Alison Ellis is a floral designer & business coach/educator. Visit: floralartvt.com to see my portfolio and inquire about working with me.
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I've been specializing in Vermont weddings for 16 years and now, I help shorten the learning curve for other florists with my online business courses. You can find a complete list of courses, including FREE courses, on my website: realflowerbusiness.com
As a floral designer, I make planning your Vermont wedding easy. Destination weddings require an experienced floral designer to understand your
expectations & point you in the right direction. I lead you through the planning process to ensure no details are missed and ensure that your flowers capture your style and personal vision for your big day.
Check out these sweet boutonnières and floral bracelets for the parents! I lean towards wearables that are a bit demure—almost modest—because sometimes they can tend to be large with full sized roses and ribbons.
And frankly, flowers should always complement your attire, not overtake it!
Spray roses, ranunculus, sedum, thistle and succulents from my garden are featured here.
Pink ranunculus, white sweet peas, thistle, white roses, pink dahlias, lavender stock and light blue delphinium are all featured in Lizzy’s bouquet today at 💕
We knew we wanted to incorporate some color into the floral palette, but we really didn’t want to compete with her ensemble, so we kept it to pinks, lavenders, blues and whites for the bouquet and then amplified the color scheme for the reception!
I love it when a wedding plan comes together, don’t you?! 😉
Kathryn’s bouquet as captured by at 💕 Such a beautiful shot!
Sweet flower crown for the flower girl! I love a good head wreath and this combination of spray roses, gomphrena and veronica is a great example of how classic, yet fun wearable flowers can be!
I’ve never been a flower girl before, but I’d definitely want a flower crown if I were! 💕
Boutonnières don’t have to be boring, but I tend to prefer them on the smaller side. Spray roses, delphinium and a touch of jasmine come together here for a feeling of summertime elegance.
I really dig the blue delphinium. 💙
Flowers are a beautiful accessory for your wedding party so it’s important that they work with your chosen attire—not that they match each other perfectly.
In this case, two distinct dresses called for two distinct bouquets and I love the way they complement each other.
Once I saw the wedding party dresses we decided to go with mostly pinks with a touch of orange for one, and mostly orange and blues with a touch of pink for the other…and it all matches the bridal bouquet perfectly of course!
I really do love it when a plan comes together in real life.
From our imagination to a few detailed notes to reality…it still feels like magic sometimes! (And the trust from my clients to “make it work” is a gift!)
I am crazy about these colors! I obviously had some fun here! 💕🧡🙌
Your reception flowers set the stage for a beautiful dining experience for your guests. Not too big to see over, not so wide that there’s no room to set down a drink!
These colorful summer centerpieces include orange and hot pink roses, yellow snapdragons, light blue delphinium, soft pink spray roses, chamomile, phlox, zinnias, and few peonies for good measure.
I think my favorite part of these centerpieces might be the cinnamon and lemon basil I cut from my garden though! I couldn’t believe how amazing the fragrance was.
Now, I should note that you don’t want anything too strongly scented on your dinner table, but the basil fits right in!
Flowers are meant to complement your tabletops at your wedding without taking over or becoming too intrusive so guests can easily chat, drink and dine!
A cluttered table feels stifling even if it’s technically pretty and form should follow function in my opinion. 😉
As a florist it’s tempting to think that more flowers are better on a beautiful wedding day, but balance is key!
A couple of things that are essential for a functional centerpiece include the height—I believe guests should see across the table without obstruction—and the distance between the flowers and the dishes—because I don’t want extra greenery on your salad plate!
But overall a successful table setup allows for ease of movement so folks can enjoy their meals and conversations without bobbing and weaving around the centerpieces. 💕😊
The vibrant color combinations here really help make an impact and create an inviting experience!
Coral peonies and roses, blue delphinium, ranunculus, stock, spray roses and lady’s mantle with a touch of clematis make for one beautiful bridesmaid’s bouquet!
A touch of blue in the ribbon just brings it all together. 😉💙💕
Ranunculus, delphinium and thistle boutonnières deserve a little love! 💙🧡 I’ll admit I sometimes forget to get a perfect boutonnière shot, but I love them grouped together on my workbench as I get ready to add the pins and box them up.
Even though they’re not perfectly posed, they’re still pretty darn handsome.
