Behind the Scenes: A Lake Country Florist Designs Florals for a Netflix Production

When most people think about wedding florals, they imagine bouquets, ceremony arches, and beautifully styled reception tables. But occasionally, floral design takes on a completely different stage.

As an Okanagan wedding florist and designer, I recently had the opportunity to create floral installations for Netflix’s reality series Million Dollar Secret, filmed at one of Kelowna’s most stunning properties, Chateau Okanagan.

What began as a simple inquiry quickly turned into an intense four-week creative sprint. I had just two days to design the floral concepts, create flower recipes, and source blooms, followed by two weeks to design and craft six large showstopping arrangements and numerous smaller arrangements that would be moved throughout the Chateau during filming.

Unlike weddings — where months of careful planning go into every detail — this project required the entire design process to happen in just days. From sourcing moody blooms to adapting arrangements for camera angles, lighting conditions, and constant movement throughout the set, the experience offered a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how floral design supports the visual storytelling of film and television.

Here’s how it all came together.

Day 1 — April 17, 2024

The Email

On April 17, I received an email from Netflix requesting florals for an upcoming series being filmed at the stunning Chateau Okanagan in Kelowna.

The brief included:

• Six large showstopper arrangements, all fresh florals
• Twelve medium/large arrangements
• Additional small vases placed throughout the villa

The design direction called for moody arrangements — dark greenery paired with burnt orange, burgundy, eggplant, and blush tones. A bit of a challenge considering it was springtime, when wholesalers’ selections are full of cheery, bright seasonal florals.

The only other detail: delivery on May 2.

This left less than two days to design, select, and order flowers in time for delivery a week and a half later. Budget needed to be considered, as well as longevity — the florals had to last 12 days. The following week was spent sourcing vessels and other design elements needed to bring the arrangements to life.

In the wedding world, I typically begin planning floral designs months in advance — carefully developing flower recipes, sourcing blooms, considering specialty florals, and scheduling deliveries to ensure everything arrives exactly as planned. This project compressed that entire process into a matter of days.

Day 15 — April 30

Flowers Arrive — and the Timeline Shifts

The flowers arrived at our studio the morning of April 30. For the next five hours, my assistant and I processed and hydrated every stem in preparation for design work.

Buckets quickly filled the studio as we carefully unpacked and sorted each variety — trimming stems, removing foliage, and placing everything into fresh water so the flowers could begin recovering from their journey. Proper processing is one of the most important steps in ensuring longevity, especially for arrangements that needed to last almost two weeks on set.

With the colour palette leaning into deeper tones — burnt orange, burgundy, eggplant, and blush — we relied heavily on textured greenery, large florals such as roses, protea, and tall line flowers, and hellebores and ranunculus for smaller detail.

By late afternoon the flowers were fully hydrated and resting overnight in the cooler. The plan was to begin designing the following day, allowing the blooms time to drink deeply and open slightly before being arranged.

But as with most projects tied to a film production schedule, the timeline had other ideas.

Netflix’s production team requested delivery the next day — in less than 24 hours. Nothing like a little time crunch to add to the stress!

Because the arrangements would be placed inside the Chateau — surrounded by antique furniture and beautiful flooring — we designed them using floral foam to minimize water spillage. This would also allow the arrangements to be safely moved throughout the house during filming.

Day 17 — May 1

Installation Begins

The six large showstopping arrangements were completed and delivered to the Chateau that evening. The remaining arrangements were finished and delivered by noon the following day as filming began.

Originally, the plan was to refresh flowers twice a week. But once filming started, it became clear that the heat from camera lights, the body heat from crew members and contestants in un-airconditioned rooms, and the frequent movement of arrangements were causing the flowers to dry out much faster than expected.

Twice-daily watering was required, so my mornings began at 6:00 AM at the Chateau, quietly watering arrangements and replacing tired stems before the production crews arrived for the day.

Those early mornings were some of the most peaceful moments of the entire experience. Occasionally contestants would wander through the house for a bit of quiet time before filming began, and we’d exchange a quick hello before the bustle of production returned.

The showstopper arrangements were placed on both sides of the entrance to the chandelier room — a breathtaking space anchored by an Italian glass-blown chandelier.

Day 20 — May 4

An Unexpected Extension

Just as things settled into a rhythm, another update: filming had been extended from 12 days to 18 days, which meant the arrangements would need a complete redo.

We scheduled the refresh for May 12 — Mother’s Day, when the production crews had a “dark day” and the Chateau would be empty. A fresh round of flowers were ordered, and we settled back into the daily routine.

Day 28 — May 12

The Final Stretch

Our team spent Sunday, Mother’s Day, on-site for 12 hours recreating every arrangement throughout the house.

Then, from May 13 through May 18, the routine continued: early mornings at Chateau Okanagan watering arrangements, refreshing stems, and ensuring every floral piece looked camera-ready.

After weeks of early mornings, quick pivots, and thousands of stems carefully arranged and maintained, it was incredibly rewarding to see the project through to completion.

On May 18, filming finally wrapped. Whew!

A Few Extras

The elimination room featured a dramatic stag — and the existing florals were occasionally taken apart mid-shoot to “downsize” for very specific camera angles, requiring me to redesign arrangements on-site in the parking lot. Hence, my mobile studio.

Stay tuned for Season 2, airing soon!