While a beautiful, perfectly planned wedding certainly does take considerable work, some parts can require far more effort than others to get right. Arranging for great floral décor for your wedding venue is one of them. For most people, designing floral arrangements at a wedding isn’t something they could learn to do on their own. They need help from a professional.
If you’re planning on bringing one in, you still need to know how to find someone who’s right for your wedding. Here are ten tips to follow when choosing a wedding florist.
1. Are you sure that it’s a florist that you need?
Most florists are capable of creating beautiful flower arrangements for weddings. If you’re looking for elaborate thematic arrangements, though, a floral designer may be a better idea. While these professionals are more expensive, they bring great artistic skill to the job.
2. You can’t just pick a name from the Internet
The most obvious way to find a florist would be to look for Internet reviews on Yelp or another review website. It can be hard to know if these reviews are genuine ones, though. Word-of-mouth is a far better way to come by a reliable professional. If your friends don’t know any wedding florists, you can at least ask your venue manager for suggestions.
3. Make an appointment
Your first meeting with the florist is an important one. You can start by talking about how you see the décor for your wedding and sharing a few images of flower arrangements that you like. The florist should also show you a portfolio – images from weddings that they have worked on. If the florist seems well-matched for your vision, you can make a second appointment and discuss your plans in detail.
4. Talk about the costs
While you should learn something about the florist’s prices in the first interview, you should make a point to get into detailed discussions on the subject over the second meeting. Florists usually offer different kinds of designs for every budget. You need to find out if the florist can provide you with an arrangement that’s close to your vision for the money you’re willing to spend.
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5. Ask about the way the florist charges for their services
Before you sign on the contract, it’s important that you understand what exactly you get for your wedding money. Many florists start off with what looks like a simple, affordable quote, but slap on a service charge later. Others bring in various add-ons.
6. Bring up experience
Even if a florist has a great deal of experience creating and selling flower arrangements, wedding experience isn’t a given. You need to ask how many weddings each florist has done specifically. You also need to ask about the kind of experience they have.
Some wedding florists only have a couple of themes to offer. They crank them out for every client who comes by. If you’re looking for true artistry, you need to ask about specific experience with new and unique wedding arrangements.
7. Ask if the florist has ever created an arrangement of the kind you want
Before you go out looking for a florist, it’s important to know for yourself the kind of flower décor style you like. Florists tend to do best when they work on the style that they are most comfortable with. Whether you like a natural theme, a classic theme, or a modern, glamorous theme, it’s usually a good idea to find a florist who specializes in it, rather than putting a general-purpose florist on the job.
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8. Ask how well-equipped the business is
Any successful florist is likely to be busy through the wedding season, taking on perhaps a wedding each day. If a florist is very busy, you need to know if the business has more than one lead florist to take care of different assignments each day. It may not make sense to sign on with a one-man florist business.
9. Ask to see custom samples
Even if a florist shows you an impressive portfolio of arrangements that they’ve made for previous clients, nothing can show you what a florist’s skills are really like, the way a real-life arrangement can. Most florists charge extra for custom samples.
10. Find out if the florist is a one-trick pony
A good florist will usually make it clear that they do more than create flower arrangements: they also take a keen interest in the rest of the décor you plan for your wedding. They will want to put together a floral plan for your wedding that sits well with the rest of the theme.
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Finally, before you sign up with a florist, it’s important to ensure that the business has liability insurance. Should the florist be unable to provide the services promised, you should be compensated. If you have any other tips for choosing a wedding florist, let us know in the comments section.