Today's post is from Marie Ackerman, AIFD, who runs the Teleflora Education Center in Oklahoma City, and served as the on-set floral consultant for the movie “Love Happens,” a romantic drama starring Aaron Eckhart, and Jennifer Aniston as a Seattle-based Teleflora florist.
In conjunction with Universal Pictures and inspired by the movie, Teleflora created a stunning and sweet arrangement of white spray roses called the “Love Happens” bouquet. These gorgeous flowers are perfect for a longtime love or a brand-new crush.
Here, Marie shares some behind-the-scenes highlights from the experience.
Shooting Eloise’s Garden (the flower shop scenes)
I helped to stage the shop with the fresh product and plants, which were placed as they would be in a flower shop. Even the sidewalk was merchandised like you would in a real shop with fresh hand-tied bouquets and plants.
We also created custom designs for the shop interior to change the look of the shop from day to day. Hundreds of stems were on stand-by to be certain the shop always looked good. Another task was moving the flowers. We worked in a local flower shop and everything was carefully transported to the shoot location.
This flower shop, like many, is filled with treasures to discover. While Eloise (Jennifer Aniston) is a quirky Seattle florist, she typifies the unique entrepreneurial spirit most florists have.
Actress Judy Greer discovers the treasures of a flower shop.
The film really underscores the artistry of being a florist. As Burke (Aaron Eckhart) says to Eloise: “This is so much more than arranging flowers – it’s art.”
Many designers take a lifetime to develop their personal design style. We had to develop Eloise’s signature style in just a few days. We tried to use unusual, indigenous materials, earthy containers and a European/modern style for the designs in the shop and the arrangements she delivers. Her style was all about uniqueness: no two of anything were ever alike.
A fun fact: Even though the coolers were built and fully operational, they were never turned on during filming because of the noise they made. Also, the glass was removed from one of the smaller coolers because it reflected too much light into the camera lens.
