To Rebecca Ross, giving back means much more than just providing beautiful flower arrangements for brides on their wedding day. As the head floral designer and co-owner of Petalum, the Maple Grove resident and mother of two takes her florist business a step further with a new donation program that launched in May. For every wedding booked, Petalum will donate up to 15 percent of the profits to a charity of the bride and groom’s choice.
“It’s a way to celebrate your wedding day and a way for us to give back to the community,” Ross says of Petalum Gives Back. “It also creates more of a personal connection with the bride because we get to know what she really cares about and wants to support.”
Petalum Gives Back is a natural extension of the charity work done by Ross and her business partner, Sarah Bauer, since they started their wedding and events flower services in 2005 out of Bauer’s St. Louis Park home. They have donated their time and services to various events and benefits over the years to support a list of local charities, including the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery and Feed My Starving Children.
“[These charities] are close to our hearts because we both have kids,” Ross says. “It is nice to show my girls that you can have pride in your job, and giving back is something I want to pass on to my daughters.”
Ross met Bauer at Garden Gate in Edina, where she worked as the head designer. Eventually, they both left the flower shop to raise families, and after a few years as stay-at-home moms, they reunited to provide flowers for a few friends’ weddings as means to keep doing what they love. They have slowly expanded, and now that their youngest children will be attending kindergarten in the fall, Ross says they are ready to start working more. “From designing and ordering to delivery and set up, we do it all,” she says, describing their decision not to hire any additional employees as an “ideal work environment” for the two “perfectionists.” Without a storefront, they can keep their customer experience more intimate and balance their family life and career by only booking one to two weddings per weekend.
While spring and summer is known as “wedding season”, Ross says autumn is the busiest time of the year for Petalum because of the inspiring fall colors and foliage. Maple Grove resident Kerry Bohnsack hired Ross and Bauer to design and provide the flowers for her October wedding in 2007, a combination of orange calla lilies with burgundy berries and fall leaves Bohnsack says she still gets compliments on in her wedding photos.
Bohnsack says working with Ross and Bauer feels like working with friends: “They have that expertise and knowledge that comes through, but at the same time it’s warm and inviting.”
Petalum has expanded organically through word-of-mouth, and while they are still primarily operating out of Bauer’s home, Ross says they are planning to turn her basement in her Maple Grove home into a studio in the coming year for more design work space. They have worked with a few other brides in the area before, but she hopes adding a professional presence in the community will expand their Maple Grove clientele. “We want to avoid the ‘cookie cutter’ wedding flowers, so we want to get to know the couple as much as possible,” Ross reflects. “We want to remind people to make your big day about celebrating you, and not what everyone else says your wedding should be, so we do what we can to incorporate that personal touch.”
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Tell Petalum you heard about the store through Maple Grove Magazine to get a free package (a toss bouquet, corsage and boutonniere) valued at $60 with your booked wedding.
To get in touch with Ross and Bauer or to set up a consultation, call 612.385.1399 or go to petalum.com. To make sure you can book them for your next even, contact them nine to 12 months in advance.
Something Old, Something New
Petalum recently teamed up with local artist Christy Branham of Urban Sweetpea Designs in Maple Grove to offer personalized charms to add “something new” within a bouquet or boutonniere. These tucked-in charms are trending at Petalum as a popular personalized piece of weddings that can be used later in a bracelet or necklace to symbolize the couple’s big day.
Ross and Bauer also encourage incorporating a keepsake as the “something old” within the bridal bouquet. They have used personal items like great-grandfather’s prayer bible and a grandmother’s handkerchief in a bride’s bouquet before, and they often use treasured items and containers in the table centerpieces.
Starting Costs
Bridal Bouquet: $125 and up
Bridesmaids: $50 and up
Boutonnieres: $10-$12
Corsages: $15-$30
Centerpieces: $40 and up
