You're engaged-hooray and congratulations!
A very exciting time and one that can also bring lots of challenges as you plan your perfect day. You may be used to organising large events but for most couples this will be the first time planning an important day.
When it comes to weddings flowers it can become daunting to most couples, especially if this is the first time entering the floral world! What flowers do you choose? How much do they cost? What designs do we need? Fear not!
I'm Charlotte, founder of Floren Studio and as a Florist with over 14 years experience below is some helpful tips and floral advice!
Where do we start?
Firstly do some research into local florists in your area. Web directories such as Rock My Wedding, Bridebooks and Weddingly all have great websites where you can find suppliers close to your venue. Take a good look on their website and their previous work to see what style of florist they are. You may have a vision of the style of designs you want and you will quickly start to have some favourite designers as you start to look into the many styles us florists have.! Following them on social media is a good way of seeing what they get up to day-to-day and for some extra inspiration!
Next get in touch with your top 2/3 designers, seeing if they are available for day and to start the floral ball rolling!
What designs do we need?
You may want a flower filled day with not only the wedding party flowers but also designs to decorate the venue which can include hanging installations (such as chandeliers, flowers hanging from the beams/ceiling) archways, pedestals, banister designs and ceremony flowers. Or you may be after a simple affair with perhaps just wedding party flowers and table decorations. Whatever your needs it can be handy to have a list of the designs that you know you like. Your florist will also be able to suggest designs to enhance the space you have that you may never of thought of.
We always ask our couples to think of all the floral designs they could possibly want, go mad we ask! This way we can give them a quote of everything they want and from there they have more control. They can easily choose the designs they want and that fits into their budget and leave out ones that don't (if they need to).
Where possible and if needed we always like to do a venue visit with our couples. This way we can suggest what designs would work best and have the most impact for their day. Think of the spaces that will be used most on the day and concentrate on these areas.
How much will they cost?
This can be a tricky area, not only because all florists charge different prices for their designs but also as the designs themselves can vary in cost dependent on size and volume of flowers as well as distance they are from your venue and how long it will take for set-up, especially if you are having large installations.
Generally the more you want the want the more it will cost. Before you meet with your Florist for the first time it can be handy to have a budget in mind. If a couple does have one then we find it easier to tailor their proposal to this and if you really need to stick to it then its best to be honest with what you have to spend. Your florist will be able to itemise each design with its cost so you can easily decide what you have that will fit into your budget.
If you are having trouble with your budget then make sure you have the main flower designs which are typically, bridal bouquet, bridesmaid flowers, buttonholes and table decorations. Once you have your essential blooms then you can start adding on designs such as ceremony flowers, large installations (archways, hanging designs etc) and extra designs to decorate different areas.
Also be aware that what flowers you choose will have an impact on the cost. Blooms such as garden roses, peonies, hydrangeas and tropical blooms for example can be some of the most expensive flowers and if you wants lots of them with little else you will pay more. If you are happy for your florist to choose your blooms (using a mixture of more expensive luxury blooms alongside cheaper flowers) and to stick to a certain style and colour then you will get the most for your money.
Try out handy budget calculator to help planning your wedding flowers.
Next Post! Wedding Flowers-Where do we start!? Part 2
What flowers to chose, the process and tips on what to do with your flowers the next day..all in the next blog!
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