WRITTEN MEMORIE
Introducing ELLE FLORAL DESIGN:
The Flower Princess AND
The Frog...
by Sabah el Fizazi
May 18th, 2024
ON A HOT Saturday in May, ELLEN EL FIZAZI – SOFFNER was hosting a ceremony to launch her new company name on the terrace of Restaurant Duinhoek. The place was familiar to her because she spent significant time decorating the place for many wedding ceremonies. Now is the moment for her to be the centerpiece of a special occasion. It’s something she felt uncomfortable with. ELLEN PREFERS HIDING BEHIND HER ‘FLORAL DESIGNS’. I know Ellen for quite some time. She is married to my kid brother. I wanted to write about her before about flower etiquette, this event just sped up the process and changed the topic as well. Now I could assist her and get inspiration for THIS STORY. On the BIG day, Ellen picked me up early in the morning. “I WANT TO ORGANIZE EVERYTHING BEFORE THE GUESTS ARRIVE,” she said to me the evening before. And because I knew her, I was ready for take-off half an hour before our estimated time… She indeed arrived EARLIER than planned.
LIKE THELMA & LOUISE, we hit the road. The one-hour drive would be the perfect way to get to know Ellen as the ‘FLOWER ENTREPRENEUR’ she became. While enjoying the car-ride Ellen told me that she had a couple of cancellations from people SHE TRULY LOVED. She also felt stressed about THE SPEECH she wanted to give; speaking in front of an audience just isn’t her thing. Like every special occasion it wouldn’t be complete without a little bit of TEARS. To comfort her, I touched her soft hand, and said gently: “THIS IS GOOD, YOU GET TO UNDERSTAND YOUR FUTURE CLIENTS EVEN MORE NOW.” She nods her head…
“WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?” I asked to change the topic. It worked, Ellen got her HAPPY GLOW back and the tears dried up. Without any hesitation, she replied: “THE PEONY ROSE!” I was surprised by her response, because she used the anemone flower as symbol for her new logo, I assumed that would be her favorite. “I WAS LIKE, WHY THE PEONY ROSE?” Ellen explains: “The peony rose starts small and gets bigger and bigger. The bigger the rose gets the more beautiful it becomes.”
I TOOK A BRIEF MOMENT to contemplate her words. From her words I understood that she sees herself as a PEONY ROSE. She started small. She got bigger and bigger. She became more COURAGEOUS and more beautiful…
When we arrived at Restaurant Duinhoek the employees greeted Ellen with a big smile and A LOT OF JOKES. She feels at home, I thought. We set up the garden. I gave some advice about the table setting. She looked, and thought… and finally she agreed with me. Without realizing it she taught me THE FIRST LESSON of becoming a successful entrepreneur; get the right people around you and stay open for advice and don’t be afraid to change your original plan.
We worked well together. We had plenty of time before the photographer would arrive. The same photographer who did HER WEDDING SHOOT SIX YEARS ago. While overlooking the terrace and the sign with her new logo we shared – like only sisters can do – a RED BEET BURRATA SALAD. Meanwhile the frogs were giving a loud SERANADE.
FINALLY it was time for my favorite part; THE OUTFIT OF THE DAY! Ellen got rid of her jeans and changed into a classic black sparkled DRESS and decided to pair it with black SANDALS. She dressed up her look with a gorgeous pair of earrings from Vedder & Vedder. They were gifted to her and personalized with the letters ‘Y’ and ‘I’, as a tribute to Ellen’s sons: Younes & Ismaël. This petite personal detail shows the reason why Ellen WORKS HARD…
“DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE YOUR ORIGINAL PLAN.”
THE FIRST guest arrives, ‘her’ photographer to shoot some behind-the-scene pictures. Like a true Flowers Princess she POSED and in between she ADJUSTS her floral decorations. It needs to be perfect! The wind and the sun influenced the fragile flowers, especially the ANEMONE FLOWER…Ellen cursed the flower and said a bit agitated: “THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WORK WITH THIS ANEMONE…”
We looked at the sign with her gigantic logo with this beautiful anemone and we LAUGHED so loud that we scared the frogs…YES, she loved THE BEAUTY of the anemone flower but it was a PAIN IN THE ASS-FLOWER to work with!
The guests arrived dressed up in THE THEME of the party being BLACK AND WHITE. Some guests wore flower patterns. And then it was time for THE SPEECH. And there HE was THE FROG, whom the Flower Princess married six years ago.. HER savior…Her husband gave a beautiful opening speech to warm up the crowd for his nervous wife, who was CRYING AND LAUGHING while listening to her husband and holding her one-year-old. OR WAS THE LITTLE ONE HOLDING HER?
Finally, it was HER turn to take the stage…SHE spoke from her GOLDEN HEART…
She was THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF THE ANEMONE FLOWER AND THE PEONY ROSE; SOFT AND STRONG. Her COACH who guided her for the last couple of months looked extremely proud. We all did. When she finished her speech she hugged her FROG and her LITTLE ones, and it was time to release the NEW NAME… Welcome to the world: ELLE FLORAL DESIGN!
