So it’s that time of year again!  Brides are scurrying in and out of flower shops and event studios looking for that perfect florist who can create her dream wedding flowers within her budget.  Here’s a list of things to look for when choosing the perfect wedding florist that will save you time, money and most of all disappointment with your wedding flowers.

1. Where’s the cooler?

If you step foot into your consultation and don’t see a cooler - be wary!  Flowers that aren’t stored in proper conditions will not last their optimum time and could even be DOA.  If your floral designer claims that her air conditioner is plenty to cool the flowers or states that you don’t need a cooler for flowers then run, not walk, as fast as you can.
2. How about referrals from brides?

If your florist of choice doesn’t have one single referral from a past bride - look out!  Chances are they are hiding something if they claim to have had many a successful wedding but can’t give you one phone number of a happy bride.

3. Freeze Frame!

Your florist should be able to show you pictures from past weddings.  Most florists have extensive portfolios of their work.  Choose a florist that matches your style.

4. Budget-Smudget!

If you give your florist your budget and they balk then find another who will work with you!  Sure, maybe your dream bouquet may be out of reach but a PROFESSIONAL florist will work with you to incorporate the same ideas to give you budget friendly choices.

5. It’s all in the Details…

If your florist doesn’t offer you a contract to sign find another florist.  The contract not only protects the florist - it protects you as well.  If the florist doesn’t provide you with an itemized list with the contract insist that you get one ASAP.  Most florists will do this without asking because, well, you shouldn’t have to ask!  It’s all about protecting your hard earned money. You will want some sort of insurance in case you are only provided with 10 of the 15 centerpieces you purchased.

6. Delivery? Set-Up?

Make sure that delivery and set-up times are explicitly stated in your contract.  Recently I heard of a bride who swore she told the florist her wedding started at 1:00, the florist didn’t deliver the flowers until 1:00.  She had to postpone her walk down the aisle due to miscommunication.

7. A Rose is a Rose….

Make sure that you have substitutions discussed with your florist.  Most brides will book their florist many months in advance.  Make sure that in the unlikely event that the perfect shade of rose isn’t available that you have a fall back.  Chances are you’ll never have to worry about it but, if you do, it’s better to know what you are going to get far in advance instead of the week of your wedding.

8. Quality is MOST important!

Ask your florist what she would do if your roses came in bruised or in less than perfect condition.  It’s rare but sometimes things don’t work out like we plan.  White roses may come in with all their tips bruised, or worse.  I would simply make a phone call to my wholesaler and have the product in question replaced the very next day.  If you are dealing with someone who is buying their product from a less than reputable place that may not be an option for them.

9. Click, Click, BOOM!

Do you click with your florist?  If you feel uncomfortable in the conusltation there’s probably a reason.  Just like in any professional relationship you have to be able to work with the person who is going to be providing your flowers.  If you can’t stand the sound of their voice or if they are pushy and won’t listen to your suggestions find somone who will!

10. Go local!

This is probably my most important advice.  If you are searching out florists for your wedding look in your own backyard first.  I’ve heard of brides using out of state, or out of town, florists for their weddings.  Chances are, your local florist has tons of knowledge about your reception site, ceremony site, and how to get around in your neighborhood.  Some reception sites have very strict guidelines on what can or can’t be done - a florist who is familiar with the location will be able to prevent any snags that you may run into on your way to planning a successful wedding.

Happy Planning!

It seems that there is a conspiracy theory associated with ordering wedding flowers.  If you do a search online you will find blogs that encourage you to do many strange things to receive a discount or save money on your wedding flower order.  As a real Professional Florist I am going to debunk myths associated with ordering wedding flowers.

I decided to write this post after finding a recent blog over at The Offbeat Bride.  The site looks pretty cool for brides who want to be different and not follow the beaten path.  Honestly, I would have been a member if I would have found a similar site when I got married back in 06.  However, I must say that a recent blog post got my attention and not in a good way.

Here’s why:

Firstly, the author claims she’s a “florist” but in the next sentence calls another florist “a big money sucking floral shop”. With all the options that brides have for wedding flowers today they no longer HAVE to use a flower shop for their big day.  It’s our job to stand together and SHOW brides why it pays to use a professional florist and not bash each other for our own gain.
Some of the author’s suggestions are valid, and I’m not going to bash her opinions - just debunk the one’s that aren’t even remotely true!
The author suggests that you should tell a florist NOTHING when you are having a consultation with them.  You could, I guess, but I would venture to say that it would be a very unproductive consultation!

Here’s the list of the items I ask the bride to bring along with her to the consultation:
*A basic budget.  I don’t want to know exact figures but I do need to know if the three dozen mini calla bouquet that she’s dreaming of will fit into her real life budget.
*Dress colors, linen colors, color palette for the big day, theme/story ideas, etc.
*Number of people in bridal party

*Types of flowers needed (ie. reception centerpieces, altar pieces, or just bouquets)

*Photos of AT LEAST one bouquet that the bride likes so that I can get a feel for her flower-nality.

I expect the bride to ask ME questions as well, it just makes for a fluid consultation.  After all, we are going to be working together throughout your entire wedding and it’s great to have a trusting relationship which leads me to the following…
Other myths debunked:

Myth #1 - “Over 75% of florists use a 5x mark up on weddings.”

