12 minute read
MOMENTO OCCASIONS
MEMENTO // OCCASIONS
BY ANNA BAILIE
NIGEL AND GARY WHO OWN Memento, Belfast’s home of botanical artistry take time out to talk to GNI about life, love, and most importantly flowers.
They say that opposites attract and this is certainly true for Nigel and Gary. They are the perfect compliment to each other and it’s easy for all to see how these self-confessed polar opposites work so well, both professionally and personally. We caught up with Nigel and Gary on a cold Monday morning amid lockdown, as they were finalising their revamped Ormeau Road store and simultaneously renovating their studio space in Owen O’Cork Mill in East Belfast. For those who have ever snapped a selfie outside the now-infamous store on the Ormeau Road, indoors is even better! It’s every bit the quirky, modern flower shop complete with plant wall and ceiling arrangements. A wonderful shock to the senses, it’s the Destination Store that you read about but don’t expect to see in Belfast. This stunning store would not look out of place in central London bustling with Celebrity clients, the who’s who of society, designers, hoteliers and corporates looking for the latest musthave display for their launch …hold on those are some of the clients Memento have already, not that you’d guess it from Nigel and Gary’s unassuming demeanour.
If that’s not enough of a repertoire, the 3000sqft of studio and office space in Owen O’Cork Mill is filled to bursting with interesting blooms from all over the world, dried flowers, state of the art storage facilities and large workspaces for the 15 strong team. On arrival, you are greeted with the most stunning, large scale floral picture frame, filled with every shade of flower imaginable. “Oh, that’s our Selfie Frame” Gary explained nonchalantly, as he set about making a cuppa and fetching Nigel so we could chat. The pair seem very much in tune as they go about their daily tasks, each with their own part to play in operations. Gary, who comes from a corporate background and has a wealth of experience in high-profile blue-chip companies, is responsible for the corporate side of the business and all things web related. He is such a talented marketeer that their website provider now asks him for advice. Nigel is very much the Creative. Floristry is in his DNA having helped his mum Glynis since his teens before studying at CAFRE, after which he went on to win numerous awards including Gold for the UK and Ireland at World Skills and was a finalist at the Chelsea Flower Show. He now uses his talents to train the team and create stunning floral artistry for all. “Coming from a corporate background he has the business acumen that helps drive our business forward, whilst I provide the creative input which makes us the perfect match!” explains Nigel.
The couple met in June 2015 through a popular dating app,” It was a very 21st Century romance” Gary laughs, “But it worked for us, we have been together almost six years, in business together for 5 years and married for two and a half”. When they first met, Gary was working in a corporate job for a blue-chip company in Belfast. Nigel, along with mum Glynis was running Memento’s flagship store in Carryduff which opened in 2005. As the relationship progressed, so too did the pairs love of all things botanical. They have an encyclopaedic knowledge of plants & flowers, which they share freely with all their clients both online, in-store and through their workshops. “We are plant addicts” joked Nigel, “So much so, we created our plant addict line offering workshops and subscription” Gary adds with a smile. As time passed it was clear they had both met “the one,” so they started to plan a life together. didn’t have the best location and footfall was low, so Gary and Nigel came up with a plan. On his way to work every day Gary passed a crumbly Old Post Office on the Ormeau Road, it was every bit fixer upper, but he had every faith it was the perfect spot and Nigel upon viewing agreed. By Mother’s Day 2016 the boys had saved the deposit, secured the building and with the help of friends and family they set about the first set of renovations. “It was a real labour of love,” Nigel recalls “When we finally got the keys and started to work on the store, we discovered that the boxes piled high and left by the previous tenant were holding the ceiling up. We had limited resources, it was a shell and we had to use what we had but we had so much support from our friends and family. Our parents were so helpful between building counters and helping paint and we were able to open our new store on May Day 2016. ‘’ added Gary.
During this time the relationship had also progressed until Gary finally popped the question. “It was Nigel’s birthday in May 2018. I knew that Nigel was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, me being last minute as I am, popped out of work on the morning of his birthday and went into Belfast City Centre to find a ring. After hours of searching around different jewellers, I found a ring that I knew he would love. So that evening when we both finished work, we went home for some celebratory birthday drinks. I’m not one for hanging about so before we’d even toasted his birthday, I was down on one knee in the living room, I asked, he said yes and balled his eyes out!” Gary recalls.
The couple wasted no time in planning their special day. “We never were ones to hang about,” Gary adds. Gary’s Mum was battling Cancer and devastatingly it was terminal. It was so
important to both Gary and Nigel that she was part of their day and Gary wanted nothing more than his beautiful mum to walk him down the aisle and give him away. They set about planning their perfect day on a date four months after their engagement. Gary’s Mum Briege helped with the planning from her hospital bed and despite her illness was so excited with every new decision and sample that Gary shared with her right down to the invitations.
