Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Penfield.
Katie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My love for flowers began as a small girl helping my Grandma in her garden. She has an incredible ability at growing gorgeous gardens and so I was always surrounded by lots of variety and beauty. I also grew up helping out in my Mimi’s boutique gift shop. She’d let me help with store displays and picking out inventory. She is also a painter and an artist and so we were constantly learning new forms of art while at her house. I think deep down I always knew I’d want to have my own creative business and work for myself. I graduated from Abilene Christian University with a degree in Photojournalism. I loved everything about photography and launched my own wedding photography business when I graduated. That is where I first fell in love with the wedding industry. I was a wedding photographer for about 4 years and began to feel like I was losing my love due to all the pressure and stress. I knew I still wanted to do something creative and work for myself, but I didn’t know what that could be. I loved doing creative things and so I quickly became the friend that everyone asked to DIY a project! About 4 years ago, my full time job at the time needed decorations and flowers for a large dinner event. I did the flowers myself and quickly fell in love. Over that next year or so, I was asked by several friends as well as my sister to create flower arrangements for their weddings. In February of 2016, I had my daughter and quit my full time job to pursue my own floral design company. It was a scary step in the process, but I’m so grateful that I did it! KatieBug Florals has grown so much in the last 2 years, going from 4-5 weddings a year to finishing out 2018 with over 55 weddings!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been smooth and there have been lots of struggles, but every bump in the road has stretched me and grown me into a better designer, a better business owner and a better person. My daughter and my business were both born at the same time, so in a lot of ways my business feels like my second child. Now they are both in their toddler years and everyone knows how trying those years can be. It’s hard as a new business owner because you are forced to wear so many hats from designer to administrative assistant to accountant and many more. You have to learn how to be the best at all of them, all at the same time. And of course, no one is perfect, so mistakes will be made. But those mistakes are where you learn and grow and appreciate how far you’ve come.
KatieBug Florals – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
KatieBug Florals is a wedding and event floral design company. We specialize in everything from personal flowers, such as bouquets and boutonnieres, to altar arrangements and table centerpieces. Our style is very loose and organic, but with a lush and romantic feel. Because of my background in art and photography, I think a lot about the way something will be photographed while designing. It needs depth and texture and dimension or else it will appear very flat. Color is also important. One shade or hue will look very basic and boring, but having slight variations and complimentary colors will make it that much more interesting. Your wedding will only live on in the images your photographer captures, so I want to make sure your flowers still look good in the photos 15 years from now. I also love stretching the norm and creating beautiful works of art with flowers. Creating large and unique installations will always set an event apart from the rest.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I was booked by a bride and her mom to create a 6 foot wide floral chandelier hanging above her dance floor for a New Year’s Eve weekend wedding. I had never done anything like that before, but the bride loved my creativity in my past work and wanted to take a chance on me! It ended up being gorgeous and one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten to create. There were a lot of details and moving parts that had to be worked through. It definitely stretched me in not only design, but engineering and timelines.
Pricing:
- Full service wedding florals begin at $2000, which includes bouquets, boutonnières, altar pieces, centerpieces, etc. as well as setup and delivery.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.katiebugflorals.com
- Phone: 2104138050
- Email: katiepenfield@gmail.com
- Instagram: @katiebugflorals
- Facebook: Facebook.com/katiebugflorals
- Other: Pinterest.com/katiebugflorals
Image Credit:
Luisas Secret, Lauren Bloom Photography, Angela Lally Photography
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