Sustainably Sourced Florals and the Amazing Cedar and Lime Co. Part 1

Y’all know that I absolutely love pretty plants and pretty florals and amazing bouquets!! I have been dreaming about dropping some floral knowledge for you to enjoy right on this very blog… but, the only problem?! I’m not a florist!! So… I began to chat with some of my sweet industry friends about how we could make this a reality, and that is when Megan Lucks connected me to Haley of Cedar and Lime Co.! Oh my goodness, am I grateful! Haley the kindest human ever, and her work is AMAZING!

We went through a few questions about her experience in the wedding industry, her business model, and her feels on current favorites and past wedding trends. I also got to hang out with her in her home studio and got to see her process firsthand. It was SO fun to see blooms come together from stems in a bucket to a wild and gorgeous bouquet!

Haley gave me SO many amazing details that I decided to break her post into TWO parts! Today, you get to meet the woman behind the brand, and next week, you’ll get to hear her take on field to vase florals in the wedding industry!

I think the thing that I love the most about Haley and Cedar and Lime Co.‘s process is that her entire business revolves around sustainability. She sources all of her florals from local farms. Not only is she an amazing person doing amazing work for her clients, but she is also staying conscious of her business’s environmental footprint and her clients’ quality control.

Before we get this post started, I’ll answer the question that you are definitely asking yourself! Haley is currently booking weddings for couples in Virginia, Maryland, and DC. She is also willing to travel!! Can we make “destination florist” a thing?! I think we should!! A huge THANK YOU to Haley for pouring so much love into this post!

To follow along with Haley’s amazing work find her online here: Website | Facebook | Instagram

How did you get started as a field to vase florist? What do you love most about what you do?

When I started my business four years ago, I didn’t even know what a field to vase florist was. I ordered my flowers the way most florists do, through a big wholesaler who imports flowers from all over the world; Colombia, Holland, Ecuador, Japan, etc. Every time a shipment arrived, I felt like I was drowning in boxes, paper wrapping, plastic wrapping, twist ties, and rubber bands.

I figured there had to be a way to have beautiful wedding flowers without so much physical waste and without creating such a large carbon footprint. I started searching and found a few local flower farms that sold their blooms and greenery to florists. I started working with them, and a beautiful relationship was born! I now know my flower growers personally and regularly visit the farms where my couples’ flowers are grown.

My flowers travel a mere 50-100 miles (rather than 2,800 miles from Ecuador or 3,800 miles from Holland). I transfer the flowers from my grower’s buckets into mine and there are no cardboard boxes or plastic bags involved. I am confident in the quality of the flowers grown, because I’ve been to the farm, seen the farmers in action, and know that the blooms were cut just the day before in order to ensure freshness.

I love feeling good about the work that I am doing. My dad has always cared about the environment, and it definitely rubbed off on me. We have always tried to minimize our waste, so when I was dealing with all the packaging, I just knew I needed to do things differently. A lot of my couples’ have found me because they were looking for someone who uses local flowers. I know the local flower movement is getting bigger, and I love being a part of that.

What are some of your favorite local flowers to work with in each season?

Oh this one is so hard and it probably changes every year! I’m sure if you scroll through my Instagram, you’ll catch me claiming many different flowers as my favorite. It’s so hard to choose! Poppies and hellebores are always fighting for first place as a spring favorite, lisianthus are my summer favorite, and it’s definitely dahlias for fall. Winter is a little tricky since most flowers are dead, so I’m going to pick blue ice cedar (where the “Cedar” in our name comes from!) as my favorite winter greenery.

When you’re not working with gorgeous local blooms, where can people find you?

When I’m not designing weddings, I’m spending time with my family. I have two kids, Samson (4) and Dorothy (2), and a wonderful husband. We love going on adventures, anywhere from DC to the beach to the mountains. As long as I’m with my family, I’m happy! I also really enjoy reading and do it whenever I have time.

I know that your family is currently walking through an extremely exciting season as you work through the adoption process! Can you tell us a little bit about your adoption journey and how everyone can best support your family?

Speaking of that family I love so much, we’re currently in the process of adding to it by adopting from India! We’ve always known that we wanted to adopt, and after we had Dorothy, the time just seemed right. We just finished completing all of the US requirements for foreign adoption and are now starting to work on fulfilling India’s requirements. As long as we stay on track, we should be matched with a child in the next 6-8 months and then will be able to bring them home 6-8 months after that. If you’d like to stay up to date on our adoption happenings, you can sign up here!

Just for fun:

Favorite color palette? Anything with a lot of color. One bride told me her color palette was “Mexican fiesta without my mom knowing its a Mexican fiesta” and that was probably my favorite.
Cats or dogs? Dogs!
Cava or Chipotle? Chipotle, chicken burrito with white rice, no beans, tomatoes, corn, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce
Dream vacation destination? Ah! There are so many! Indonesia, Uganda, Australia, Thailand
Hidden Talent? It’s more of a super power than a hidden talent, but at least 80% of the time that I use the oven, I open it to put the food in right as the timer goes off letting me know the oven is done preheating.