This is an event week for me. Not a sweet little bridal luncheon or birthday party. This is a full-scale large event. I am washing and bleaching buckets to keep bacteria from growing on the stems. I am prepping vases. I’ve pulled out gloves and clippers and drop cloths. Stems will be cleaned, roses will be dethorned, leaves will be stripped. I will be honest. I do not love this part of what I do. It’s messy. It’s chaotic. It’s exhausting.

For this event, I am working with volunteers and running a two-day workshop. I will be walking them through the prep work and showing them what it takes to put everything together. I get to share the messy bits with others and create teachable moments. Maybe all they take away from it is how to remove thorns or what packaging petals are. But maybe they take away something a little bit more.

Maybe they learn that just because something is messy doesn’t mean there’s something wrong. Maybe they learn that the process is just as important as the final product.

There really is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make these events beautiful and memorable and special. It’s definitely hard work and it most certainly is not always pretty. But when it all comes together, and you see the delight and joy on people’s faces when they take in the beauty of the event, the chaos is worth it.