Wild Blooms

Mother of Wild owner ALYSSA AIT fell in love with flowers while working at a small bucket shop in California as a teen.

“I was drawn to it,” Ait says. “It was called Alyssa’s Flowers. That’s why I wanted to hop on that. I begged the owner for about two weeks, and she finally gave me the job.”

Today, Ait is running her own Wilmington fresh flower shop that offers vase arrangements, bouquet wraps, floral installations, wedding consultations, and other services.

Mother of Wild is a brick-and-mortar shop in Porters Neck. Clients may choose a traditional full-service wedding package or an à la carte style wedding package that is discounted in exchange for Ait’s creative freedom.

Full-service weddings require a minimum fee and are more detail-oriented, with brides selecting specific flowers.

À la carte is more of a designer’s choice wedding. While clients waive away the option of choosing exact flowers and greenery, they can select a color palette – such as “neutral and elegant” or “dark and moody,” Ait says. Brides also can provide notes on what colors bridesmaids are wearing so Ait can complement them with the flowers.

“Everything that is in a normal wedding, it comes with that. It’s just discounted for us to have fun and maybe put together some florals that most people wouldn’t typically do,” Ait says. “We get to play around a little bit more and dive deeper into our floristry side.”

She especially enjoys including sweet peas, ranunculus, roses, stock flowers, spirea, and jasmine.

“I go pretty heavy-handed with high-end flowers,” Ait says.

While Ait hasn’t yet noticed à la carte wedding flowers become a local trend, she says the style is growing.

“With COVID it was really very popular, because people downsized their weddings quite a bit, and that was a great offering,” Ait says.

Ait started Mother of Wild in 2019 after moving from San Clemente, California to Wilmington with her husband Jordan to be closer to his family, who help with the shop. The business also has a flower truck.

“It’s like a food truck, but with flowers,” Ait says. “Just walk up and make a bouquet. It’s really fun. We take that a lot to breweries or farmers markets.”

Mother of Wild also offers preserved bouquets of flowers, as well as shower bundles with different types of eucalyptus.

It’s a family-oriented business.

“My husband is my right hand,” Ait says, adding they work together on some events with his custom engraving business – Sea to Sea Engraving.

They have a young son and daughter, whose middle name, Wilder, partly inspired the shop’s name.

“And then Mother of Wild in the sense of flowers and plants and all that jazz too,” Ait adds.

Heavy into art growing up, Ait enjoys making creative floristry installations for businesses and events. Among her favorite installations was one for a birthday party that had flower decorations resembling disco balls of different colors.

“I do love weddings, but one day I would love to do florals for Vogue,” Ait says. “A little more editorial is my jam. Ait finds inspiration both online and outdoors. “North Carolina has so much amazing foliage and blooms all over the place,” Ait says. “Springtime is my favorite.”

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com

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