding. However, the cost for fresh flowers took up almost all the budget,” she explained to Saturday Living.
Based on research, Riley Brown and her husband, Romario, saw that any wedding could look elegant and expensive with just flowers. Floral arrangements are what really tie everything together. So for their wedding day, Riley Brown created the centrepieces and her bouquet with solely silk flowers. The beauty of which, made everyone think that the flowers were real. “The inspiration to use faux flowers came [from] the determination to still have a lot of flowers for our big day. Nobody knew that they were fake.”
Some guests were so in awe of the floral magic that they began querying the source. When it was revealed that it was, in fact, the newlyweds behind the majestic scenery, the intrigued attendees began enlisting their services for other weddings. “The success of our wedding was indeed the motivation behind the business. But the number of people who came to get flowers the same night of our wedding was what pushed us to act quicker,” Riley Brown said, adding, “We started doing floral arrangements as a little side hustle, with the hope of changing the perspective of silk flowers. Everybody is used to the little ones that grandma has on the cabinet. But they have really evolved to take on exquisite forms,” she shared.
Since starting Izma Designs almost two years ago, the married couple has been able to book a number of weddings, supplying silk boutonnières, bouquets, centrepieces and other fancy floral décor for happy brides and grooms. The best part is that they are given the opportunity to take the vision to fruition without breaking the bank.
The services include providing silk flowers for floral designs, centrepieces, arbour arrangements, head table arrangement, aisle arrangements, bouquet rentals, corsages and boutonnières. “These are all created with 100 per cent luxury silk flowers. We also do event décor, wedding planning and wedding coordination,” she said.
When dealing with a client, the idea is to consider the bride and groom, or event’s vision and, of course, the budget. “We want to make life easier for those clients who have similar dreams like we did of going big in floral arrangements without going back home broke.”
Her favourite floral design to date are arch arrangements since they help to create the spotlight for the newlyweds looking to start their journey happily ever after.
The event planning entrepreneur emphasised that the affordability aspect doesn’t mean compromising on quality. Another advantage of this silk option is that the flowers won’t ever wither away. And that is increasingly beneficial on a wedding day when things don’t necessarily go according to plan.
“Brides are sometimes running late for the wedding, and the flowers, especially for outdoor nuptials, just sit in the sun, changing vibrancy and form. The beauty of luxury silk flowers is that they can stand up to that. We keep every design looking fresh and luxurious,” she highlighted.
Having stated their business through their own union, the Browns look at Izma Designs as a divine blessing, declaring that it has been God’s greatest wedding gift.