10 Tips For Working With Your Wedding Florist
Picture this: you’re recently engaged and just beginning your wedding planning journey. As you scroll through Pinterest, you get more and more excited about how beautiful your day will be. You can see it now: all your loved ones laughing & having a good time, a gorgeous gown, beautiful blooms, and you and your new spouse dancing the night away. As you continue to scroll, you see extravagant floral arches & dreamy bridal bouquets. You get hooked on florals and are eager to see how they’ll tie your entire event together.
Flowers are absolutely stunning, and they can pull together many elements of your wedding. Once you find the perfect florist who is just as obsessed with your vision as you are, it’s all smooth sailing until the wedding day, right? Well...it can be! We’re sharing some of our favorite tips to ensure a wonderful working relationship with your wedding florist. Follow these tips, and you’ll be swooning over your florals on your wedding day!
1. First things first - set your budget
While you might not be able to pinpoint exactly how much the flowers you want will cost, it’s important to decide how much of your wedding budget you’re going to allocate to florals. By setting this budget from the start, your florist will be able to recommend different styles/flowers for you based on your budget. Having this clear understanding from the beginning will be great because you’ll avoid a scenario where you fall in love with a specific floral design that’s out of your price range.
2. Be specific with your inspiration
While inspiration photos for your wedding flowers are so helpful to your florist, it’s even more helpful to note exactly what you love about each photo. For example, rather than giving your florist a picture of a bridal bouquet you like, tell them which features stand out to you. Do you like the greenery used? The color scheme? The size/shape of the bouquet? Being specific like this will help your florist to better understand your style, setting them up for success when it comes time to create your dreamy wedding arrangements.
3. Share your wedding vision
Throughout the planning process, you've worked hard to nail down every detail and create a beautiful wedding day. By communicating the overall vision that you have for your wedding with your florist, you are giving them better insight into which types of flowers to use. They'll know if you want a romantic day filled with warm color tones & flowy floral arrangements, or if you’re someone looking for bright colors & crazy textures.
4. Be flexible
Remember those inspiration photos you shared with your florist? And the vision you have for your wedding? Your florist will take all of those details into consideration when creating your floral arrangements. They want to make all of your floral dreams come true more than anyone, but they also want to stay within your budget. Be flexible and understanding of the specific details of your floral arrangements, because a slight change in the type of flower used may still give you the same overall feel. Maybe you were dreaming of peonies, but your florist suggests using garden roses to give you the same vibe while staying within budget. They’ve got your back!
5. Keep it real
Flowers are oh so dreamy, and can really show off your personal style! But flowers are also more expensive than most people initially think. Something you can do to really help your florist out is simple research. Research the different floral types, prices, and seasonal availability (remember, flowers have a certain season in which they bloom, so if you’re looking for daisies in the middle of winter they’ll most likely cost a bit more!). Doing this preliminary research will help you better understand the realities of which flowers you can include in your big day, which means your florist doesn’t have to kill any dreams! Phew!
6. Think beyond the florals
More often than not, couples will rent other decor items through their florist. Whether it be candles for centerpieces & tons of votives for your candlelit dinner or vases for your stunning arrangements, you can talk to your florist about all of their decor options. Keep in mind that if you decide to rent any additional decor through your florist, you may want to consider expanding your floral budget to accommodate.
7. Communicate your timeline
Communication is key! Talk to your florist about what time your major events are happening (first look, ceremony, reception) so that they know exactly when they need to have everything set by. As the day gets closer, sending them an exact copy of your timeline is super helpful! Also, be sure to talk to your florist about any location changes during your event (if your ceremony is at a church), and what your game plan is for all of your arrangements after the wedding. Please note, that if you rent vases/candles from your florist, they will most likely come back at the end of the event to pack them up. However, if you are only receiving flowers from your florist they will not come back at the end of the night. This means you need to have a game plan for all those gorgeous blooms at the end of the night!
8. Repurpose
One way to cut costs & get the most bang for your buck is to repurpose any floral arrangements that you can. Consider using your bridesmaids bouquets as centerpieces, or your ceremony garland on the head table. Talk with your florist about creative ways you can repurpose your beautiful flowers on your wedding day!
9. Fill out your event details
When working with Bellagala, we have these amazing event details forms that you’ll fill out before the big day. Filling this out will give your florist key insight into your wedding. They’ll learn about your timeline, vendors, and other important details like how many bridesmaids/groomsmen are in your wedding party.
10. Any Questions? Ask your florist!
The last tip we have for you to create a pleasant working relationship with your florist is to ask them questions. Ask if there's anything you can do to help make their job easier, or what other details they may need from you. Asking simple questions like this shows that you care about your florist and that you genuinely want to help them achieve their best results. Setting up an open environment like this for your florist will encourage them to thrive, and allow everyone to have the best time on the wedding day! Is there anything better than that?
If you're looking for a florist for your wedding. Bellagala has curated a team of the best floral artists! Contact us today to learn more about our availability, pricing, and artists.
