Today in our Chancey Charm Atlanta Wedding Vendor Highlight, we’re chatting with Amanda Lankford, a self-taught and organic inspired florist and owner of Amanda Jewel Floral + Design! With an adorable design studio in Atlanta and a team of sweet ladies (and her hubby) by her side, Amanda is making wedding dreams come true for both local and international couples – in Rome, Spain and beyond. She’s sharing how she fell in love with florals, advice for brides + more below. Enjoy!
– The Chancey Charm Team
Melissa Schollaert Photography
Name
Amanda Lankford
Hometown
Athens, Georgia
Whatâs your area of expertise?
Floral and Design
First job you ever landed
A flower shop! I worked as a flower delivery gal and swept the floors. I eventually touched flowers and made single bud vases for Valentine’s Day.
What brought you to the wedding industry?
My love for flowers. I delivered flowers for a flower shop for over a year and saw how much it lifted people’s spirits when they received a beautiful arrangement. So, I thought why not be part of the most important day and create arrangements/bouquets for a wedding.
Rustic White
A lesson you learned the hard way in the wedding industry
Not saying no when I should have. I have a big heart and I want to make it happen for anyone and everyone. I have promised too many times when I should have just said no because my company suffered. I now know that saying no is better for both parties in the end.
Favorite way to spend a Sunday afternoon
With my sweet little family. I have two kiddos named Will (who is 4) and Sidney (who is 4 months old). My husband is my best friend and I love just sitting on the front porch with him (that sounds so Southern).
Best piece of advice to someone new to the wedding industry
Be confident in your product or yourself and believe in it. If you do either one or both, you will be successful. You have to love what you do and if you don’t, then just don’t even start.
Best piece of planning advice to a new bride
Get a planner! PLEASE set aside a budget for a planner because it will be well worth it. They will make your life SO easy.
Sarah Eubanks Photography
Some words you live by
Just do it. That is my motto for my life. It is that simple.
Best tip for balancing work + home life
Oh gosh, this is a constant struggle for me. My studio is less than five minutes from my home, so that helps tremendously, but I still struggle. I would like to say that you can always return to work and finish the job, but you can’t get those memories back from your babies’ first steps. Best tip though would be to time block your schedule and stick to it. If you try and reply to an email when you are playing with your kiddo and it is outside of the “work block” likely you will respond terribly, rush your response and have a typo and/or get frustrated at the little one while you are trying to work during playtime. So, time block your life!
Best moment of your career
Buying a studio. We have over 2,000 square feet that is dedicated space for our company. We do not live there, which is a question that I get a lot. It was one proud moment when we turned the key for the first time and entered the space which was a blank canvas and we made it our own. My husband and I love sitting on the front porch after work hours to sip coffee and watch the world go by. I never in my wildest dreams thought we could have a space of our own.
Sowing Clover Photography
Guilty pleasures
Binge watching any and all movies. Mac and cheese. Walking in the yard barefoot. Whipped peanut butter. Why is everything food?
Your favorite Instagram account
@waitingonmartha – She is fabulous! Her topics cover everything you could ever dream of. I love that her account is just all over the place, which is basically me.
What’s your favorite aestheticÂ
Greenery and nature.
Intimate or Par-tay? What size wedding do you recommend and why?
Intimate. When you go with an intimate wedding, you get to really hone in on all of the details from napkins to ribbon choices. You will also get to actually have a good conversation with each one of your guests instead of feeling bad that you didn’t get to talk to Uncle Bob. I am all about relationships, so go more intimate and be surrounded by the people you love and who love you and create something great for them to enjoy.
What’s the first thing a newly engaged couple should do?
Create a list that includes the first thing that comes to mind that you want for your wedding. No judgements. Just say it and then stick to those items. You will get so many opinions, comments, etc. from everyone and if you just go back to your list and remind yourself that this is your wedding and not anyone else’s it will be a success.
Learn more about Amanda Jewel Floral + Design here + follow along on Facebook and Instagram. Cheers!
Chancey Charm Atlanta Wedding Planner
