As the Managing Director of the Brighton Savoy it’s not often I come across a new supplier or product at a Bridal Expo that gets my attention. I became inspired by the innovation, beauty and quality of the unique bouquets on display, and I could imagine a bride walking down the aisle at many of the wedding venues in Melbourne holding one of Nicole’s stunning bouquets.
So I would like to tell you about Nicole Ainger from Nic’s Buttonbud’s
Nic’s Button Buds was launched in 2010 while she was planning her wedding to her fiancé Chris. They had been together for many years (and engaged for 5 of them) but were in no rush to official get married (After all like many couples these days they were already married by mortgage) The fires in 2009 that nearly destroyed her home town of Marysville put many things into perspective for her – including wondering what it was they were “waiting” for when it came to getting married. They set a date for 2011 and the planning process began.
Her family have always been creative. Her grand mother knits and creates all sorts of crafty knick knacks. Her mother is a knitter, crocheter, patchworker and even runs her own business as a long arm machine quilter. It was always inevitable that Nicole and her wedding would have lots of DIY crafts as that linked back to her history. Her partner Chris is quite laid back so most of the wedding planning was up to Nicole– which was fine as she loves organising and planning events!
Given the location of her wedding (Marysville) there wasn’t much in the way of local florists. It was important to her that the day was laid back and fun and she certainly didn’t want people running around hours away from the town to pick up flowers for her. She also knew that she didn’t want artificial flowers and thought it might be a great way to incorporate some of her DIY. Button Bouquets were quite a new thing back then and she decided to have a go. It took around 50 hours, she had no idea what she was doing and is a perfectionist. She had no idea what possessed her to go back and make more, but she did. Her technique improved dramatically and the time to make them reduced. Suddenly here she was with this new “business” that really just happened.
Her techniques are 100% self-taught, and combined with the way she tells a story in the bouquets, and the commitment to quality customer service, are some of the key reasons why her work stands out against other alternative bouquet creators.
Originally she decided the business would just be something she did on the sideline – as she used to run the Australian Customer Service team for an international company working in the mining, gas, rail, trucks and coal industries. She LOVED what she did and had no intention of giving it up. However as a result of management restructure, she realised an opportunity to move her attention fully to this new business
Since then her range expanded to include a diverse range of alternative bouquets (button bouquets, brooch bouquets and mixed faux flower & button bouquets, fabric bouquets and more), as well as various wedding accessories.
Her range and items in bouquets continues to expand and is always up for a challenge of creating something “different” She has a fabulous assistant who helps with order preparation, her husband has been known to cut wire, handles and do runs to the post office and her best friend travels around to wedding expos.
Nicole has been lucky enough to win several awards as well as have her work featured in several large Wedding Magazines, websites and blogs.
The success of Nic’s Button Buds has been mainly driven by her attention to detail and long professional history in customer service. She is truly passionate about what she does and the service she provides.
Nicole believes that “Alternative bouquets give you an opportunity to tell a story about your life in the form of a bouquet. You can include trinkets that share a snippet about your life, friends, passions and hobbies. It’s a perfect keepsake to display in your home and one day hand down to your children.”
You can get in touch with Nicole on 0403 213 814 or her website at www.nicsbuttonbuds.com.au
As Managing Director of the Brighton Savoy, an award winning wedding venue for wedding receptions in Melbourne, its a delight to feature high quality products by such a passionate woman.
Regards
Michael Lee