I was able to interview Johanna, of Johanna Creative and we are talking today about wedding florals! She not only does wedding florals for your big day, but she also does wedding floral preservation, so I’m really excited to talk to her about that. She did the florals for our styled session!
R: Hey Johanna! Can you introduce yourself?
J: Hey! I’m Johanna of Johanna Andersen Creative! I got into florals in a very organic way, my sister got me a pressing kit for a birthday, and it slowly evolved from there.
R: How would you suggest couples go about choosing the direction they’re going for florals for their wedding?
J: Start with a color palette, not so much specific flowers. Also think about how they will look in your specific venue.
R: Perfect segue! Next question is…what goes into deciding florals for different spaces?
J: I think that I would say the biggest thing is thinking about the SIZE of the space… and the size of the person. I know that sounds weird, but for example: I am really tall and my husband is tall. So I knew if I wanted my bouquet to be a focal piece, I needed it to be big. Same thing goes if you’re wearing a really big, ornate dress & still want the flowers to stand out.
R: One thing I love about Alaskan florists is that you forage a lot of your flowers naturally! Where in Alaska have you gathered florals?
J: I made this bouquet about 2 years ago where I went to the exact spot they were eloping, and foraged her bouquet from the greenery there. That was a lot of fun to have something SO personal to their location.
R: Can you give us a 30 second summary of what preserving flowers looks like with you?
J: We need fresh flowers to do preservation, so you need to know beforehand that you want to do it. It takes about a month to press the flowers. And then me and my husband make the frames, and it’s 3-4 months until you get it back. You can pick frame size, and do add ons etc. making it a really custom heirloom.
R: Okay so, what about past brides? What are their options now?
J: You can have your original florist recreate your bouquet! Or show me pictures, and I will recreate it. And we can press it then. Or I know some other people do resins of the dried flowers from their original bouquets. So that’s also an option.
R: What is your favorite part about what you do?
J: I love how long it takes. I am generally impatient, so it makes me be patient.
R: What is one thing you want to tell every couple getting married? Floral related or not.
J: Top of the brain because I just got married! The best thing I would say is to have a real intentional conversation with your partner about expectations for the day of the wedding. You might have different expectations, so it’s helpful to talk about how to bring those things together and make a perfect day for both of you.
Thank you so much for your time and your skills Johanna! If you’re interested in florals or floral preservation, here’s where you can find Johanna:
