Jacqui Owen’s reputation for creating breathtaking floral designs for exquisite wedding ceremonies and celebrations is widely admired. Jacqui loves being able to showcase some of the most beautiful gifts of nature, appreciated by those who see them not only for their beauty, but also their power to evoke emotion in others.
Surrounded by expert growers in the UK, Jacqui has developed a very special grower relationships around the globe. Jacqui handpicks the growers, that will handpick the flowers especially for her and the couple to be. They produce the very best blooms, sweetest fragrances and tantalizing textures that you just can’t help touch!
Beautiful flowers are at the heart of Jacqui’s bespoke styling service where she aims to weave a couple’s personality throughout the architecture of her designs to make their wedding venue burst with colour, fragrance and style.
“Jacqui literally made dreams come true with the flowers for our wedding! From the first time we spoke I was put at ease and her lovely nature makes you feel so comfortable designing the vision for you day. I always felt confident in Jacqui but the flowers on the day still blew me away! They smelt incredible and looked breathtaking! Dreams came true and I can’t thank Jacqui enough.”
About Jacqui
Jacqui was always creative as a child and was often found sitting in a field sketching flowers and nature on their family farm in the Shropshire countryside.
Following her heart led her to achieve a 1st Class Honours in Surface Pattern Design at University, followed by a successful career as a Visual Merchandising Manager at John Lewis. As a manager however, Jacqui missed being creative so began a professional course in floristry and I loved it!
In 2013 Jacqui founded the luxury floral design business Jacqui O and replaced her pencils and sketchbook with flowers and was happy to be surrounded by nature once again.
The first wedding Jacqui planned, designed and created was for her sister and it was so special! Her late grandad and Jacqui often laughed at the amount of jobs she had before finding her true calling. Floristry is much like farming it’s a way of life, as Claude Monet once said ‘I must have flowers, always, and always ‘.
Sustainability Policy
Part of Jacqui O’s mission is to drive sales through beautiful, planet-friendly products, at the same time as contributing to a greener world as it’s a florists responsibility to be the keeper of beauty as they depend on the earth for their profession. Here are just a few of the things Jacqui is doing but you can find her full Sustainability Policy on her website.
- Best of both’, sourcing the very best flowers grown near and far | In 2019 Jacqui introduced ‘Best of Both’, where 90% of her flowers are locally sourced, depending on availability, and the remaining 10% come from abroad from suppliers who care and demonstrate good working, growing and environmental practices.
- ‘FRESH & FAUX’ fusing silk and fresh fragrant florals to reduce waste | This year Jacqui has introduced silk flowers into her designs, which can be used when some items aren’t in their natural growing season. They can also be reused at multiple events to save money for clients and also reduce stem wastage.
- Potted Plants that can be reused, shared and love | From time to time, Jacqui uses plants in her floral installations and tablescapes so they can be nurtured, reclaimed and reused for future events. They can also easily double up as living keepsakes for couples and their guests after the big day too.
- Using and exploring sustainable techniques and compostable design | Jacqui relies on her expert knowledge to employ sustainable practices and techniques in her designs, using her creativity to find alternative methods and more natural materials to form a base, such as chicken wire, moss or twig structures. Jacqui aims to make her designs completely compostable if possible and often reclaims and recycles components.
- Saving every drop of water we can | Jacqui conserves water wherever possible, by using any excess to water her own garden. Jacqui harvests rainwater from her home studio to fill her floral buckets and water her plants as every little helps.
Plans for the Future
Jacqui aims to be a leader in inspiring clients with breath-taking, sensuous florals and a first-class wedding journey, so is constantly investing in her own sustainability journey, seeking ways in which she can build on her knowledge and create designs without causing further harm to our planet.
Over the course of this year Jacqui will invest in personal and professional development and look at sustainable courses to help find alternative design methods. Jacqui also hopes to gain Sustainable Wedding Alliance Accreditation in 2023.
Calculating their carbon footprint giving them greater transparency Jacqui will also calculate her carbon footprint emissions, through the collective climate action platform, Ecologi and then look for continuous improvements by making a conscious effort to make reductions and offset where needed.
To follow Jacqui’s sustainability journey go to her website or visit her Instagram page. There are exciting things to come …
@jacquioflorals
www.jacquio.co.uk
