Telford florist who received royal approval celebrates 30 years in industry

Shelly de Monyé, who runs independent Telford business Shelly's Florist, was once asked to deliver flowers to a lady in waiting by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Shelly, whose business is based in Ketley, has also provided flowers for celebrity weddings as well as funerals.

She works alongside her daughter Jade as well as drivers Karen Cutler and Tracey Hayward and florists Laura Mitchell and Samantha Evans.

"It's not been easy all the way through," she said. "It can be really hard work and we have had to battle through two recessions and a global pandemic, among other things.

"But I love what I do and it's just wonderful to be able to be in business.

"We have retained customers all the way through," she added.

"The beauty of what we do is that the business covers the full spectrum of life experiences."

"There are people who come into the shop now for some flowers and I did their wedding 20-odd years ago.

"We gain friends. It's not just about business but rather it's about being there for people.

"We have done thousands of weddings over the years. That is a special and happy time.

"But, of course, we also supply sympathy flowers for funerals.

"That is, of course, sad but we also take pride in the fact we are able to provide that last gift for someone.

"We try to be there to support the family in that case. It's something that is important for us."

A real highlight, though, was supplying flowers for the Queen.

"We have provided flowers for all sorts of people and The Queen head-hunted me through Interflora!

"She wanted to send her personal flowers to her lady in waiting. I couldn't believe it.

"It was all secretive and we couldn't make it public at the time. But it was a lovely thing to be able to do.

"I'm just very proud of the service we have provided here and I love a job where we can be creative.

"I couldn't do it without my team. It's certainly not all down to me."