Planning a wedding can be stressful — and expensive. That’s why Patten Hill Flower Farm in Shelburne Falls is now offering an “à la carte” wedding menu.
“We wanted to bridge the gap between DIY flowers and full-service design,” said owner Barbara Parry. “Couples shouldn’t have to choose between a high-style aesthetic and
their budget. Our menu offers signature color stories and professional artistry in a way that is accessible, sustainable and connected to our local farm.”
Parry explained that she’s been selling and styling wedding flowers for a few years now, after spending 25 years raising sheep with her husband on their 170-acre property in Shelburne’s agricultural Patten District. Based on conversations with past clients, she’s learned that more and more couples are looking to be environmentally conscious and thrifty while planning their weddings. Couples don’t want to ship in flowers from South America or other warm-climate flower-growing regions; they want local flowers.
She noted that because floral costs often consume a significant portion of a wedding budget, some couples turn to do-it-yourself options — sourcing affordable stems from grocery stores or florists to arrange and set up themselves.
“What I find in talking to the brides that I worked with last year is that they’re really eco-conscious and they want to minimize the carbon footprint of their wedding, and most traditional flowers are shipped in from South America,” Parry said.
After months of research and planning, she came up with an à la carte menu, allowing couples to choose what they want for their wedding, whether it be a few bud vases for a centerpiece or a big floral arch for a ceremony.
“I really spent since October on a deep dive of creating this program with an interchangeable menu,” Parry said. “There’s no minimum; couples can choose the types of arrangements they need for their wedding.”
Patten Hill Flower Farm will still offer premium full-service packages — including delivery and setup — while the à la carte menu provides access an affordable way to access professionally designed, in-season blooms.
“Everything is cohesive because they’re coming out of the same fields. It’s not going to look like you got this from one place and this came from another. The entire floral package or whatever you order is going to feel like it’s all tied together,” Parry said. “It feels like it was designed to go together because it was. Everything was picked specifically to go into those arrangements.”
Parry and her husband purchased the Shelburne farm 25 years ago and spent many years raising sheep on the property. She said that raising sheep is hard on the body, and as they aged, they wanted to find ways to transition the property so it would still be productive land, but not as harsh on them physically. They landed on flowers, and now have approximately five acres of fields dedicated to growing flowers, a greenhouse, a heated indoor tulip-growing room and a shed that has been converted into Parry’s floral workshop.
She added that they are working to convert another barn on the property into a flower-loading zone where customers can drive in, pull their flowers from a walk-in cooler, and drive right out. She said this will give her more space in the workshop, which during wedding season, is typically full “wall to wall” with flowers.
While the flower farm has only been in business for a few years, Parry said she has a background in design and has been arranging flowers for personal use for decades.
“I got into taking classes with local designers, and sort of apprenticing with other designers and taking whatever freelance work I could get to gain experience,” Parry said. “It’s continuing education with growing flowers and keeping up with greenhouse growing … so there’s the learning on that side and the learning with the design. I have a background in art and textile design and painting.”
She said that going from textiles and painting barn quilts to working with flowers felt natural, and she loves composing arrangements that complement the season.
“The flower field is my paint box, and I can go out there and start composing arrangements based on what’s blooming right now,” Parry said. “It’s always looking at what’s here and making use of what I can get my hands on … It’s all about focusing on what feels authentic to the season.”
She added that some of her favorite flowers to work with are dahlias, peonies and celosia.
Because Parry grows her own inventory, her designs are naturally dictated by the season. If she needs more of a specific flower, she can check with her network of other local growers, but she doesn’t ship in flowers from across the country or globally.
Parry said flowers are cut 48 hours before events, brought to her workshop to be treated, cleaned, and arranged, then put in the cooler to be picked up the morning of the event.
Beyond wedding florals, the farm offers wholesale flowers, event arrangements and hosts pick-your-own days. Last year, for example, they hosted a “Dahlias, Donkeys and Desserts Day,” where visitors enjoyed treats overlooking the dahlia field and the farm’s donkey enclosure.
She said the event was popular and she would like to host it again this year, after she sees how busy her calendar will be. The first wedding on the books for Patten Hill Flower Farm is set for May 30, and as more couples book their flowers, she’ll know when she may be available to host events at the farm.
Parry said that for more information about À la carte flowers or other options, couples can visit pattenhillflowerfarm.com or contact her at pattenhillflowers@gmail.com. She added that if couples are looking for something that isn’t listed in the menu, they should ask because she may be able to add it to the available options.
“I’m sure it will evolve, everything does. If you don’t see something, just ask,” Parry said. “It’s exciting, it’s developing another branch of the flower farm business and serving the need for something in between DIY and full-service flowers.”