Beautiful Beginnings

Folklor: The Stories these flowers tell...

When Clara Mijares started Florklore Studio it was literally an epiphany – a moment when all the world seemed right and every little thing until then seemed to be merely steps that led right up to that moment for everything to click right into place.

 

As she puts it herself, “I was always in a continuous study of interior design, graphic design, and drawing until one day a floral design workshop arrived that I took to make my interior design project more complete. I still remember the first time I took a flower in my hands; at that moment something changed in me and I decided that this was what I wanted to do.

 

When that turning-point-of-a-workshop was done she looked for many more. She sensed a great urge to, as she describes it, “learn, know philosophies, and specify exactly what I wanted to express through my flowers.” She started making designs for gifts, for small events, and  worked for florists when they held their events, until one day one of them proposed she handle her first floral design for a wedding which of course she accepted and the rest as they say is history.  It was an experience that filled her with a lot of learning and the beautiful beginnings of her undertaking the Florklor project with her husband. And it’s been one beautiful story after the other told through flowers; and she is positively ecstatic to have found her calling at the meeting point of all her passions.

“I can’t find the words to describe what it is to find a job in which your greatest tastes are combined. I’m lucky.”, says Clara

And then…What Blooms Blossom?

Their work as described on their site, ‘seeks to transmit design in its most sensitive and pure form: Nature’ and they are known for their wild, natural style inspired by the textures, shapes and colours they see in gardens and natural spaces in the wild. Clara aspires to transform their clients’ brief into an all-encompassing, sensual experience that isn’t just a treat for their eyes but also for each of the other senses as well. 

And Clara doesn’t take this reverence for and inspiration from nature lightly. She believes that the elements that you lack become very important in your life and in her case being originally from Torreón Coahuila, that is in the middle of a desert in Mexico, nature, plants and of course flowers made extraordinary sense and are supremely meaningful and significant to everything. Added to this her love of design and everything that emanates from it was just the perfect mix.

Wedding Flowers: Of Emotion, Philosophy and Vision!

Potential clients are met with the studio’s tagline, We would love to interpret your emotions! and they firmly believe that brides and grooms should find a florist who vibes with them on the same wavelength and has the same vision for their special day. In Clara’s opinion it’s imperative to create a link and make a connection as the creative process can sometimes be very fluid and at other times not. Trust is key and the couple should feel like with the florist they’ve got the right person in their corner and they TRUST in their work 100%. 

 

“My experience tells me that the bride and groom should seek florists not because of recommendations from friends, planners, or family.

The bride and groom should find the florist who shares their philosophy and vision.

It is the most important!”

 

She puts herself in the shoes of a bride and says I would ask the florist, i.) your vision with the flowers, ii.) What is the style they handle and why? iii.) How they create a floral proposal, iv.) how they develop a creative process and finally but quite critically, v.) What flowers are in season when you get married.

Of Creative Process: Story and History

Clara’s favourite part of working with brides and grooms is the creative process and their unique story and history. From the very first interview she has with them, she gets to know how they met, their proposal story, why they decided to get married on that particular date, who it is important for them to have in attendance on their special day and most importantly, what they want to express at their wedding. A romantic at heart, she loves getting involved with girlfriends and boyfriends and meeting people who are not the client.

Flowers at a Destination Wedding

 

Just as different flowers are native to particular and specific places and not all flowers are in bloom everywhere and in every season, so must brides and grooms remember that destination weddings are a different ballgame and that they should prepare accordingly. The top three on this list of things to keep in mind when planning for a destination wedding according to Clara are, to know the availability of dates from their vendors, the number of guests they will have and the viability of the venue to create good event logistics.

 

Uniquely Beautiful

 

From Hindu weddings that are loaded with a lot of symbolism and color to very elegant and minimalist weddings on the beach to weddings chock full of traditions in San Miguel, Florklore Studio has done bespoke, alternative and destination weddings as varied and diverse as the flowers in the most colourful spring bouquet. When pressed for which one has been the most unique one they’ve ever planned though they find it hard to pinpoint a specific one because theirs is a studio that creates concept weddings to suit the uniqueness of each couple or as Clara says, “All my weddings are unique and that is part of what we offer our couples, because their love story is unique and we have to represent and reflect just that.” 

 

“I have been lucky enough to make unique weddings because in my studio we create concepts and that is the best thing that can happen to you. It is not only about flowers and making floral arrangements.” 

 

And indeed theirs is an execution so elegant of a beautifully thought out concept, perfectly tied together to tell a story and achieve the couples’ vision for the day in an absolutely unforgettable way.

The Ultimate Dilemma: Pick a Flower, Pick a Favourite?

 

Normally we investigate our destination wedding planners’ favourite venues but today we have a special twist. Which brings us to the big question: Is it possible to pick just one favourite of anything? 

Or even a list of top five favourites? Hard, right? 

Especially if that anything is a choice from among the most gorgeous of what nature has to offer in all of the flowers that exist. 

 

So which flowers make it to Clara’s top five favourite flowers list?

 

“Dahlia is my favorite flower, it is elegant, cheerful, impressive in its colors and textures. I love that its origin is Mexican.

Ranunculus are winter flowers, I love them for the amount of petals that exist in it being so small.

The Lisianthus is my flower-friend, it is in beautiful colors, I love its curls, it is elegant, it is not difficult to take care of, it is noble and you find it almost all year round.

Phlox, is a small flower that looks like a butterfly and is precisely the one that a bouquet or a centerpiece needs to “fly” and finally,

Poppies, I love their circular shape and how their petals intertwine, it’s like a ballet dancer.”

 

“It is a very difficult question!” she adds with a laugh.

 

We can’t thank Clara and Hugo from Florklor for sharing the flower love with us. My favourite flower is cempasúchil and I love the way adorn flowers photograph in centrepieces and bridal bouquets from wedding pictures I’ve taken. 

 

Which flower is your favourite? What do flowers in a wedding say to you? Tell us all your flower stories and if you’re finding it hard to narrow down your list of favourites look at the breathtaking floral arrangements in these weddings for some flower inspiration.