When it comes to organising flowers for your wedding day, a lot of people feel somewhat lost and don’t know where to begin. What florist should I pick? How much will it cost? What flowers and colours should I go with? Why do they cost so much?
Don’t stress though. It’s all to be expected as it probably is the first time that you’ve had to organise flowers for a major event in your life and not just a bunch for a friend.
We caught up with Anna Stretton, the floral designer and founder at Babiana Botanic hoping to help make the process a little easier. Anna is giving us the rundown of what to expect and how to choose.
Finding your Florist
Focus on finding someone who already creates florals that you love! Loved your friend’s wedding flowers? Ask them who they used. Seen some amazing flowers on Instagram? Find out who made them. Love what someone has done at the venue before? Ask your venue manager for the florist’s details.
Instagram is such a great tool these days and I highly recommend spending some time researching on there. That is where florists often post their most recent and stunning work.
Find a florist whose work you love and take the time to sit down in person with them so they understand what you want. That’s a much better approach than sending email requests to ten different florists asking for impersonal quotes.
Image by www.blossomdaisycreative.com
Choosing your Flowers, Colour and Style
That’s the fun part, but if you have no idea it’s best to talk to your florist. Their job is to be creative and have a good understanding of what suits you and your style.
The approach to get the best flowers you possibly can for your wedding is to pick a colour scheme. These may be your favourite colours or tones to suit your bridal party colours or venue. Then pick a style you like and let your florist choose the flowers based on season, look and what is best at the market that day.
If you have a specific flower you want included, let your florist know. You have to keep in mind that as we are working with nature, getting our hands on particular flowers is not always possible, particularly with today’s changing climate and therefore changing seasons.
You will get your florist’s best work if you allow them to be creative and to pick the best flowers they can find.
Image by www.blossomdaisycreative.com
Be Upfront about your Budget
(if you have one)
If flowers are the most important aspect of your wedding styling then tell your florist everything you have in mind and get them to put a quote together.
If you have a strict budget for your flowers, then let your florist know! It will allow them to work their magic within your budget or allow them to find alternatives that achieve a similar look that you are after within your budget.
Being open and honest removes any awkwardness and time-wasting working on quotes that are clearly outside of your ideal price range.
Image by www.blossomdaisycreative.com
Understand WHY your Wedding Flowers cost what they do
Flowers are expensive! And florists work damn hard! 3am wake up calls for the market. 1am bump outs. Short bump in times. Hours prepping and conditioning flowers before even starting to work with them. Climbing up and down ladders or working at heights to create hanging installations.
It takes long hours to achieve those perfect floral arrangements! A lot more work and love go into your wedding bouquet than a bunch you can grab from the supermarket down the road.
Keep in mind that your wedding florist will love you for the appreciation you show for their work!