When you’re looking for quintessential Vermont, delivers! What can you say about this ceremony backdrop but wow!
Wine barrels adorned with flowers are the perfect touch to set the scene without disrupting the view. Featuring peonies, delphinium, roses and spirea they add a great pop of color.
A celebration of summer for sure. 💕
It’s peony season here and the fragrance is divine! I actually went out to my front porch the other night to smell the peonies after a long day and as I stood there grasping a stem in my fingertips in order to bring it closer to my face, a hummingbird flew right up and started sipping from the flower in my hand! 🙌
It was there much longer than I could ever have hoped for—finding its way around the bloom—until I finally flinched and scared it away. 🤣
I could feel the vibration of its wings reverberating through the petals and it was pretty surreal. ❤️
Nature is awesome. I hope you enjoy some lovely peonies or a hummingbird wherever you are today.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend! And extra love to all my florist friends who have been working hard all week long! 💕 Here’s a closer look at a special Mother’s Day arrangement I made this week including some of the most lovely spring flowers.
You’ll find lily of the valley, butterfly ranunculus, spray roses, hyacinths, tulips and bunny grass in this foam free design. The reason I’m working is because for many years I never thought about how floral foam can contaminate the water supply with tiny microplastics or how it “biodegrades” in the landfill into lots of tiny microplastic pieces and now that I’m aware, it’s my responsibility to do better (and that’s why I’ve been working foam free for quite some time now!) 🌎❤️
I had fun with this and I am continuously reminded that I am so lucky to have a career that allows me to do what I love and continue to experiment with new things.
There’s a lot of fun and inspiration to be found in learning new things! 💕🌷😉
Keep doing beautiful work!
xo. -Alison
Have to share some love for the wedding party flowers today! Bouquets for the honor attendants were smaller, but similar to the bridal bouquet and you can see that beautiful ranunculus adding the perfect touch of green along with a bit of cedar for a nod to winter, while anemones, allium, tulips and freesia bring the spring!
What a beautiful way to start the month of March. I hope you have a great day wherever you are in the world!
Classic white and green bouquet for Meg at yesterday! I can never take just one shot of a wedding bouquet because there’s something to see on every side. 😊
You can get a view from all sides here and you’ll find little bits of ranunculus, allium, and berzelia along the way, but those anemones may be the star. ⭐️
To tell the truth, I never promise anemones because the black pollen can sometimes make a mess on the petals (and frankly they’re quite delicate sometimes!), but I am happy we were able to feature them here along with freesia, roses, tulips, and a touch of cedar.
And don’t ask me how I got white lilac! 🤍 I just know is a lilac fan so it felt right!
This may be my favorite way to start off the month of March yet! 💚
Which flower is your favorite? People ask me this question sometimes and I am not kidding when I say, they're all my favorite! Even in this bouquet, I LOVE those strawflowers, so obviously they're my favorite.
Until I glimpse those clematis seed heads....now, they're my favorite! And then, there are those magenta mums...and the orange snapdragons! Gah. I can't choose.
I took my first floral design class in 5th grade and fell in love with it. Some things may just be in our nature and a fondness for flowers definitely comes naturally to me!
Do you have a favorite flower? (Maybe it's one of my favorites, too!)
photo: Isora Lithgow Creations
My main title is "florist", but I am proud to say that I'm also an author! I wrote a book called Falling Into Flowers, A step-by-step guide to today's modern wedding business, which was published by Wildflower Media in 2020.🌷
I knew fairly early on in my business that I wanted to write a book, but I imagined a look book that would show real wedding designs to inspire real couples. I didn't know that it would be a business book for floral designers! It's funny where life takes us sometimes!
My real wedding work is featured throughout the book, of course, and the entire process--from writing to editing to working with an incredible designer to create the color scheme, font and layout--it was all a lot of fun thanks to an amazing team so I didn't have to do it myself!
I really love this pic from my shoot with Isora Lithgow Creations 💕 I don't know what my next book will be about yet, but I'm happy to get to share this one with the flower world!
OK, now I'm heading out for my final delivery of the year! (Back in florist mode!)
Have a great day!
xo. -Alison
I’m just a happy wedding florist saying hi! I’m Alison Ellis of Floral Artistry. I’ve been designing wedding flowers for the last 22 seasons from my home-studio here in Vermont.
