How to book a wedding florist!
It’s booking season! As such, I thought I’d post a blog with some (hopefully helpful) tips for finding the best florist for your wedding.
1. Book a venue and date
Before meeting or booking a florist I highly recommend having your venue booked. The size, colors and style of the space has such a massive impact on your florals that it’s really important to have this component set. Similarly, the distance to the venue and how much time they allow on site for setup and cleanup will also have a big impact on our delivery/labor quotes and even how extensive of installations are possible.
2. Have Broad Inspiration
I’m always thrilled at a first meeting when a client has a good idea of their color scheme and general vibes but they don’t yet have an exact list of what they want. Having some ideas of what you like (modern vs romantic vs whimsical vs boho, etc) and a color palette is super helpful to narrow down the endless amount of options. Keeping details more general and open allows me to give suggestions that are best suited for seasonal flowers, weather, space and your budget priorities. Sometimes I think clients and planners believe that sending out an itemized list of what they want on a proposal is the most efficient way to work but I really think you’re better suited to a more customized approach. It may take a few more minutes on the front end but the final result will be much better.
3. Meet with several florists
There’s nothing like talking directly with a vendor to learn about their business. If this is your first time planning a large event and you don’t already have relationships with vendors I highly encourage clients to get at least 2 or 3 quotes from every vendor category. Social media is a great place to start to narrow down options and then meet with people to keep communication style in mind.
4. Pricing
I like to meet and talk via zoom or in person before talking pricing. This allows me to get you the most accurate and customized quotes for your style and priorities. Pricing is based on types of flowers, seasonality, quantity and labor.
5. Booking
To book a wedding date with us we require a 25% non-refundable retainer and a signed contract outlining our payment policies. Most people choose to have us type up an initial proposal before booking and some people (usually who we have a prior relationship with) will put down a retainer to get the date held and then we flush out details later.
6. After booking
After booking the date, there’s usually a bit of a lag/quiet period. That said, you’re welcome to reach out to us at any time with questions or new ideas. We don’t charge per meeting or have a time limit on quotes so you don’t need to worry about that. For most clients we will meet again 3-6 months before the wedding to do a mockup of the table centerpieces where they can see them in person and we can make adjustments. Around this time we may do a site visit as well. We want to have the floral proposal finalized about a month before the wedding to avoid last minute scrambling or rush fees. Final payment is due 3 weeks prior to the wedding at which point I’m placing flower and hard goods orders.
7. Be honest
I think the concept of “bridezilla” has really been blown out of proportion in modern culture. In the Pacific NW I think a lot of brides have such a fear of becoming one that they’re actually more likely to be overly reserved or shy about their wants and preferences. Don’t be afraid of telling your florist what you want and what you don’t want during the planning process! If your florist mentions they love roses but you really don’t like them, there’s nothing wrong with telling them that! We have plenty of other variety options. If you’re really uncomfortable with the budget, tell them that too! I can’t just discount something to make it less expensive but I’m happy to give different options at different price points so you can decide what works best for you.
Last but not least, take breaks from wedding planning! When it starts feeling like a job or something you dread it’s time to hire a wedding planner who can help take the load off.
I hope this is helpful! Please reach out with any questions I missed! You can book an appointment to get an initial proposal either by filling our our contact form or emailing me at Jordan@blumfloraldesign.com
