An interview with Ruth and Emma from Supernova wedding design and flowers.
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
Supernova Wedding design and flowers
Who are you and what do you do?
R: I’m Ruth and I’m a director at Supernova Wedding Design & Flowers.
We are a wedding & event design team with in house florists creating luxury bespoke weddings and events.
E: I’m Emma. I’m also a director at Supernova Wedding Design and Flowers. Ruth and I are life long friends. We met at School in Primary one! (That’s reception to everyone in England.) We have always chosen to work together, study together and then build our business together. Our wedding design business is in it’s 12th year. We design and create stylish luxury weddings in Scotland. We have a huge itinerary of decor hire, linen and also have an in house wedding florist and stationery team.
Hobbies/interests?
R: Partial to a much needed spa day from time to time.
E: Cooking, eating out and holidays!
What is the last thing you bought on Amazon?
R: A brass bumble bee door knocker in silver!
E: Mrs Hinch book of lists! I love being organised and I am the ultimate list writer! The satisfaction of getting things ticked off and the structure of knowing what needs tackled helps get things done.
What is the last show you binged on?
R: “You” on Netflix
E: The Big Flower Fight on Netflix.
What is the last song you downloaded?
R: “Bill Withers” Lovely Day!
E: “He Sleeps” by James Newton Howard – It is the song that will be played when I walk down the aisle, which is now happening in September 2021 not 2020 as planned 🙁
Lockdown survival tip?
R: Self Care
E: Get up and get on. I’ve been working out and getting lots of jobs done that I was too busy to tackle before both personally and in the business. We all have good days and bad days at the moment, let the bad ones pass and relish the good ones, above all we all need to take time out but also keep going.
Lockdown guilty pleasure?
R: White Wine!
E: Not having to be fully ready every day! I’m loving more make-up free days and a much, much slower pace of life that I am used to.
One thing that no one knows about you?
R: We’ve known each other since the age of 5 in primary 1(reception) and have worked together for over 20 years now! Most people assume we are sisters as we’re so alike.
E: People are always surprised that I have been a strict vegetarian for the past 30 years.
How did you get into your industry and job?
R: We left college with a diploma in event management, originally working in fashion organising shows for top designers. We got asked to do a wedding and have since designed many for the same family and have hundreds more under our belts.
E: Ruth and I were organising events and not really receiving the recognition for them. Ruth’s mum noticed a new Events Management course at college and we both signed up. We adored it and started our business the month after graduating.
Why do you enjoy what you do?
R: I find the creative of it all side so exciting. Designing and creating amazing and beautiful events with thousands of fresh flowers, luxury fabrics, accessories and working so hard to see it all come to life is what I enjoy the most. The biggest pleasure is seeing the client’s faces when they see everything for the first time. Working so closely with so many amazing and talented people. We are extremely lucky and its very rewarding.
E: I love meeting clients, hearing about their dreams and exciting plans. Taking all their thoughts and styles and putting them together. The moment on the day when everything is set up and you just know they are going to absolutely LOVE IT! The journey with the client is nearing an end and it’s home for family time and a big glass of well-earned, very cold white wine!
When you first meet a client what are the top 3 things you look for?
R: The client’s personality reflects their style. Design ideas they have of their own, such as; colour scheme and specific requirements. Finally, their budget is key, so we know what we can create for them.
E: It is really important that we are a match for our clients, that they feel instantly comfortable and in good hands. They have to trust us and we are very lucky that having built a good reputation, our clients are just as excited to work with us as we are them. We are great at reading people, taking into account their style and personality to ensure we incorporate that in their wedding design. We ensure we interact with them in a way that puts them at ease. Our clients often comment on how it feels like we can read their minds! Lastly, we make sure we manage their expectations with their budget.
What are the most common questions your clients ask in their consultation?
R: What can we do with our ceremony or venue space to ensure it has the wow factor? They also like us to give our guidance and expertise. Cost is another key question so we are all on the same page.
E: Common questions are; have we worked at their venue before? Are we there on the wedding day? Which we are. Is there anything they have forgotten to include? Knowing the venue is really important as we know instantly what works. What the venue allows us to bring in. Access times?
When quoting your prices what do you take into consideration?
R: The cost of flowers and any buying we do. The payment of any external suppliers (ensuring we receive the best deal for our clients). Our style team, florist, delivery and breakdown team.
E: We have a set price list for hire items, guest numbers are taken into account for these items. For bespoke flower arrangements or more elaborate design creations there are lots of things to take into account. Flowers used in terms of style, colours and numbers, how long they’ll take to create, transport, installing, how many experienced team members we need to do this and collect everything the next day. Lots of important details to consider…
What else do you cover in your first consultation?
R: Clients come to our showroom to see mock table set ups and look at all of our available products. Colour schemes and any queries they have around the logistics and set up on the day.