Beautiful flowers make every wedding or event feel more special and memorable. Thanks to everyone who made some flower memories with me this year!
I know I’m fortunate to get to do the work that I love in a place that I love! (That’s why I kid, but I truly am a happy floral designer.)
There’s a special connection and a trust that’s required for a couple to choose the best florist (or wedding planner, photographer, or dress maker for that matter!) to suit your vision. And I consider it an honor to be chosen to play a role in your special day!
It’s been a couple of months since I officially wrapped my wedding season, but luckily I’m only a few months away from my first wedding of 2024! 🎉🙌👏 (I really do miss having my hands in flowers during the off season.)
I have a couple of dates available on my calendar for next season so if you’re newly engaged and have started planning your wedding, Congratulations!! ❤️ Feel free to reach out get in touch to tell me a little bit about your plans if you’re interested in working with me. The fastest response will come from my website inquiry—which I still think is more fun to fill out than a DM 😉
And if you happen to a floral designer, I’m hosting a professional workshop here in Vermont with a lineup of fabulous floral educators in April! It’s called the Floralpreneur Workshop and you can find ALL the details over at (It’s gonna be awesome!)
Speaking of awesome, I also have to give a shoutout to for helping me get super pumped up before the end of the year with this photo shoot ❤️ for the glam and for the ambiance and the great tunes 🎶
Thanks for reading my brief hello! Have a great day and a very happy holiday season!
xo. -Alison
Fall flowers make me smile! It’s one of my favorite seasons for creative color combinations—whether you embrace an autumnal vibe or lean towards a more muted fall palette, the textures, seed heads, and beautiful blooms allow for endless possibilities!
I’m a fan of the yellows in this design, but I also really dig the rust colored mums! It’s got me excited to decorate the holiday table for my family next week! ❤️
Classic whites and greens for the bride’s maid of honor transcend season, but a glimpse of that little white dahlia and seeded eucalyptus might reveal it’s fall!
Classic white and green cascade bouquet featuring callas, freesia, ranunculus, roses, ruscus and seeded eucalyptus as seen on my favorite little rock ledge at
What do your guests really experience and remember about your wedding? Well I hope the centerpieces will be on their list!
Guests spend some time at their tables eating, drinking and chatting, and your flowers help set the mood.
These fall centerpieces at brought this romantic color palette and the autumnal feeling into the reception (and I had a lot of fun designing them too!).
Each table should be special! It’s all about the details.
I have to show some love for the flower girl and ring bearer! This sweet little floral crown looked absolutely beautiful on the most precious flower girl and in image 2 you’ll see a moss pillow for the ring bearer. ❤️❤️
These little details are so special.
It was a lot of fun to design this backdrop for the sweetheart table for A & J at ❤️❤️
With greenery, mums, amaranthus, and dahlias, the silo was ready for the party!
If you can find a way to create a “wow” moment with flowers, go for it! You’ll be glad you did!
No floral foam or single use plastics were used so every bit of the mechanics will be reused. In fact most of them were already repurposed a time or two! 😉 (Because we care about our impact as well as the beauty of the flowers themselves.)
Autumnal flowers bring the fall magic! So grateful for a beautiful day at ❤️
Anna’s bouquet features dahlias, callas, roses, amaranthus, mums, thistle, scabiosa, and we tied it off with a piece of lace from her mom’s wedding dress. Just the perfect finishing touch!
Can we talk about centerpieces? Because they set the scene for a beautiful reception so they’re kind of a big deal around here! ❤️😉
These fall centerpieces highlight how a little color goes a long way to liven up the reception with sunflowers, roses, dahlias, hypericum, hydrangea, mums, thistle and eucalyptus.
I hope your first week of fall is excellent! (And I hope you stop to enjoy some flowers this week too!)
We officially kicked off fall our wedding season today with this beauty for Kota at
An autumnal palette is always a moment in my season where the newness of the fall flowers makes me fall in love with Vermont a little bit more!
Featured here are some beautiful butterfly ranunculus, dahlias, roses, mums, seeded eucalyptus, safari sunset, agonis and a little touch of sunflower in the back!
Hands up for this color palette of beautiful centerpieces! (I don’t know if I’m raising the roof or doing jazz hands, but either way these colors made me so happy!)
