When Jennifer Phillips transforms homes, event spaces, and other venues with local
snapdragons, blue delphinine, anemones and other colorful flowers, she adds a
delightful personal touch: each and every design feels tailored and intentional.
As the owner of wedding and event florist Vase and Vine, Phillips transformed a client’s
home for a Vegas-style game night gathering, filling the space with thoughtful, playful
arrangements. A mosaic of daisies anchored a long table bouquet, while another
arrangement accented a blown-glass chandelier. She wove dice and poker cards into the
designs and delighted the client with a wine bottle with a custom-made label featuring
his name, an unexpected flourish inspired by a prized wine cellar.
“I love when I have flexibility,” Phillips says. “That’s where I thrive. And, I always like to
do a face-to-face. To bring clients into the shop, to show them flowers and get a feel of
who they are and what they like. Some people are more formal, some more country. You
can’t get that in an email. You have to meet in person to really know them.”
Before her flower business, Phillips worked for 15 years as safety director of Sysco Foods
in Harrisburg. During those years, she also helped her flower shop owner twin sister in Elkton, Virginia during rush periods like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s. “I remember standing there one day saying, ‘Wow you get paid to do this.’ And, I thought, I’m going make a career change. I took a hard left in life.”
Phillips opened her own flower and gift shop in 2019 in Mount Jackson in a renovated
country gas station. “It was just darling,” she says. Vase arrangements gave way to
wedding and other events. After six months, she and her husband, Dale, bought Blue
Ridge Florist in Harrisonburg. That business now also includes a tea room that hosts
bridal and baby showers and Girl Scout troops earning a tea etiquette badge. Blue Ridge
Florist & Tea Room sells plants, elegant evening bags and exclusively serves floral teas.
At 54, Phillips couldn’t be happier with her pivot, and she’s thrilled to expand Vase and
Vine to cater to clients in Potomac beyond. She designed the flowers for last year’s
annual Polo Classic in Poolesville, Maryland, at the Congressional Polo Club, working
with Brittany Ford Events. She hung flowers from the pavilion’s rafters, letting them
cascade over the long farm table where bouquets of Amaranth, pampas grass, curly
willow, roses, and mums reached up to meet them in a lush, flowing display.
Phillips also recently honed her craft during a sought-out internship with Ian Prosser, a
Tampa, Florida based floral designer from Scotland, who’s known for highend event
design. Prosser served as Design Chairperson for a U.S. presidential inauguration and
provided flowers for the British Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth. Phillips
competed with florists nationwide for the coveted internship in 2024. She made it to the
top three, but wasn’t picked. Undeterred, the next year, she tried again, and won.
For three days last year, she worked in Prosser’s studio, Botanica International Design
Studio, designing flowers for two large weddings, and then installing them on day three.
“Ian was the nicest and warmest person, and still to this day he’ll text to ask how I’m doing,” she says. Recently he advised her on the mechanics of floating pool arrangements. “I have a flower friend for life,” Phillips adds.
Also supporting her with Vase and Vine are her long-time friend and now employee
Jennifer Hinkle, who assists with weddings and events, and employee Sherry Strausser,
who works at Blue Ridge. Most days, when Phillips isn’t installing designs at an event,
she’s behind the counter or meeting with brides (and sometimes grooms) at Blue Ridge.
Phillips prides herself on being able to handle last-minute, rush flower jobs, all within
reason. “If it’s a small, intimate wedding with just a bouquet or boutonniere, two days’
notice if we’re not already booked is not out of the question.”
When brides come in, she’ll ask if they have a Pinterest board. “I’m a very visual
person.” She works to mesh what brides wants with her own creative spin.
One West Virginia bride who planned a Texas-style wedding with cowhide rugs and
Longhorn decor wanted a massive bouquet that Phillips knew would be heavy. “The
bride told me, ‘I don’t care, we go big or we go home’, and I said ‘OK ma’am and
designed one with peonies and pampas grass.’ I just really try to hear and to listen to
what the client’s vision is, to what it is that they want, but then also to put my flair on it.”
vaseandvineva.com | 540.282.7575 | Sister location: www.blueridgefloristva.com | 540.434.9931