Entering a room where Ashley Fox has worked her magic feels like walking into a natural wonderland. Whether it’s a wedding hall filled with wildflowers that hang delicately from the ceiling, or an entire venue decorated based on a client’s favorite painting, the award-winning floral designer’s creations surprise and delight. They hold a sense of childlike wonder—which, she says, fits her story just right.
As a little girl, Fox learned to love the outdoors.
“I come from a family of gardeners, and their families were gardeners,” said Fox. Homegrown vegetables and flowers always filled her backyard. “When you grow up around that, it really defines who you become.”
As an only child, Fox spent hours outside, making her own entertainment and doing nature craft projects, or going on mushroom hunts with her dad. “That made me a very keen observer of nature and shapes,” she said.
Looking back now, Fox says all signs pointed to becoming a designer. But her path to floral design wasn’t so straightforward. She studied horticulture in college and spent her summers at a local garden shop, and then worked at her town’s arboretum for five years.
“I was teaching kids there every day,” she said. “Then, when I had my two children, I decided to stay at home. And that was a gift.”
As much as she relished the opportunity to be with her children, she realized that she still needed social connection and a creative outlet. She just wasn’t sure what that outlet could be.
Fate seemed to reach out and take her by the hand.
“Right around that time, my best friend got married,” Fox recalled. “She asked me, ‘Can you do the flowers for my wedding?’ And it just started from there.”
That was in 2005. In 2008, Fox started her business, the Minnesota-based Ashley Fox Designs, and she’s since transformed wedding days and events for countless clients.
Trusting Her Creative Voice
In 2008, the romantic, nature-inspired style Fox is now so well known for was just beginning to gain steam in the industry. Round, symmetrical, monobloom bouquets—made with a single variety of flower—were very popular, inspired by Martha Stewart.“I love Martha Stewart, of course, and read her all the time. But the one-bloom bouquet just wasn’t who I was as a designer,” Fox said. “I was a gardener first, so all of my designs look like a garden in a dish rather than a scoop of ice cream.”
Not long after starting her business, Fox had the opportunity to design a bouquet for a magazine. She knew the editor wanted a traditional monobloom design. But she knew she had to be true to herself. She chose to take a risk and make it her own way, not the way that was trending.
The risk paid off. “The bouquet stayed on the header page for months,” Fox said. “It was a nod of affirmation to just keep doing what I was doing, to be myself in my work.”
For Fox, the next 10 years were a gradual process of learning to trust her creative instincts and the love of nature she’d developed in childhood. “I had to—and continue to—keep pushing the boundary of how interesting of combinations I can make,” she said.
Inspiration From Nature
The results of her hard work speak for themselves. Fox creates whole landscapes and stories in her work, placing giant baskets of blooms in front of floor-to-ceiling seating charts, or covering arbors with florals and twigs for scenes that evoke an enchanted forest.“I use as few ingredients and varieties as possible in design,” she said, giving each flower enough space to speak. “Nothing is too common a variety to use. It’s how you use it in a design that matters.”
Part of what makes her style so unique is how she incorporates foliage and herbs.
“I think food and flowers go hand in hand,” she said. “I love to make an impact with a little rosemary in a boutonniere, or thyme, to layer the sensory experience with the designs.” She’s even watched guests take a bite out of a pear or strawberry she used as part of the tablescape.
Other mediums, like fabrics, textures, and artwork, also inspire her. “I’ll see a flower and a fabric next to each other and think, ‘Oh gosh, those belong together,’” she said.
When Fox speaks, you can almost hear her childhood self, exploring the forest floor with her father, delighting in each new discovery. “It’s what gets me up and excited for my job every day,” she said.
Nature continues to be her greatest muse. She’ll recreate a meadowscape in a reception venue, or pull a color palette for a bridal bouquet from the local wildflowers. She loves incorporating the season and natural surroundings into her client’s planning, from the color of the leaves at that time of year, to what’s blooming, to what the venue’s landscape looks like.
“Year after year, when the leaves turn or the hydrangeas bloom on their anniversary, it will remind them of their wedding designs, and memories that are lasting,” she said.
Tips for Styling Simple, Delightful Flower Arrangements at Home
When it comes to arranging flowers for the home, Fox, true to her roots, favors simplicity. Here are a few simple ideas that make a big impact.For a gorgeous summer bouquet, Fox combines Queen Anne’s lace, Shasta daisies, campanula, phlox, nicotiana, and scabiosa from local growers, along with seasonal, color-coordinated produce, like yellow Rainier cherries. “Add some local beeswax candles,” she said, “and you’ll have the perfect tablescape.”
