Blossoming business: Longford's Ellen Madden and Down the Floral Path

Down the Floral Path is a wedding florist business owned by Ellen Madden. Having trained in Paris for three years, which she described as ‘full on’, Ellen has built her business on making couples happy on their big days. With a passion for creating beautiful results to the finest detail, the business has flourished since setting it up in 2021. 

Starting out as a florist in retail, Ellen described how, although she loved it, she wanted to get into the events side of the florist business. The planning and organisation side of it fascinated her, which went just beyond financial investment but emotional. 

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“It’s not just seeing the person once,” she said, “and also you can do a lot more on a wedding day than just retail. Every wedding and couple are different so that’s what pulled me into it.”

With her first wedding season being in 2022 once the Covid pandemic lifted, she describes the growth of her business to be ‘amazing.’ Ellen described the seriousness of floristry in France, how the option of three years meant that she acquired a level 7. 

“It was from learning, to arrangements and the business side of things; dealing with the customers and learning the Latin names of 300 plants. It’s all very intense. That’s how I got into it. I moved to Paris. There were flower shops in every corner so that inspired me to show up.”

Ellen described how she acquires her flowers, and how the weather affects both where she orders them and how she addresses her business. With temperatures being a massive factor, Ellen explained why she sometimes orders from Holland rather than always staying to homegrown: 

“I order from both Holland wholesalers directly and when in season, get Irish-grown flowers. There are great Irish growers at the moment. When you’re ordering from Holland, it’s a live auction, you turn up, see what’s there and buy it. That’s intense because you have a short window deciding what you want. Once it arrives and leaves Holland on a Monday, it’s there on Tuesday evening in the box. It’s very fast and magical how they turn up.

“Anybody can want their outdoor wedding in summertime but we live in Ireland that can’t be guaranteed. Last December, when there were storms and Holyhead port was closed, we couldn’t get deliveries on time, so that was chaotic. The weather adds an extra element of the day and how it’s going to go. You look at the app the week before to see how to set up. If it’s too hot, the flowers will wilt and die before the weather; if it is too cold, that outside arch needs to be tied down.”

To plan a wedding, Ellen gets to know her couples first via Zoom, and then creates a proposal and Pinterest board. She tends to work with people a year in advance. She mentions how, more often, she interacts with the bride but calls it ‘lovely’ when she gets to work with the groom as well. 

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However, despite decisions being made by the couple, Ellen adds a final comment:

“I always say to couples if you feel like a good fit with any vendor and supplier, trust them as well on the day. They’re the professionals in the sense that they’re as invested in it as you are. They want it to go smoothly and beautifully like you do. If they love what they’re doing, they get as much out of it as you do. I want every wedding to be as good as the last one or better. It’s my passion, not something I want to tick off. If you’re open to ideas, don’t get too bogged down. Let the professionals help along the way, rather than feel you have to make every single decision. Everybody; the photographer and cake decorator, are there to make the day for you.”