My blog-friend Amy (from Little Miss Wedding Planner) and I have been corresponding a lot lately about flowers and other various wedding planning conundrums. She tweeted about what questions to ask when interviewing florists and I emailed her a comprehensive list of things to consider. She suggested I blog about it so that's exactly what I'm going to do! This is going to be a multi-part (probably 2) series so you don't get incredibly bored. The first part will consist of things to think about when budgeting and interviewing florists. The 2nd part will consist of how to get the most out of your flowers.
1. I know this is probably "Duh" but figure out a budget. Understand that flowers are expensive. They are probably more expensive than you realize. Our florist, Blooms by Plantscaping, is one of the biggest florists in the area. They provide flowers for all of the major corporations around Cleveland. Needless to say, they know what the heck they're doing. However, because of their popularity and talent, they are able to change a pretty penny for their services. We decided to work with them despite their prices. Their proposal was AMAZING. I knew they would be able to execute our vision perfectly. So if we had to cut back in a few areas to fit them in our budget, we were willing to do that.
2. There are more flowers to consider than just bridesmaid bouquets, your bouquet, the groomsmen/groom boutonniere's, and the centerpieces. The things I just mentioned get a lot of attention, so here is a list of other places your florist might suggest you have flowers:
-Ceremony, both altar and aisle. This also gets a lot of attention, but not all brides really think about it.
-Cocktail hour tables
-Guestbook table
-Family flowers. This includes mothers, fathers, grandparents, ushers (not necessarily family, I know), flower girl(s), ring bearer(s).
-Cake flowers. Sometimes the baker will take care of this, other times your florist is responsible for it.
-Food tables at cocktail hour.
3. Make sure you're aware of all "extras" involved. This could include delivery/set-up/tear-down fees and tax. Also, decide if you want to tip your florist, and if so, how much. To give you an example, our delivery/set-up/tear-down fee is a flat fee of $450.
4. Don't be afraid to cut things out. Our florist gave us an extremely detailed proposal. It broke down the price for each and every item, something I really appreciated and pushed them to the top of our list. But when I saw what some of the items cost, I freaked out a bit. Then I realized that I didn't need x, y & z, so I deleted them! You do not need everything your florist suggests. Please read that sentence one more time. And don't be afraid to negotiate! I already wrote a post about this which you can read here.
Coming up next, getting the most out of your flowers!
What are your tips for all-things floral?
**All photos in this post are from the Blooms website.
Yay, I am so glad you are posting about this! It was so helpful to me so I know it will be helpful to others. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI love posts like this and offer them up myself as well sometimes :) Great insight and advice. We also cut out some things that I would have loved but were unnecessary and didn't fit into our budget.
ReplyDeleteAnd OMG, no one ever realizes that flowers are usually the most expensive of all the vendors you book...I never knew that until my sister's wedding. Thankfully, I found a phenomenal florist who gave me a great deal and I really love.