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Mother daughter owned and operated

Pick a Bloom was founded on love and laughter in small-town Surry, Virginia by us, a mother-daughter duo, who wanted to see our vision of preserved wedding flowers bloom to life. We were inspired, and pleasantly surprised, when we took the floral arrangements for our very own weddings into our own hands and discovered... Wow! We’ve actually got a knack for this. Not only was it fun and exciting, just the two of us awakening our creativity together, but, gosh darn, we had an honest to goodness talent with these blooms. So, with some encouragement and prodding from our loving husbands who believed in us, we decided... We can do this! Together, we can do anything! Right then, we realized we had a rare opportunity, a gift from above, that would allow us to start a new journey together, just mother and daughter, and we weren’t about to let it pass us by.

Paula Pick a Bloom

Meet Paula

Meet Paula, one of Pick a Bloom’s founders, owners, and a member of the Bloom Artist Team. Paula currently lives with her wonderful husband of more than 35 years and their dogs in a small Virginia town on the James River. Although she is not a native to Virginia and spent most of her life living in a big city, she has adapted quite nicely to the peace and tranquility of the outdoors. Paula loves adventure and most enjoys spending time going for walks, riding bikes, swimming, fishing, kayaking or doing just about anything one can do on, or in, the water. She celebrated her milestone 50th birthday by hang gliding off of the sand dunes of the Outer Banks. If you haven’t guessed yet, summer is her favorite time of year, although she has been known to dawn a pair of skis in the winter. Paula can always get in the spirit of welcoming new challenges such as home remodeling projects or taking a new photography class. Another favorite way for Paula to spend her time is to have her house full of her boisterous, happy family. She has two daughters, two son-in-laws, and six awesome grandchildren who she just can’t seem to get enough of. Even though cooking and baking aren’t her favorite things in the world to do, Paula is well known, especially by her son-in-laws, for her talent in the kitchen! An amazing cook, an adventurist, an outdoor enthusiast, a lover of Summer, and the family keeper – that’s Paula!

Paula and Pick a Bloom are a perfect match. She just loved the idea of building a new business using innovative products that are so beautiful, yet very underused in the floral business. Becoming a preserved floral Bloom Artist came naturally to Paula as she likes working with things that are unique, yet beautiful. She so enjoys blending the right mix of textures and colors to bring her client’s vision to life. The joy of seeing and/or hearing someone’s happy reaction to her beautiful creations, and their amazement of how stunning preserved flowers are, is always enough to put a smile on her face. Paula is an avid bargain hunter too, so knowing that she can provide the same beauty of fresh flowers, without the short lifespan, to her clients, really satisfies that bargain hunting spirit of hers! Although creating is Paula’s favorite thing to do, she is also in charge of some of the more mundane tasks, such as inventory, bookkeeping and doing the company taxes. She takes pride in this, though, as she figures she is the Mom and the most responsible! While it’s certainly a joy for Paula to spend time in the Bloom Studio, her absolute favorite days are when she gets a surprise visit from her smiling grandchildren! Paula’s wish is that those smiling faces and the happiness she feels in the Bloom Studio can be felt by you through her work!

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

Samantha Pick a Bloom

Meet Samantha

Meet Samantha, one of Pick a Bloom’s founders, owners, and a member of the Bloom Artist Team. She, her husband of 13 years, their three children, currently reside in a lovely little town of Virginia. Samantha was born and raised in Southern California, but relocated to Virginia due to her husband’s career in the military. She loves the small town feel of where she lives and is happy to have finally found her home sweet home. Samantha is a lover of all things summer because as she says, anything that can be done outside, in the warm weather, is sure to be a winning day. So naturally, when not working in the Bloom Studio, Samantha can be found off the beaten path camping with her family, catching some sun and sand on the banks of the James River, or cuddling with her precious hound dog, Gus. Lover of the summertime, warm weather, camping, strawberries and her family, that’s Samantha!

A personal favorite of Samantha’s when it comes to Pick a Bloom, is her woodsy, quiet morning commute to the Bloom Studio. There just isn’t any more beautiful 0r tranquil way for her to start off her day. Samantha wears many hats at Pick a Bloom – photographer, customer service representative, and Bloom Artist, just to name a few. Her favorite aspect of the floral design business is working with Brides to ensure they have a fun, non-stressful, customer experience. Samantha also loves to get creative when it comes to options that help clients stay within their budget, while still bringing their vision for their perfect wedding day to life. Another part of the creative process Samantha rather enjoys is photography. She loves seeing the end result of her work displayed on the website and to top it off, she gets the joy of knowing it only adds to the clients‘ experience when they get to actually visualize their gorgeous blooms. Samantha’s wish is to create an unforgettable, fun, friendly and exciting process for each and every client!

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

All of our Bloom Arrangements are hand crafted with special care and close attention to detail by us, your personal Bloom Artists. We select only the finest of preserved flowers, foliage, and other natural materials to design unique, exquisite arrangements for you, our lovely clients. Most importantly, though, these arrangements are made from hands of love, to sounds of laughter and with feelings of happiness from our hearts to yours. You see, it is our hope that everytime you open a box of our Blooms, you feel our wish for you to also live a life full of love, laughter, and happiness just as we are so fortunate to do every day, here at Pick a Bloom.