In a special series, please check out our feature on these wonderful local businesses, non-profits and artists who bring local loveliness to us all! Please enjoy meeting Lauren Anderson and Rachel Bridgwood, co-owners of Sweet Root Village in Alexandria.
Tell us about yourself. (Who are you/ What is your business name?)
Sweet Root Village. A luxury wedding and event floral company in Alexandria, Virginia!
What has it been like with the Covid19/ Quarantine Scenario and how have you had to pivot your business?
Have you always had the entrepreneurial spirit?
Looking back on our lives and childhood, we can see pieces of ourselves that were absolutely primed and ready for small business life. We are grateful that while we didn’t start with the intention to be where we are today –– we caught the entrepreneurial spirit and fell fast and hard for running our own business!
Do you have a morning routine?
I think currently both of our morning routines involve lots of coffee and whatever life looks like specifically for our kids when it comes to wake up time, school, childcare, and the like!
When did you decide being an entrepreneur was right for you?
When the world didn’t offer a job (that we could find) that perfectly suited what we wanted to do! We kind of just dove in and made our own path.
What made you choose this location?
We are both settled in the general area and have always loved the vibe of Alexandria and it’s semi central point between DC weddings, Virginia weddings, and Maryland weddings!
What made you choose Alexandria???Falls Church? Arlington? McLean????
How do you think your company is different?
We haven’t done any reinventing the wheel over here, but we do put a high focus on our team and taking care of them, including stable salaries for this very seasonal job. Our team is our family and we structure our business for that to make the most sense. We also highly value seeking out a work-life balance to support working parents!
How to potentially survive a year without any income 🙂 Worst case scenarios you know? This is a new one. But also, how to best serve our clients that are having to postpone their wedding, whether that’s participating in a small ceremony this year, or even just sending them a small note on their original wedding date to let them know we’re thinking of them.
Tell us a secret about your company.
What word best describes your company?
If you weren’t running your business what would you be doing?
Probably working at Target and getting employee discounts?
What is your life motto?
“Ever make mistakes in life? Let’s make them birds. Yeah, they’re birds now” -Bob Ross
When you started your company, did you have an idea about what would go into the day to day?
Elements of it, sure! We knew what it took to actually execute event flowers – but did I know how much time I would spend on the computer vs elbow deep in flowers a decade ago? For sure no. So much more time goes into running the BUSINESS vs creating the art.
What is playing right now in your playlist?
A whole lot of Matt Maeson, Frozen Movie Soundtrack, Laura Marling….
Do you have a favorite instagram?
Oh yes, we live for anything that Chrissy Teiggn posts! @chrissyteigen
Do you have a favorite hike and bike trail?
What fitness regimen do you follow?
What trends do you think we should be looking at now?
What is your style?
What is your favorite food? Do you have a favorite local hotspot?
Rachel – Cheese. Just cheese. And favorites spots typically fall under kid friends spots with breakfast food options so SILVER DINER ALL THE WAY!
Lauren – Also cheese? And Ice cream… Ice Cream Jubilee!
