In honor of spring (finally) blooming all around us, we wanted to highlight a floral business as the latest installment of our wedding vendor spotlight series. Keep reading to learn more about Ampersand—a queer-owned floral shop and design studio founded by Emerson Boyle and based in San Francisco.
How did you get into flowers and floral design?
First of all, I wanted to say thank you to Holden for thinking of me for this feature—so excited to be here! I was raised in a very creative household, full of musicians and artists in the rural mountains of Southern California. My mom, still to this day, hikes in the woods and leaves little sculptural art pieces along the way. My dad is also a small business owner of a music store, which has now been in business for over 35 years. I think the combination of artistic expression, the love of nature, and entrepreneurial grit have no doubt led me to where I am now.
Prior to flowers, I was heavily interested and invested in the arts through various mediums such as dance, choir, and poetry. Nothing felt right creatively or economically for me until I stumbled upon flowers as a career. I then opened my first retail store in 2014 at the age of 23 with no knowledge of what I was doing at all. I originally focused strictly on being a retail florist, however, customers started requesting me to do their weddings and events. Being self-taught, it was only through time and years of dedication that I became the event florist that I am today. I cannot believe it’s been 11 years already!
What would you say differentiates your work from other floral design studios?
This is always a tricky one for me to pinpoint exactly because I do believe it’s a multitude of reasons that does make my work different from other floral studios. To start, I’m definitely not the hand-holding florist overall. My clients understand that trust is the most important aspect of what I do, and I’m so lucky they trust me so much! As a result, there's alway an element of surprise in my design and process. While I love to dig into what my couples are inspired by and create custom concepts for all of them, what you won’t find from me is exact photo references, mock-ups, or even guarantees of exact flowers that will be used. Part of the magic sauce of floristry is that we are influenced by the mercurial, ever-changing Mother Nature, and I think it’s important to have flexibility and allow the season to reflect the specific event. While this means less control for my clients, it does mean far more creative expression.
Secondly, I really love to avoid designing the same concept twice. Each event should be unique and special, and I like to challenge myself with each event design concept to honor that.
Thirdly, I just don’t see myself as being too fussy with flowers. While I do see myself as exacting, specific, and even obsessive, flowers are their own little variable that not only keep me on my toes, but allow me to relinquish the relationship to floral design that they need to be perfect. They are, after all, already dead. Oh! And owning a retail flower shop, too! This has taught me so much about being a leader, prioritizing, and understanding the needs of my clients, not to mention created long-term relationships with my couples because of the retail store. It is nice to be a full-time florist in every sense of the word and through every season, not just wedding season.
We recognize that being part of the LGBTQ+ community comes with many beautiful experiences as well as many challenges, especially in the wedding industry. How would you say your queer identity has impacted how you run your business?
I would be remiss not to acknowledge my massive privilege as a gay white man in a city as welcoming as San Francisco. While some challenges have, of course, occurred throughout the years, overall I have been very accepted, and the challenges of running a business in general have superseded ones that are based off of my identity.
Mostly, I would say that being queer has allowed me to stand out and be proud of my differences right away. I am not one to hide, nor could I, so the only option has always been to run my business as openly queer and spread as much of that queer joy as possible.
I believe intrinsically hiring diverse wedding vendors will inevitably create a more cohesive, thoughtful, and impactful event overall.
Being an openly queer business creates a giant source of pride for me, and it’s an honor to represent my community in a rather cis and straight-dominated industry. I really appreciate all of my clients who hire me and love my identity and sense of expression as much as I do.
Any recent floral trends you’re seeing with wedding clients? What are you expecting to see a lot of this 2025 wedding season?
Honestly, I wouldn’t say I’m ever too focused on trends in general. I like to encourage my clients to explore ways in which floral designs represent them as a couple. Sometimes the peak trend totally resonates with a particular couple, but overall I’d say my clients would rather be unique to their own love story. I will say that this year more than most, I have not been requested to design white and green weddings—people are into color and creative expression rather than the more traditional or classic look and feel.
A trend I would like to promote is appreciating the adventurous spirit of non-traditional materials, such as fruits, vegetables, earth, and more. Let’s get weird :)
Do you have any advice for couples who are planning a wedding and looking for affordable floral options?
Yes, I have a few actually!
1. Find a venue you love that doesn’t need more dressing up. Not just garden-filled spaces, but even stoic spaces remain totally stunning without bringing in too much extra decor. Then you can be very specific on where you want floral designs to be incorporated into your day.
