Meet Suzanne Grycel and Erin Iler | Full Event Floral Designers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Suzanne Grycel and Erin Iler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Suzanne Grycel and Erin Iler, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
Love what you do; do what you love. -Wayne W. Dyer

We love this quote because it embodies what we feel about our business. We work extremely hard; however, we put our heart and soul into every floral vision.
There are weekends where we work 12-14 hour days. But at the end of the day, we can honestly say we LOVE what we do.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Creativity takes courage. -Henri Matisse The first word to writing a book, the first paint stroke on a canvas, the first stem of a bouquet is the hardest part. And then. . . it begins to flow.

Our floral design is extremely organic. Although flowers are visually beautiful, we first have to create a vibe based on our consultation with an individual. We get to know each individual’s unique personality, their likes and dislikes of flowers and botanicals, their sense of style, and the overall aesthetic they love. We also research the cultures and traditions of each event to inspire the flower creating.
From there, we have fun!!! We go on a journey to find the fresh stems and botanicals that will compliment the overall mood. Yes, flowers have moods! From serious and dramatic, to flirty and fun, to simple and minmalist. We pride our designs on details beyond the stems. From unique vessels to the ribbon you tie the bouquets with, we tour thrift stores and estate sales that will illuminate the look, and we proudly try to source our flowers from as many local farms as possible.

When we visit DTLA flower mart- we do not work with just one source. We have evolved into visiting many vendors and we are known to go on a hunt to find the exact stem or botancial to match the individual.

What sets us apart from other floral designs? – our design is perfectly imperfect. We do not limit ourselves to one style- art is not created in a box, and we do not create our florals to fit into a box, rather to be free and unique.s
On Design Day, we love to have the mood board front and center, and then we start creating. This is the icing on the cake. It is melding all of the pieces together and bringing these ideas to life.
We design in an outdoor art studio, rain or shine, we have awnings that we use to cover our florals. Since gardens are typically outdoors, we love to have that natural meadow setting while we create. It is one of the most enjoyable times of the week to let our creativity flow and make masterpieces.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Our favorite spots in the city focus on our historic downtown. Favorite eateries are:
Mikomi Sushi, The Diplomat (Mediterranean), and Adelita (Mexican).
For some yummy breakfast items and coffee visit Grey and Cash or Cafe Merengue.
For a healthy bite in the afternoon try the Acai Bar or Share Tea.
For an evening drink, hang out at Basin 141.

Since we are known for our historical architecture, take a tour of our historic homes in Monrovia. Get outside and enjoy a walk, hike, or run in the Wilderness Preserve that has spectacular views of San Gabriel Valley! In the summertime, there are concerts in the park and fun times for kids through the Monrovia Public Library.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
After owning Iler Meadows for almost 3 years, there have been many individuals who have mentored and believed in us along the way. There is a saying that says, “You only need one person to believe in you.” Well, we have had the honor and privilege to have that special person in our lives.

Believe it or not, we did not know how to create a social media post before we launched this online business. We had a dear friend who took our passion for creating florals, our love for working with couples, and designing for a diverse community.
Kelry Kirschenmann took our vision and launched Iler Meadows into a full brand, creating our website, guiding us with our vision, and emphasized building relationships first before focusing on business contracts.

Hence, this leads us to Lisa Sigala Clark, owner of Saint Clark Bridal Suite. In the first few months, we started to research business owners in the wedding industry that we admired and also had similar business ideals as us.
Lisa Sigala Clark has been in this industry for many decades. When we initially reached out to her to see if she was interested in a collaboration with Iler Meadows, we were a bit intimidated. She has a reputation that supercedes her, for her business integrity and extremely detail oriented with what it means to have a successful female owned business.
Her bridal suite is enchanting and impeccable with her various bridal gowns.
At the time, we had a very small portfolio to showcase our floral designs. She asked to meet with us in person and just have a conversation about our business.
She loved that we were a Latina owned female business, that we were a mother daughter team, she also was impressed with our unique sense of floral design. She graciously asked us to start displaying our floral arrangements weekly in her store, create a brochure for her to showcase in her boutique, and we started an ongoing collaboration that year- a bride could purchase a bridal gown and wedding florals for an amazing deal.
She also mentored us on how to advertise and market our business in the online world, thank you to Something Borrowed, Something New (SBSN) Facebook group, based in Southern California.

Most importantly, we have had encouragement from family and friends who believed in this small vision that has grown into something more than we could have ever imagined. It has opened up so many new relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures, hearing each person’s story and vision is such an integral part of our business.
We love that we are partaking in one of the most important day’s of a couples life. We are so proud to say in 2022, we designed 50+ weddings in events. In 2023. . . well we are still counting!!!

Website: www.ilermeadows.com

Instagram: @iler_meadows

Other: We are also featured on The Knot, Wedding Wire, and Zola

Image Credits
Instagram: @Shelbyaynphotos @peterandbridgette @howieephotography @devanshaemedia @sherylbaephotos @jenfujphotography @lunabellaphoto