Featuring dahlias, roses, anemones, delphinium, hydrangea, thistle and hypericum berries for a slight nod to the changing season.
Overall the vibe was “still summer” yesterday and these designs were here for it.
Beautiful ceremonies start with beautiful flowers! As a floral designer I may be a bit biased, I know!
Sunflowers, snapdragons, roses, lisianthus, scabiosa, hydrangea and delphinium bring the summer love feeling!
❤️
Is there any flower that says summer like a sunflower? When we first talked about the flowers for Abbey & Tim’s wedding at a wildflower feel with sunflowers was the inspiration…and as our plans developed we decided to add lots of color to keep the palette vibrant and fun!
I think we made the right choice to lean into color and the barn really looked beautiful with centerpieces of sunflowers, zinnias, roses, dianthus, snapdragons, delphinium and some phlox from my garden.
It’s still wildflowery, but also elegant enough for a wedding!
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What’s blooming in my Vermont garden today! It’s a pretty special time of year when we finally get towards the end of May and suddenly it’s spring and the flowers start to take off! Welcome to #myvermontgarden on this fine morning. I hope you have a beautiful spring feeling wherever you are in the world right now. Excuse me while I get back to weeding. 🤣❤️
A glimpse at the tables all set and ready for the party! I dig this sweetheart table. Congratulations to R & J! @theroundbarn thanks for always being so fantastic!
What can you say about the most beautiful fall weekend for a wedding at @theroundbarn 🍁 Here’s a look at the lovely fall floral palette I got to design for Anna & Jake this weekend. If you love fall in Vermont this is for you! ❤️🍁💯 #vermontweddings #fallweddingflowers #foamfreeflowers #foamfree #floralpreneur
Keeping it natural with the sounds from the day as I designed this fall arbor at @thepondsvt yesterday. Designed with hydrangea, sunflowers, roses, dahlias, mums, rose hips, and lots of greens for texture, of course! Happy Fall everyone! 🍁 #fallflowers #vermontweddings #foamfreeflowers #vermontweddingflorist #vermontweddingflowers
I’m gonna love you like nobody’s loved you, come rain or come shine! There’s no denying it was a wet one yesterday @basinharbor but it was still such a lovely day! And a little rain didn’t stop the outdoor ceremony either! 😉 Here’s a little look under the tent if you want to come behind the scenes. #vermontweddings #vermontweddingflorist #foamfreeflowers #weddingdecor
We had a little fun with the escort card display for Sarah & Nathan’s rehearsal dinner at @basinharbor with colorful flowers, monogrammed golf balls and beautiful stationery by @rhdesignvt Rain or shine we’re looking forward to another beautiful day! @basinharborweds
A little arbor transformation in the garden at @essexresortspa with a palette of blues, whites and greens for Lauren & Justin yesterday! Now that the scene is set, it’s time to get married! This arbor is designed without the use of floral foam so it’s lightweight and a little bit more eco-friendly. 💙 After a rainy morning, it really started to feel like summer in the afternoon and I was so glad to see some sun! A perfect day for a garden wedding. 😉 #floralpreneur #weddingarbor #vermontweddingflorist #vermontweddings #foamfreeflowers
From start to finish…a little look at how it all gets started and how it all comes together. Flowers featuring peonies, lilacs, hellebores, ranunculus, Solomon’s seal, roses and stock in a classic white and green floral palette with beautiful blues including tweedia, delphinium, hydrangea, and touches of clematis @basinharbor @basinharborweds #vermontwedding #vermontweddings #vermontweddingflorist #vermontweddingflowers #blueandwhiteweddingflowers #floralpreneur
Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency?
I'm a floral designer specializing in Vermont weddings. I’m also a floral educator who’s on a mission to share “the art of good business” with floralpreneurs around the globe.
Destination weddings require an experienced florist to understand your expectations & point you in the right direction. I’ll lead you through the planning process to ensure no details are missed and ensure that your flowers capture your style and personal vision for your big day.
Visit: floralartvt.com to see my portfolio and inquire about working with me.
Floral designers will find a complete list of courses, including FREE resources exclusively for florists, on my website here: realflowerbusiness.com
Check out my website, drop me a line, send a carrier pigeon....I’d love to connect.
With love from me to you, Alison