E: We have some questions to cover in our first consultation to allow us to know the logistics and numbers of the day. We cover favourite flowers, must have items and the overall look they want to achieve. We then work on ideas that week, respond with pricing and our ideas and take it from there.
What types of flowers can affect the price and why?
R: Seasonal flower costs and availability will change. Weddings near Valentines Day for example, flowers are much more costly. A statement display of purely roses will make the cost increase so we are on hand to make suggestions for alternatives to suit budget.
E: It’s more the volume and style of flowers that can affect the pricing, opting for a statement arrangement with lots of textures means we need more flowers to create this style. David Austin Roses and Phalaenopsis Orchids are expensive per head but very popular choices. We find most brides feel a bit overwhelmed by flower choices and are happy to be guided.
Apart from choosing flowers what else is important or useful to think about when creating the arrangements and/or design?
R: It is Important to create the full table designs at the same time as discussing flowers, so you can offer a client an overall look, which we can tweak if necessary. Tabletop décor should compliment the centerpiece.
E: Colours play a huge part, they really help you know where you are going with your design. The style of your wedding will depict flower styles, for example; glamorous or a more relaxed and simple style? Generally we apply a 3-colour rule to our arrangements but some brides want to bring in more tones. Once you have a style in mind, which works with your venue’s style, it’s all the little details that bring the design to life. Design is not just one element; it is how it all works together. Ideally, you want your venue to look like a better polished version of itself, a bit like how you want to look on your wedding day.
What makes you different to other florists or in house wedding stylists?
R: We mostly style the entire set up and day from the initial wedding invite through to the cake. We work closely as a team to ensure a flawless finish as opposed to lots of suppliers bringing different looks and styles to the table, which can end up looking messy.
E: Our style and attention to detail. All of our weddings are elegant no matter what the style or vibe our clients choose. Styling can be imitated but can’t be copied if that makes sense. We also work so closely as a team and care so much about everything being perfect for our clients. Our lovely feedback show happy clients and no one else is ‘us’ so I guess that’s our USP.
What has been your most quirkiest or unique wedding?
R: Transforming spaces completely with the use of draping and intelligent lighting is always a buzz.
E: All weddings are unique and personal to our clients, we have done some quirky themes over the years, from woodland Forests to movie themed days.
Apart from creating floral arrangements and design what else can you provide at Supernova?
R: We have a full in house décor kit so can supply absolutely anything from table top décor and candlesticks to linens, charger plates lighting and dance floors.
E: We also offer wedding stationery and a range of bespoke hire products which no one else has. We have a huge list of trusted suppliers so can ultimately obtain absolutely anything you want for your wedding or event.
How will the client know what to expect from their booking?
R: Our initial quote provides a basis for our initial pricing. We then work on full designs as we move forward with sketche images. We also carry out site visits if we don’t know the venue, as it’s always great to see what we’re working with.
E: We have a studio with table set-ups and products so our clients can see designs and ideas come to life. We sketch ideas and have a huge portfolio of images to show previous work. We also create mock up’s too however, most of our clients can see the vision before this is needed.
How are you managing any postponed wedding bookings due to COVID-19? What is your procedure and policy?
E & R: The current COVID19 pandemic has been very challenging to our industry and our clients, overnight everyone was thrown into uncertainty. We have successfully moved over 120 of our weddings so far. We will always work with our clients to support them and find suitable solutions for them. New bookings can be rest assured we’ll do the same for them if required, we’ll move your booking to an available date. We’ve had such lovely feedback on our customer service during this stressful time and will always work to find the best solutions.
Is there any final advice or information that could be helpful to brides and grooms when choosing their flowers and designs?
R: Our transition into the wedding industry 12 years ago has seen us design thousands of beautiful weddings including several high profile celebrity weddings and events for HRM the Queen. Having won several industry awards we are extremely passionate and hard working. We are devoted people pleasers, so you can be assured you are in good hands.
E: It is really important that you gel with your wedding designer; you have to trust them and enjoy working with them throughout your planning process. It is also important that they are honest with you re: budget, so you know exactly what you are receiving for your money, managing your expectations, to make it look even better than you ever imagined!
Follow them on social media and read their reviews, what their client’s say is the best way to get a feel for what they’ll do for you! Happy planning and if we can help, please just get in touch x
Supernova wedding design and flowers are based in Glasgow, Scotland. They also travel to England too! For all your wedding design & flower questions you can contact Ruth and Emma here:
www.supernovaweddingdesign.co.uk : Instagram supernovaweddingdesign
For any more inspiration or tips on Jewish weddings, check out my Instagram @eventsbynatashaweddings or my Pinterest.
Alternatively, if you would just like to have a chat or need advice about your wedding or postponing due to COVID-19, you can email me anytime on info@eventsbynatasha.co.uk.
Natasha x