Katherine Taylor is an Alabama-based floral designer and the owner of Jubilee Flowers Fairhope. She is an award-winning floral designer and a three-time award winner in the Alexandra Farms Garden Rose Design Contest (2023, 2021 and 2018).
Give us a little background on your past experience. What are some of your proudest moments as an entrepreneur?
I went to school to be a fine artist, and painting was my forte. For years I was a painter, selling my paintings and exhibiting in art shows. My mother had started her own business as a wedding and event florist, and occasionally I would assist her when she had large events and needed extra hands to join her team. I would even fly down from Asheville, North Carolina, where my husband and I lived for 10 years. When we moved to the same town, Fairhope, Alabama, for my husband’s job, I started working full-time with my mother, and that is how I gained all my experience and knowledge. My mother eventually retired, and I took over the business.
My proudest moments as owner of Jubilee Flowers are when my clients tell me that I exceeded their expectations, which I hear quite often! I am also very proud that people tell me my designs and style are easily recognizable, unique, and different. I am probably most proud that, as a wedding florist, each wedding represents that of the bride and her style. I never want my weddings to be a copycat of one that I have done before.
How do you draw inspiration from one opportunity to the next while maintaining your signature aesthetic and garden style from season to season?
I will pull inspiration from one opportunity to the next by asking my clients to provide me with every single detail of their wedding: Save the dates, the invitations, the style of the chairs at the guest tables, and the linen colors. The venue, of course, is also very important as to what style we’ll be working toward. Whether it be a ballroom, a barn, or a family by the bay, I want it all to flow and to be cohesive. My signature aesthetic is that no detail is missed within the floral designs. Lots of mixed textures combined with large, open roses and loose, airy greenery. I aim to have depth, which is achieved mostly with colors and different-sized blooms.
What's your process for creating a typical design?
Truly, every opportunity provides a different challenge for my process of creating unique designs. There is always a budget to work with, as well as what is available depending on the season. The location of the wedding/event will also give me a chance to construct something that I have yet to design. These are the opportunities I welcome the most!
Photo credits from left to right: Photo by Elizabeth Gelineau, Emily Songer Photography
Why do you choose Alexandra Farms varieties for your designs?
I select for my designs Alexandra Farms varieties for their quality, high selection of colors, and customer service. Some of the specific varieties I prefer are Yves Piaget for its rich jewel tone of magenta and incredible scent! I also find myself adding Romantic Antike quite a bit for the high petal counts and apricot color. I just always use Alexandra Farms varieties in my designs! I have yet to do a wedding that did not have any roses. I adore them, and they have become integral to my design style.
What's your dream project you'd like to tackle?
My dream project has already happened! Some of my oldest, dearest friends asked me to flower their daughter’s wedding with a request that it not look like other weddings and that it be different and unique with artistic designs using bright, jewel-toned colors and lots and lots of flowers! The ceremony was garden-inspired due to the style and location of the church. The reception was at the Birmingham Museum of Art, so my team and I had an exciting time executing all of the floral designs and installations in keeping with the art at the museum.
I am also very excited about another event I have next month for some family members. We will be recreating a Colorado wildflower meadow for a seated dinner. For the first time ever, I am going to be using very few roses, but I already have chosen Juliet (Ausjameson) for the large installation.
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