The theme for the big day was ‘Botanical Romance’ as it embodied everything that they both loved. “We went with an Indian Summer floral palette. It was bright, vibrant and lively with a balanced mix of flowers and plants. Nature is a really important aspect of our life and with it being such a special occasion for us both, it made sense for us to design and create our own floral creations for a memorable day.” said Gary. “Working in the wedding industry, we had made great connections with various suppliers. We were spoiled for choice and well looked after by those in the industry”
Nigel said. “Having seen some amazing creations created by John at the Sugar Room, we had no doubt in our mind who we wanted to create our wedding cake. We met up with John and discussed our design brief, we wanted a beautiful cake that would be set on a summer floral meadow base created by us. We wanted to incorporate plants and flowers in the design, so we picked 5 different flavours and left the design to John’s imagination. Nothing could have prepared us for the creation he designed for us! We spied a sneak preview of the cake from the window of the hotel when we were leaving Belfast City Hall after having the official partnership ceremony and we practically ran back to the hotel to see what he created for us, it was AMAZING!” It was a similar story with the photography on the day as working in the Wedding Industry, Nigel and Gary knew exactly who they wanted to capture their special memories – it had to be Karolyn and Jess the amazing wife & wife duo from Honey and the Moon Photography. Gary explained “We wanted to use the urban setting of the city centre which has some amazing iconic graffiti murals, we are both colourful characters so big bold pieces of art made the perfect backdrop. We met up with Karolyn & Jess, being from the LGBT community we clicked instantly and they immediately understood our vision. They did an amazing job capturing every perfect moment!”
One of the most difficult decisions to make was that of venue “It was important that we had a venue that was accessible and close to a hospital as at this stage my Mum was very ill, so we arranged to host a humanist ceremony hosted at Ten Square in Belfast and invited family and closest friends to join us.” said Gary. With the help of the Ten Square, Nigel and Gary spent the two days before their wedding filling their reception room with all things botanical. They had floral chandeliers suspended above the banquet table, a tropical floral arch for the ceremony, every windowsill was filled with stunning pieces of botanical artistry and a cake table that “wouldn’t have looked out of place at the mad hatters’ tea party” the boys confessed. The details were important, with such an eye for colour and creativity everything had to be perfect on the day. Nigel got his floral printed suit from Twisted Tailor and his red shoes were from Irregular Choice Gary (with a little help from his Mum) spent a long time in the quest for the perfect suit “I have a real thing for all things green so it made sense that I wore a green suit which I finally got from Remus in Victoria Square. Gary and Nigel were married on Thursday 20th September 2018 and it was the perfect moment where their creativity and romance crested. Speaking about their day Nigel said ‘We both got ready together in the hotel, it was really special sharing that time together. It was made all the funnier as the Bridal suite was directly across the street from Gary’s old office. When we were getting dressed his colleagues spied us from the window and started waving whilst I was standing there in my boxers suiting up!’ Gary added, “For me, my most memorable and special part of the day was when we were standing ready to walk down the aisle. We were both being given away by our Mum’s, so it was touch and go if my Mum was going to be able to make it to the wedding due to her illness. But being the fighter she was, she made it on the day looking a million dollars and I was able to share that special moment in time with her. We walked
down the aisle to Dolly Parton ‘Here I Am.’ It was also memorable, in part, as Nigel’s mum had a mini panic attack as the music started to play and we had to get her a glass of water and a paper bag. At one point we thought we were going to have to get Rachel on the piano to take the song from the top again!”
From that day Nigel and Gary have gone from strength to strength. There have been challenges along the way but they’ve never looked back. Gary gave up his corporate job and decided to go full time in the business and now no two days are the same for the pair. Whether it’s gift bouquets, home installations, office and hotel flowers, bridal bouquets, outdoor installations, silk installations for shopping centres and restaurants or racing down to Dublin to provide the perfect backdrop for Jo Malone, there’s no such thing as an average day. “We don’t want to be a run of the mill florist with off the shelf products. We want to harness the creativity from our amazingly talented team to make unique displays for all our clients, that’s why we don’t offer a specific collection on the website. Instead, we give our customers’ style options to choose from and we let our professionally trained florists incorporate that style, using the selection of fresh seasonal flowers and dry flowers that we have in stock. We rotate our flower selection every week buying in a complimentary colour palette so that we always have a bespoke offering for every customer” they explain. The year has presented the company with many new challenges in a short period of time.
During the first lockdown, Memento continued to stay open in a limited safe capacity but there was a global shortage of flowers as the distribution network had been severely impacted, and many local suppliers were forced to close which made the task of opening all the more difficult. However, not ones to be afraid of a challenge, the boys looked to their international links. “We were very lucky that we had strong links directly with our Dutch supplier who was still able to provide us with fresh flowers. As one of the few only florists still open in the country we saw our business expand very quickly. It was this growth that prompted us to open our new Creative space in East Belfast. It allowed our team to work in a socially distant environment and give us the space to take on more team members.” Gary said. “As we were receiving so much support and thanks from our clients for staying open, we felt it only right that we supported our front line workers so we started our NHS giveaway. We opened a page on our website for nominations and within the first week received over 10,000 entries. We couldn’t believe it and with the help of our team we were able to give away over 350 bouquets to NHS and front line workers over the space of 3 weeks, and from then right through till the end of 2020 we give away a bouquet a week to those who put their lives at risk to save ours!” Nigel added. It’s the perfect story of industry professionals working together to bring positive growth through a pandemic, not one member of staff was put on furlough and all have worked in line with the health and safety guidelines throughout. Never mind a bubble, this little bunch of botanical creatives are more like family.
When asked about their future plans, Nigel and Gary simply replied “Watch this space!” I think I speak for all at GNI when I say we are boys…we are sure it will be bright in all senses of the word.
