Amy Jo Goforth
This article appears in the 2014 Spring/Summer issue of Bride, a publication of Louisville Magazine.
Amy Jo Goforth, designer at Aebersold Florist, New Albany, Ind., talks wedding flowers. Goforth has been in the business for 15 years and has a B.F.A. degree from Indiana University Southeast
Where do you find inspiration?
“Everybody’s so connected with technology now. You know, Pinterest, Facebook. I end up connecting with brides a lot that way. There are so many ideas out there. Rather than just email, brides can post things on Facebook and I can determine their style. I think it’s important to get to know your brides and make them feel comfortable. When you get to know the person, I think that you can create something that is more in tune with their vision. Sometimes it’s me coming up with ideas and the brides just have a general idea, and I have to kind of narrow it down. Sometimes they come in and know what they want and it’s just a matter of accenting it.”
What are some trends?
“Peonies are always super popular. It’s a really lush flower. It’s actually one of my favorites, too. I’m getting a lot of the rustic elegance, like burlap mixed in with peonies and hydrangea and roses and such. It looks like vintage is kind of coming back too, so I’m doing a lot of things with lace and pearls and things like that. Ice blue, navy and dark eggplants seem to be appearing a lot.
“I did a wedding not too long ago and the bridesmaid dresses were ice blue. There are not a lot of blue flowers, so what we did was incorporate and pull in complimentary colors and accent with ice blue. So I did peaches and oranges and corals in with this ice blue and it popped really nicely with the dresses. It’s not always matching the dress color but pulling in some accents and complementing it. Sometimes, someone will come in with a teal-colored dress or royal blue and it’s difficult to match these colors exactly with flowers due to limitations with certain colors, but you can pull in other accents to make it unique and different and still coordinate with dresses.”
What are some ways a couple can stay within budget?
“Your peonies and your hydrangeas and your roses, those are more upscale flowers. But you can start to mix in some other flowers that are less expensive and still create a beautiful bouquet. There’s such a huge range. I am working on a smaller wedding at Mellwood Art Center this year with a kind of Tim Burton theme, but the bride-to-be is focusing on the details and I get to have a little fun with this one while still maintaining a budget.
“A lot of money goes into centerpieces for the reception. Some brides are using their bouquets as centerpieces at the bridal-party tables. People are still decorating for ceremonies, but some are getting away from it to use more at the reception. I like it when I have a little wiggle room there because I can get a little more creative.”
Photo by Jolea Brown
