The story behind He Loves Me Flowers by Charity | 417 wedding florist

Hi there! I’m Charity, the enthusiastic redhead behind He Loves Me Flowers, a wedding floral design company in Springfield, Missouri. I get the question a lot...How did you get into floral design?

When I was 18, after I graduated from high school in Minnesota, I got a call from a lady named Kelly. She worked at the Christian school I attended, so I knew her from there. Everyone loved her. She was so kind, friendly, funny, and an absolute joy of a person.

On the phone, she told me she recently took a management role at a local flower shop and was looking for team members. She thought of me, and asked if I would be interested in working at the flower shop. I told her that sounds so fun, but I know nothing about flowers. She told me not to worry about that because she would teach and train me. So I joyfully agreed to join the team.

I worked there for around 2 1/2 to 3 years. We did everything—from holidays, funerals, birthdays, balloons, plants, and weddings. I learned from that experience that I LOVED the weddings. We did a lot of them, and I helped Kelly design bridesmaids bouquets, personal flowers like corsages and boutonnieres, as well as centerpieces. We delivered the florals, set up, and brought the bride her bouquet. The immense joy was addicting.

At 19 years old, that was when it all clicked for me! I thought to myself...If I could start a business one day, and just focus on weddings, then that would be my dream job. I could start it later in life, after I’m married and my kids start school. My thought was it would give me something to do while they were away learning.

I grew up in a very entrepreneurial home. My parents owned their own business and at a young age I was hired to work in the family business. At the age of 12, I was selling and getting really good at it. Learning people skills, communication, and customer service were all skills that I learned working in their business. Looking back, I'm so grateful my parents encouraged me and taught me how to do this!

I saw my parents' lifestyle and how they had freedom over their days and weeks. They worked very hard (they’re some of the hardest working people I know!) but they weren’t locked into a boss’s schedule or expectations, and I loved that. At the time, I thought that was normal for everyone’s parents, but as I got older, I soon realized that most parents worked 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. That wasn’t the case for mine. They operated their business out of the home, so they were home and present in my life, and I'm so grateful for that. To this day, they are some of my closest friends.

So I knew eventually that I could start my own business, because my parents did (as well as both of my brothers!). If they could do it, I could do it too!

Fast forward to when I was 21. I moved to Missouri to go to a new college, and met this cute guy named Ben. We started hanging out, which led to dating, falling in love, then engagement, and then when I was 22, we got married. It was the summer of 2011, and I was thinking about what my next life step was…Should I go back to college, get a full-time job, etc. I didn’t know!

Then, my wonderful, newlywed husband Ben looked in my eyes and asked me, “Charity, what do you really want to do?”

The lights in my brain came on. My IDEA came flooding into my mind! I said with excitement, “Well, what I really want to do is start a business and focus on flowers for weddings!”

He replied, “Let’s do it! I’ll design your logo and build your website!” These are all of his professional skills, by the way! I married the right guy, didn't I?! You bet I did! Not only was his background in graphic design and website design, but he was (and still is) the most supportive, encouraging person I could ever dream to have by my side in this flower journey! He makes me and He Loves Me Flowers SO much better!

So, the rest of 2011 we worked on setting up the business and making it official. Then in March of 2012, we officially launched He Loves Me Flowers by Charity, LLC with our first wedding. That first year in business we were blessed to be a part of 7 weddings.

Over the years, the business grew, as did our family. In 2017, our first son was born, and in 2019, our second son was born. During those years as they were babies and toddlers, I was able to spend a ton of time with my children and still work my business, mainly due to the fact that He Loves Me Flowers is a home-based business. You can read more about this in my interview with 417 Home Magazine. The autonomy was what I always dreamed of having. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to own the business, not the business own me. And believe me, there is a big difference.

In 2025, it hit me….the dream that I had when I was a young adult of starting a wedding floral business had come true. The only change was that I started way earlier than I expected. Now both of my children are in school and I’m able to devote more time to my business. We had a record-breaking year in 2025, grew the team, and were a part of weddings I had years ago only wished for, and now I'm bringing those extraordinary weddings to life.

In 2026, I’m intentionally growing the flower business, and it feels like after 14 years, He Loves Me Flowers is just getting started…or maybe we’re just starting a whole new chapter, and it’s a joyful, flower-filled one! I'm so glad you're here, thanks for being on the journey with me!

Photography: Jordan Brittley, Venue: Olive View Events, Event Planning: Allie Rose Events