How to Choose a Wedding Florist

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Make a wedding budget.

   Before you start picking floral designs and ultimately shopping for a florist, you’ll need to set an overall budget for your wedding.
   
   Think about how important flowers are to you, and decide how much you are willing to spend on the whole wedding and also specifically on flowers alone.
   
   The average person spends about 8% of the wedding budget on flowers.
   
   For example, if your wedding budget is $20,000, you might consider allocating $1,600 for flowers.
   
   Your budget will have a major impact on what kinds of flowers you order, how many you order, and how much you spend on a florist.
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   Step 2: Pick a theme and color scheme.

   You can’t really decide on what kinds of flowers you want until you’ve chosen a color scheme and/or theme for your wedding.
   
   If you want a rustic chic wedding with white and pale pink, you’re going to have completely different flowers than you would if you had a black tie evening wedding.
   
   Your flowers don’t necessarily have to match your wedding colors, but they should at least compliment them.If you go with a rustic chic theme, consider using a lot of baby’s breath and pink roses.
   
   If your wedding is more of a formal evening event, consider going more classic with all white flowers. , The venue plays a big role in your floral choices.
   
   Make sure to find a venue and lock it down before getting too carried away with your floral ideas.
   
   Consider the colors, style, and furniture in your venue when brainstorming floral ideas.
   
   If you had modern lavender and blush floral arrangements in mind initially but then ended up securing a vintage ballroom as your venue, your space wouldn’t match your floral decor., Many of the more talented and popular wedding florists are booked up to a year in advance.
   
   Make sure you start your brainstorming, planning, and searching process early on so that you’ll have multiple florists to choose from.Take recommendations from others.
   
   Ask your family members, friends, and venue if they know of any exceptional florists., Once you’re certain of your wedding date, it’s a good idea to do some research on the best flowers and plants to use for your wedding during that particular season.
   
   Getting the appropriate flowers and greenery for the season will save you money and allow your arrangements to look more natural and alive on your wedding day.
   
   Spring: lilacs, freesia, roses, tulips Summer: roses, hydrangeas Fall: roses, mums, sunflowers Winter: roses, lilies, winterberries, holly, There are many different styles of floral arrangements that you can choose from.
   
   All other wedding details, including the season, venue, theme, color scheme, etc. will influence your style.
   
   Consider different styles and make some decisions about which ones will look best with the rest of your wedding details.
   
   Classic: round, crisp designs often including roses Romantic:
   Looser, fluffier flowers with neutrals and pinks Natural: inspired by nature, looser, greenery-heavy organic designs Bold: bright colors Modern: minimal design with clean lines and modern shapes Wild: free-flowing, wide variety of color and texture, With all of this in mind, check out wedding websites such as Wedding Wire and The Knot to look for a wide variety of florists who specialize in weddings.
   
   Read reviews, check out photos of their work to assess quality and style versatility, check their rates, and make sure they’re located near your venue.
   
   Make a list of your favorites., The work that wedding florists do tends to vary so much and involve so much customization that many don’t have flat rates.
   
   Either call or email all the florists on your list to tell them very briefly what you’re looking for and ask for a rough price estimate., Cross off any florists on your list whose quotes are higher than your budget and then schedule face-to-face interviews with the remaining florists.
   
   Try to schedule at least 2 or 3 so that you have multiple options to choose from., Gather fabric swatches, magazine clippings, saved Pinterest photos, etc. and take them to the meetings so that you can best explain your vision to each florist.
   
   This will help them develop a clear idea about what you want and whether or not they can execute it. , In addition to explaining your vision to each florist, you’ll need to ask them some questions.
   
   Put together a list of important questions to ask each florist and then ask the questions and write down the answers when you meet with them.
   
   Some questions that you should consider asking include:
   How many weddings have you done? Can you work with my budget? Do you have my wedding date open? Based on my theme, venue, and color scheme, what kinds of flowers do you recommend? What kinds of wraps can you do for my bouquet? Can you provide any organic, pesticide free flowers to put on my wedding cake? Do you charge a delivery fee? What’s your refund policy in case I have to cancel my order?, After all of your meetings/interviews, compare all of the notes that you have on each florist and choose the one that you feel like you trust, who seems to be giving you the best deal financially, and who stood out overall.
   
   Once you inform your chosen florist that you’d like to commit to them, they will most likely send you a proposal and contract that breaks down all of the pricing and clearly explains their duties as your florist.
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   Step 3: Lock down a venue.

4. 4

   Step 4: Start your searching early.

5. 5

   Step 5: Find out what flowers are in season.

6. 6

   Step 6: Discover what style you like.

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   Step 7: Look up different wedding florists online.

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   Step 8: Request quotes.

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   Step 9: Schedule meetings.

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    Step 10: Bring materials that help communicate your vision.

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    Step 11: Come with a list of important questions.

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    Step 12: Compare notes and make a decision.

Detailed Guide

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