Pat Gibbons, owner of Pat Gibbons Floras in El Cerrito, California, tells Your Wedding Day that the decision to work in floral design was an extremely easy decision to make. After moving to Berkeley in 1981 from Cambridge, Massachusetts where she’d been a Museum of Science events coordinator, she was hired on the spot in a flower shop, and knew she’d found her new career.

Pat recalls that it was the beauty of flowers that seemed to beckon to her, and already having a background in art, the transition to floral design was a natural. She viewed this new career as a way to use her love of color and texture to create visually beautiful floral designs. 

We learned about Pat’s other inspirations too: her creations evolve from a blend of nature, the arts, and her clients’ wishes. One of Pat’s attributes is her keen ability to really listen to her clients and help them to pinpoint exactly what those wishes are. She also adds a little intuition to the mix, a talent she’s developed over her 27 years as a designer. 

It is this “perfect” combination that has gained Pat invitations for the past 16 years to the prestigious “Bouquets to Art” at San Francisco’s De Young Museum where florists use arrangements to ‘interpret’ paintings and sculptures from the museum’s art collection. Also, in addition to Your Wedding Day, her work and photo shoots have appeared in the local press, national magazines, and wedding magazines including the cover shoot. She is on many preferred vendor listings, due to her high level of creativity. 

One reason Pat’s designs are so truly creative is because she places no limits on her resources, materials, or what she can do. One day, she may be using fruits, vegetable, and berries to develop a richly-textured organic design; the next day it might be more of an architectural piece using woven branches. Her flexibility is evident when you browse through her extensive portfolio and witness the variety in her designs. Pat explains, “Each time you bring a different combination of flowers and textures together brings about a different look, so it’s an endless palette and great fun to discover what’s next and new.” 

With so many elements of the floral design business to discover and love, Pat says it’s the creative process, itself, that she loves most, including the initial development of a concept, then bringing that concept to life. She also loves the people and says she works closely with her clients, being completely open to their ideas and concepts. She says, “The planning can be a fun and innovative time where clients and vendors collaborate to design a wedding that reflects the style and individuality of the couple.”

And, of course, she loves the flowers and says that to capture the essence of a wedding with flowers, she ties in every element including the wedding gown, the venue, and the client’s personal style. To provide full attention to those clients wishes, each arrangement, and each bride and groom on their wedding day, Pat limits her events to one per day.

After interviewing Pat, we believe it’s precisely this caring concern for each wedding and event, combined with her artistry, her love of nature, her love of flowers, and her close attention to detail that have earned her the reputation she enjoys for style, design, and beauty. We’ve found that her unique ability to combine professionalism with an easy, friendly manner is also responsible for her continued success in her creative endeavors.

And it appears that the concepts for her creative endeavors are never ending. Now, with more weddings planned in line with an environmental consciousness, Pat is working more and more with local and organically grown flowers. She thoroughly researches local vendors and creates innovative methods for being ‘green’ with flowers. “Local herbs, fruits, vegetables, branches, and berries can all be incorporated into the arrangements,” she said. 

Pat’s home territory is comprised of San Francisco and the Bay areas including Napa and Sonoma, where her work includes not just weddings, but also corporate events. However, being destination wedding planners too, she and her team are always willing and delighted to travel where every your wedding may be.

By Susan Hart Hellman