Atelier Floral Jeanne Christen

Atelier Floral Jeanne Christen is a small florist's business in Yverdon-les-Bains, in the canton of Vaud, registered as Atelier Floral Jeanne Christen Sàrl. It works mainly to order rather than from a shop, and its wedding page covers bridal bouquets in cascading and round shapes, buttonholes, church and table decoration, car decoration, a ring cushion, flowers for the hair and garlands. Every wedding starts with a meeting before the atelier makes an offer. For a couple marrying in and around Yverdon-les-Bains who want one florist to make everything by hand, it is a small, personal option.

Who is behind it

The homepage tells the story in a short presentation. After training at the Centre horticole de Lullier, in its florist section, Jeanne Pillonel worked from 1997 in various flower shops, where she gained experience and responsibility. She founded Atelier Floral Jeanne Christen in 2010, with the aim of bringing a different touch to the flower shops of Yverdon. In 2015 she closed the shop's sales floor to devote herself to courses and craft work; the page gives the date the sales area closed as 27 June 2015.

The site does not explain the difference between the founder's name, Pillonel, and the business name, Christen. It is simply the name the atelier uses.

The atelier describes itself as "une petite société dédiée à la création florale artisanale", a small company dedicated to handcrafted floral work. Based in Yverdon-les-Bains, it offers decorative objects, courses for children and floral arrangements, and provides its services for weddings and funerals. It works mainly on commission ("principalement sur commande") but keeps a regular presence at the region's markets and fairs. Since the shop closed, the homepage says, the atelier continues to meet its clients' needs through the website, by phone, and at fairs and markets.

The wedding offer

The wedding page opens with one sentence that describes the whole process: "Afin de rendre votre journée de mariage inoubliable, grâce à nos décorations personnalisées, Atelier Floral vous propose un rendez-vous avant de vous faire une offre pour bien cerner vos désirs et correspondre parfaitement à vos attentes, même les plus exigeantes!" In English: to make the wedding day special with personalized decorations, the atelier offers a meeting before making an offer, so as to understand the couple's wishes clearly and meet their expectations, even the most demanding ones.

Below it, the page shows its range in picture galleries, each labeled:

• Bouquet de mariée, the bridal bouquet, shown in two shapes: retombant (cascading) and rond (round)
• Bracelet de mariée, a wrist corsage for the bride
• Boutonnière, buttonholes
• Décoration de voiture, car decoration in three styles: classique, épuré (pared back) and coeur et ruban (heart and ribbon)
• Décoration d'église, church decoration
• Décoration de table, table decoration
• Coussin alliances, a ring cushion
• Demoiselle d'honneur, bouquets and wrist corsages for bridesmaids
• Pour cheveux, flowers for the hair
• Spécial, garlands and an artificial vase arrangement

It is a complete list for a traditional wedding, from the ceremony to the reception tables and the car. The galleries give a couple a way to point to what they like before the meeting.

Preparing for the first meeting

Because the offer depends on that meeting, it helps to arrive with decisions the page already frames. The bridal bouquet comes in two named shapes, so a couple can say whether they want it cascading or round. The car decoration comes in three named styles. Beyond that, the useful list to bring is the page's own: which of the bouquet, bride's and bridesmaids' wrist corsages, buttonholes, hair flowers, ring cushion, church flowers, table decoration and garlands are needed, and how many of each. Add the date, the church or ceremony place, the reception venue and the number of tables, and point to pictures in the galleries that match the style wanted. That turns the first meeting into a working session rather than a first introduction.

Other work

The site's menu shows the other sides of the atelier: a flower subscription (Abonnement), funeral flowers (Deuil), courses (Cours) and markets (Marchés). The funeral page lists hearts, wreaths, flower baskets, decorative arrangements, sprays and casket covers. Courses, including the children's courses the homepage mentions, have been a focus since the shop closed.

How to get in touch

The contact details on every page are the Sàrl's name with Yverdon-les-Bains, the telephone number +41 079 962 22 65 and the email jeanne@atelierfloralj.ch. The number is printed with both the country code and the leading zero; from abroad, dial it without the zero. The site has a Contact section in its menu.

Because the atelier no longer has a sales floor, there is no shop to walk into. The meeting the wedding page offers has to be arranged in advance, by phone or email.

What the site does not settle

The site publishes no prices, no packages and no minimum order for weddings. The offer comes after the first meeting, and nothing on the page indicates a price range before that.

It gives no lead time for booking, no deposit rule and no cancellation terms. It does not say how far the atelier travels to deliver or decorate, whether it sets up church and table decoration on the day, or who collects containers afterward.

The site is in French only, and nothing on it mentions English or German. A couple who do not speak French should ask in their first email whether the meeting can be held in English, and a couple living abroad should also ask whether that first meeting can happen by phone or video.

The atelier is small by its own description, and it also runs courses and attends markets. A couple should ask early whether their date is free.

Who it suits

Atelier Floral Jeanne Christen suits a couple marrying in or around Yverdon-les-Bains who want a trained florist with long experience to make every piece to order, from a cascading bridal bouquet to the car and the church. The galleries give a clear picture of the range, and the car decoration styles and ring cushion are the kind of small items that are easy to forget until late.

It suits less well a couple who want to browse prices online, walk into a shop, or work in English without asking first. Everything starts with the meeting the wedding page describes.