floral planning advice
Wedding planning - It can be overwhelming for most couples. There are so many things to navigate, plan and executed before your wedding day. And when it comes to planning one’s wedding florals - it is easy to get lost in all that gorgeous wedding inspiration out there! From Instagram, to Pinterest, to wedding blogs - it is hard to know where to begin.
Let’s begin at the beginning … you’ve set your wedding date, booked your venue and maybe your photographer - well it’s time to prioritize your wedding flowers and begin looking for that perfect florist.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
I highly suggest you do some leg work and research into the florists that are in your area, who are your venue’s preferred vendors, who’s design style is similar to the look and feel you wish to achieve at your wedding and who’s minimum spend requirement your comfortable with. Instagram, Pinterest and websites are helpful when narrowing down your options. Finding a florist who is the right fit for you and your wedding is essential to having a seamless and stress-free planning process and of course the most beautiful wedding day!
Local florists who service your area will help with reduced delivery + service fees.
An event firm that can assist you with more than one element of your wedding day flowers, event design, small decor rentals, signage + day of paper details, lrg. furniture + prop rentals, table top elements will keep your planning process streamlined, alleviate planning pressures and save with reduced delivery + service fees.
A vendor’s preferred florist will know what works well with the asethetic of your space, understand the logiscal workings of the venue through their experiece of executing past events there.
Choosing a florist who’s design asethetic is align with your own wedding vision, will give you insight into how they not only will execute your vision but also give you a sense of what your budget will allow for.
Florist set minimum investments for a reason. Besure align your budget with the florists minimum investment requirement. If you aren’t willing or able to spend their minimum requirement of that particular florist, it’s best too look for a florist that aligns more with your floral budget.
Once you have narrowed down your choices to your top 2 / 3, then go ahead and book a discovery call and/or consultation with them.
PRIORITIZING YOUR FLORAL BUDGET
While there isn’t any one right answer on what to budget for your wedding flowers, it really comes down to how important you prioritize your wedding flowers. I generally suggest a floral and decor budget of 25% of the over all wedding budget. For some couples this amount works really well, others it’s too much and for some it’s not enough! So, how much you are comfortable spending on your wedding flowers is really a personal decision. No matter the size of your floral budget, you want to ensure that you maximize it to the fullest.
Consider aspects of your floral wish lists that are the most important, that will make the biggest statement throughout your day and priortize those. High point areas such as the bouquets, the ceremony, guests and head tables. These are areas that will have the most visibility and enjoyed the most throughout your celebrations and most likely to be remembered.
BE PREPARED FOR YOUR CONSULTATION
To make the most out of your first consultation with the florist, be fully prepared and ready to talk about your vision, your budget, and all things pretty.
Be sure to set aside uninterrupted time to chat with each florist.
Be sure that all decision makers are on the call or attend the meeting.
Be sure to have a clear understanding of the elements you wish to incorporate throughout your wedding.
Be sure to have a colour palette chosen.
Be sure to have up dated + shared your Pinterest Board and/or inspiration images with each florist.
Be sure to have a clear idea of how much you wish to invest into your wedding flowers.
Use the consultation to further your research by asking the florist questions as you share your thoughts and options.
Planning your wedding flowers, decor and aesthetic is a process. A process that will involve planning and consultations. You want to make sure that you are comfortable communicating with the florist, that they understand your vision direction and that you feel you can trust them in executing that vision and bring your wedding to life.
BE OPEN MINDED + FLEXIBLE
Trust is one of the most important factors when choosing a wedding florist. You need to trust that your chosen florist will execute your vision and deliver the most beautiful wedding flowers on your wedding day.
Begin the planning process with your florist by providing a solid colour palette and over all design style for your wedding. While it is important to us that all your wants are considered while designing your wedding florals, flexibility allows us to exceed your expectations. Allow our experience to set your day up for perfection. At times due to unforeseen circumstances, certain flower varieties, colours and product are not always available. Giving your florist the creative freedom to execute your vision allows them the flexibility to adjust accordingly when something unforeseen occurs. We want nothing more than to make your wedding day beautiful and will always go to great lengths to make that happen.
CONSIDER YOUR WEDDING DAY TIMELINE
It is important that you take into account your wedding day time line when planning your wedding florals. Access to your ceremony and reception spaces for set up, transfers and tear downs can greatly impact the design possibilities your florist will be able to execute on your wedding day.
If you are planning very detailed and elobrate floral installations, you should inquire with your venue about access time, completion times, and other day of restrictions they may have that will impact your florists ability to work within the event spaces. The more details you can provide your florist the better all will understand the flow of your wedding day and what can be accomplished.