Wedding season is upon us! Brides across the country are tasting cupcakes, dieting, creating seating charts and planning their honeymoons. Flowers are usually the final detail of every wedding. Flowers help set the mood and are a visual illustration of the couple’s style. But, it can be hard to find a good florist. Some florist has cheap options with dying flowers, while others are way too expensive for any bride’s’ budget. Well Paula Vergara, the founder of Bells and Bloom, wants to make sure her floral design highlights your wedding story.

Now I could simply tell you that her flowers are amazing, but instead, I am going to give you the background of the woman behind your bouquet.

Sitting at Paula’s table in her sophisticated home overlooking Lake Merritt, we talked about her childhood in Colombia. As a child, Paula never thought she would be a florist. Up until 2012, she worked as a financial analyst for an energy company,  but then life interjected. She wasn’t passionate about the financial sector anymore. She left her job and worked on figuring out what would make her happy.

She started to help her brother at his floral shop, Flora Inc. Her job was to build relationships with distributors; however, she soon found people asking her to arrange their flowers. People were coming to the flower market looking for a florist. Paula started to realize that this was a niche market. Her passion was to be a part of her customer’s special day.

After building relationships with vendors and brides, she slowly started to branch out from her brother’s shop and eventually started her own arrangement company, Bells and Bloom. With her brother’s expertise and help, Paula started to design floral arrangements with her brother’s flowers.

During this time, she met her now husband and business partner Christopher Schambach.

“At first we were just friends,” Paula said. “He was helping me with my resume, but we started to like each other.”

Today, her company works with select farms in Colombia and Ecuador. Bells and Bloom are committed to working with farms that are socially and environmentally responsible.

Paula’s life continues to be in bloom. She has made Oakland her home with her son, Max, and her husband, Christopher. Her life is always in bloom. May her flowers grace your event.

You Can Reach Bells And Blooms Here.