2. Foliage-forward concepts tend to be more cost effective—and you can still have a ton of fun with foliage-forward visions.
3. Skip the wedding party florals and aisle decor florals—reallocate the funds towards moments that all guests will enjoy and partake in!
4. Elope! Make it a cozy experience for just the two of you, or close family and friends. That way you can for sure include florals in all the aspects of the day if you want, without necessarily breaking the bank.
What are some challenges or obstacles that people might not expect when it comes to choosing the florals for their wedding?
Weather. Specifically, the wind. An outdoor wedding in the Bay Area? Nothing like it. But the vicious wind that kicks up every day at 4pm—nothing like it. I highly suggest couples be very cautious of concepts and choices when dealing with the elements of wind and heat. This may lead to reassessing concepts from bud vases to table arrangements or avoid materials that are especially sensitive to higher temperatures. I think couples would be wise to make sure to, at minimum, have contingencies in place for weather such as wind and heat, not just rain.
Do you have a favorite event or project you’ve worked on? We’d love to see photos!
One of my favorites was a pitch that I offered to some very trusting and unique clients, Sarah and Zac, for their wedding in 2024 with the lovely Wild Heart Events. Specifically, the rehearsal dinner is probably one of my favorite concepts to date. For floral designs, I suggested we go fully monochromatic in shades of yellows and golds, and in addition, lean into river rocks as a nod to the location’s natural beauty. I particularly enjoyed how the vibrant colors juxtaposed with the earth elements; much akin to the delightful pride we see in the most stubborn weed sprouting amongst harsher environs. Jaime from Wild Heart scoped out the most perfect non-traditional location at the venue, which featured a permanent yellow sculpture that is beautifully abstract and suspended among the oak trees.
The event was captured magnificently by my one of my favorite photographer crushes, Jenn Emerling, who really just seems to get me in capturing my work. Sarah, the bride, even wore a yellow gown for the rehearsal—it was magical to see how brilliantly the dinner unfolded as such a fun, unique gathering, and a lot of creative heart from so many talented vendors went into making the weekend really special.
What takes a floral design from ordinary to exceptional?
Risk. I think that if a floral design includes an element of risk, from material to shape to color, then it transforms itself into a self-actualized opinion. Floral design is an art form—I’m a firm believer that not everyone should love all art, as it is subjective and unique to both the artist and the viewer. There is always a little bit of risk in what we create that begs the question, “Will they like it?” And that’s risky, baby.
Favorite flower(s) and why?
So tough! I tend to just love most things! But a few call outs:
Ranunculus—They have such great expressions and a lovely, diverse color palette to choose from. Just delightful. Ranunculus also happens to be my fiancé’s favorite flower, so I think I have a special fondness for them even more so now.
Wild Lilac—This flower reminds me of growing up in a rural mountain town. As a child, I would pluck stems from the vacant vacation rental next door and put them in jars around the house for my family with my mom.
Marigold—Marigolds are so distinct in their color and scent, and I do love a flower that can be multi-purpose (dried, strung, used for dyes...I mean, come on!). They also remind me of gardening with my dad in the summers, when he gave me my own cute square footage to explore gardening. He also told me that they are a natural ant repellent, which really delighted me.
What other services does Ampersand offer in addition to wedding and event design?
Ampersand is also a retail flower shop servicing all of San Francisco—located in the Castro District and supported by a lovely crew of dedicated florists. Along with custom floral designs, we offer walk-ins, and you can also make your own arrangements. In addition to flowers, we offer various potted plants and the most delightful selection of carefully curated gifts and goods from other small businesses that are women-owned, POC-owned, and/or queer-owned. Trust me, you’ve never been in a flower shop quite like this. Oh, and we rent out the space at night for private events—party in a flower shop, anyone?
Do you offer your services or delivery outside of San Francisco?
Totally! While I am lucky enough to design all around the Bay Area and Northern California for events throughout the year, I’ve had the luxury of traveling farther for events such as Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, and even Cabo, Mexico!
Best way for people to contact you about a wedding or private event?
My website is perfect! And follow along on Instagram @ampersand_sf 🌈 Don’t be a stranger!
Questions? Give us a shout at help@hiholden.com or a ring (pun intended) at 646.722.6817.
Photographer Credits: Come Plum, Nirav Patel, Jenn Emerling, Kelly Brown Photographer, Amanda Crean
