Cosmos
Mid-season, you're tired. Your calendar is full, your margins are squeezed, and you're managing more decisions than you'd like — on your own. This day is built for exactly that moment. We're bringing together four educators who will speak directly to the questions you're actually sitting with right now: how to handle increasingly complex clients, how to build a freelance team that doesn't add to your stress, and how to run a more sustainable business without losing what makes your work good.

What you'll walk away with

Language and frameworks for closing the gap between what couples imagine and what's actually buildable.
Practical, judgment-free guidance on adding sustainable practices that actually fit your business model.
How to bring people in, set expectations clearly, and execute together without extra stress.
An honest conversation about the vendor–planner dynamic — what works, what doesn't, and how to ask the hard questions.

Schedule

8:15 Arrival + u-pick flower cutting session

Start with your hands in something good. Gather Mountain Blooms opens the farm for a u-pick session before the day kicks off.

9:00 Margaux Fraise — "Harmony between vision and reality"

Bridging the gap clients don't see. How to design and execute for today's discerning couples without losing yourself in the process.

10:00 The Sustainable Florist Club — Q&A

Emma, Sheilan, and Kim answer your real questions about sustainability. Bring them. There's no judgment here about where you're starting from.

10:40 Liz McKellar — The planner + vendor relationship

An open conversation with a planner who also thinks like a designer. Bring your questions — all of them.

11:15 Group brunch

A real break, not just a coffee station. Time to connect with the people in the room.

12:00 Whitney Schedeler — "Freeing yourself and your team"

How to work with freelancers in a way that actually feels clear and collaborative, from both sides of the relationship.

12:45 Sustainable arch design with Whitney

Hands-on group design session. Everyone participates. Everyone learns something.

2:00 Day ends

The educators

Margaux Fraise

Margaux founded Harmony Creative Studio in 2011 in Los Angeles, CA with the goal of bringing a sense of peace and cohesion to the often-chaotic wedding industry. Twelve years and 180+ weddings later, Margaux’s reputation and portfolio speak for themselves. She easily mixes a type-A, get-things-done personality with a calm demeanor that puts everyone from other vendors to parents and wedding parties at ease.

As a former retail consultant, Margaux brings unparalleled experience to the events industry. She understands how people instinctively move through a space and respond to signs, prompts, and decor. Language, color, and even shapes can affect how you perceive design.

Margaux is also a trusted speaker + educator in the Wedding Industry, coaching and speaking to wedding pros all over the world. She hosts the premier online event for wedding professionals, The Wedding Summit Series. As a result, her clients benefit from her vast vendor community + knowledge base.
*Harmony Creative Studio · Wedding Summit Series · Los Angeles*

The Sustainable Florist Club

The Sustainable Florist Club was founded by Emma Van Vranken (Emma Lea Floral), Sheilan Mueller (Yarrow & Spruce), and Kim Zimmerman (Rowdy Poppy). Each of us is deeply passionate about sustainability and have shaped our businesses with those ideals. This passion brougth us together and has inspired us to help others incorporate sustainable practices into their own businesses.
Our mission: To foster a safe and inclusive community for florists centered around conversation, collaboration, and support, to nurture a culture of sustainability.

Liz, The Nouveau Romantics

An architect-turned-planner with over a decade in destination and local weddings. Liz thinks spatially and operationally at the same time — which means she understands the vendor side of things better than most planners. Her session is an open conversation about the planner-vendor relationship. No softening. Bring the questions you've been sitting on.
*destination + local weddings*

Whitney, The Story Of

Whitney has been a freelancer and a business owner who hires freelancers — which means she can talk about the dynamic from both sides. Her session focuses on the practical mechanics: how to set expectations, how to communicate clearly, and how to build working relationships that are actually enjoyable. She'll close the day with a hands-on sustainable arch build for the full group.
*floral designer + creative director*

Venue

Gather Mountain Blooms

5210 S U.S. Hwy 85/87, Colorado Springs, CO 80911

We're starting at 8am because of July heat — the gazebo is open-air with no AC, so plan your layers. Colorado mornings cool off fast; afternoons don't.

This workshop is open to all wedding and event professionals — florists, planners, photographers, freelancers. If your work intersects with the wedding world, there's something here for you.