THEIR STORY - Shirley of Bloom Wedding

The summer months are upon us and that means wedding season. Together with wedding planner Shirley from Bloom Wedding, we organised a beautiful event. At the Pillows hotel in Amsterdam, we immersed future brides in the world of getting married. Together, we also did a beautiful bridal shoot for our new campaign. We asked Shirley about her passion for weddings to give you a peek behind the scenes.

Why did you start Bloom?

I started Bloom wedding out of a passion for organising and creativity. This I sorely missed in my job at the time and after organising a friend's wedding. I knew I wanted to continue with that. At the time (14 years ago), the profession was still in its infancy. But I knew I could and wanted to make a success of it. By steering my own course and trusting my feelings.

What makes Bloom unique?

Bloom wedding is unique in its special and high-quality styling concepts. I combine the organisation with the complete styling and (re)design of locations and gardens and also do all the printing for my couples. I really take care of the overall picture. My style is soft, calm, fresh and romantic yet modern, where I like to be inspired by interior and fashion trends.

For us, jewellery is very important at a wedding. How do you feel about it?

Jewellery is definitely an important part of the wedding. It starts, of course, with the engagement ring. But the jewellery worn by the bride on her wedding day also plays an important role. The bride wants something special and unique but also likes to be able to wear it more often. At the getting ready moment, I always ask the bride to lay out her jewellery for the day, engagement ring and wedding rings so that this can also be photographed beautifully. But putting on the jewellery by your mother, for example, is also a special moment the photographer likes to capture.

What achievement with your company are you proud of?

I am proud of having set up a very nice company independently and always working from my gut. This has brought me beautiful collaborations and clients. The crowning achievement was when I won the Dutch Wedding Awards in 2015. In 2016/2017, I got to prolong the title. My company was scrutinised on all sides and when it turns out that you are doing really well and get the recognition for it, it makes you enormously proud. Now that some years have passed, I am especially proud that I keep developing and still have an enormous drive to become even better. I am also proud of my strong network of suppliers who all want to work with the same approach and passion for your bride and groom to give them the most beautiful day. But also proud of my team of assistants who make sure everything is taken care of at every wedding. They also make sure that the guests and bride and groom are happy and all of it looks beautiful.

Do you reward yourself on achieving a goal and how do you do that?

I don't reward myself so much after achieving a specific goal but once in a while I really enjoy buying something special for myself. For instance, I am starting to get a nice collection of bags. I however have this infection called the magpie virus... When you see the most beautiful rings passing by, it's kind of nice to have something beautiful for yourself as well. But, that's still on my wish list....

What is your dream goal with Bloom?

My dream goal is to further specialise in weddings styling. My heart really lies in creating the most beautiful concepts. I would really like to develop that further with a very good assistant wedding planner next to me, who takes care of the organisation of the weddings. I think I could get a lot more out of it and follow my passion even more.

Would you like to know more about Shirley from Bloom Wedding? Or do you have interest in a beautifully organised wedding by her? Take a look at her website.