Most florists do charge more for LABOR for a wedding because of all the hands-on work that must be done to create each piece.  But that doesn’t change the markup of each individual item. It’s much more labor intensive to create a bridal bouquet than it is a $30.00 vase arrangement.  Each flower must be faced perfectly for pictures, hand selected for perfection, and sometimes it must be created more than once or more flowers must be added than originally quoted just because it’s for a wedding and we want your day (and bouquet) to be picture perfect!

Myth #2 - “Bring in your own ribbons and other floral accessories…A 2x mark-up is typically used on hard goods (ribbons, pins, etc.) so see if you can supply your own. That way you only pay for them once.”

Most of the time a florist’s wholesale price is MUCH cheaper than what you can pay retail for any hard goods item even after any markup.  I have had four brides in the last year who wanted to purchase vases out on their own.  My price was 3.00…the cheapest they could find was over 5.00 per vase.  Same with ribbon and other accessories.  Most “hobby” stores sell ribbon by the 3 yard bolt, I buy mine in the 25 yard bolt and that usually results in a savings of OVER .50/yard.

Myth #3- ” It’s okay to lie to your florist.”

It’s okay to be honest with your florist!  If you don’t want to pay $50.00 for a ring bearer pillow then say so.  Most times the florist will, as I said before, work with you to come up with a creative solution to any budget walls you might run into.  I guess no one will know if you do lie to your florist…I just don’t see how that will save you money.
Myth #4 - ” DO NOT bug the heck out of your florist.”

While I do agree that fifteen emails a day is a bit much I ENCOURAGE all my brides to have an open line of communication with me.  If they find out in March that they need four more corsages for their May wedding I would rather find out about it then than at the end of April at the final consultation.

Myth #5 - The price of out of season flowers are “going to be any where between 3 and 5 times more expensive than when the flower is naturally in season!”

Tropical flowers are NEVER in season here in Ohio (and most other states in the Midwest).  Flower pricing is very regional.  They just don’t grow here so we’ve got to source them the same in December as we do in July.  SOME flowers can be more expensive out of season if they are shipping from Holland but, that’s the exception and not the rule.

I feel like I am beating a dead horse with this blog post but, I also feel that it’s something that brides need to hear from a Professional Florist.  We aren’t trying to “screw” (I hate that word) you.  We are trying to work WITH you to create the wedding of your dreams.
Watch for my following blog post….

How to Choose the PERFECT Wedding Florist!

Congrats to Felicity Flowers & Gifts and owner/lead designer Heather Taulbee-McIntyre!

Recently our contemporary dozen rose design was entered into an INTERNATIONAL competition between real florists to decide which designs were the top 12 dozen rose designs in the world.  The contest was created by FlowerChat, the top resource for real florists to meet and talk about the floral industry.

The contest lasted a week where real florist contestants uploaded images of their top dozen rose designs.  The images were judged by all of the real florist members of FlowerChat.  Our entry is found below:

Luscious, Love.

One dozen luscious Cherry Brandy roses are simply paired with seasonal tinted wax flower and then hand tied with gold wire.  These gems of the season are versatile enough for a first date gift or even used as a vased centerpiece.

We’re so flattered that our design was part of the top 12.  Thanks for all the comments and votes!!

CONGRATS TO OUR FELLOW WINNERS:

Sher and her team at Flowers From the Rainflorist

“Twiggy” from Twigs 

Adam and crew from Belvedere Florist
Click the link below to see all of the fabulous entries by real florists:

http://www.flowerchat.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/554

Miracle-Gro meets Millinery! The annual fundraiser for NY ’s Village Care had some of the most unbelieveable floral hats and creations by many famous designers and florists.
Here are tons of great shots, the background and the story of the event.

read more | digg story

After watching many, many comparison shopping clips on tv and the internet on where to buy flowers for Mom, I was always perplexed that they never included flowers from a local florist. You would always see flowers from the big drop ship companies but, never a hand delivered gem from a Real Florist. Not until this Mother’s Day, that is!

This video shows 5 spring bouquets purchased for around $50.00. One bouquet was purchased from ProFlowers, FTD.com, 1800Flowers.com, Organicbouquet.com and Greenworks, a Real Local florist. Not surprisingly, the local florist Greenworks, smashed the competition!

Since we are on the topic of drop ship bouquets…

Make sure you don’t leave mom with a wilted bouquet. Some drop ship companies give the shipping companies explicit orders just to leave the bouquet on the porch/at the door if someone isn’t home. 80 degrees plus, flowers in a box with no water. You can guess what the results would be and, up until recently, you could see the results until Proflowers issued a cease and desist order against a local florist.

The video illustrated the opening of a box of roses left on the front porch of two Philadelphia florists. The roses were frozen solid and even made a loud “thunk” when knocked on the table.

And in the, I couldn’t have said it better myself file, we find this beauty. Score One for the Little Guy!

Just remember to call your local florist when sending flowers to Mom this year. Aside from the hassle of having to fight to get your money back if you should need a replacement you’ll also have to worry about fried flowers arriving at her door. Skip the drama and order some beautiful, hand delivered, flowers for your momma!