Our wedding guru, Katrina Otter, shares her top tips for choosing wedding flowers
Whatever style of wedding you’re planning, flowers will almost certainly play a part in your day. From bouquets and buttonholes to tablecentres and statement arrangements, weddings flowers bring plenty of natural beauty to such a special occasion. But, when you’re deciding on your floral scheme and you’re not necessarily a floral expert it can be quite tricky to know exactly what to do. So, what that in mind, here’s my rundown of the top things to remember when choosing your wedding flowers:
Firstly, let’s start with the most important thing of all – your florist. Choosing the florist that’s right for you is absolutely key. Take some time to research florists, get a feel for their style and the weddings that they work on before getting in touch. Check out their social media feeds – do you like what you see? If the answer’s ‘yes’, get in contact and arrange to meet up.
Before that meeting, it’s useful to put together a Pinterest board and/or save some of your favourite inspiration pics from Instagram so that you can share your initial ideas with your florist. This will give them a good idea of the style, vibe and colour scheme that you’re going for and the types of bouquets and arrangements that you like. It can also be worth thinking about your priorities here too. Do you really want a floral backdrop and a suspended installation? Is your bouquet the most important thing or is it your dream to have a wow factor installation such as a floral arch or backdrop? Knowing what you really want will help your florist put together your quote.
And whilst we’re talking about quotes, let’s talk about budgets too. I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to know your floral budget before you meet your florist and for you to share this with them. Flowers can be expensive but knowing your budget and your priorities will ensure that your florist can create a scheme that gives you the best wedding flowers possible without ideally going over budget.
It’s also important to remember that when you see your floral quote that you’re not just paying for the flowers themselves. You’re paying for your florist’s time, expertise and skill. Your quote might also include travel, staff costs, set-up and breakdown not to mention equipment and time needed to create your wedding florals too. Meetings and consultations could also be included plus a whole host of other elements too. In short, those figures don’t just account for the blooms themselves.
With those practicalities aside, here are a few more things to remember:
- Working with seasonal flowers can be more cost effective – ask your florist what will be available on your date before you settle on specific varieties
- Check with your venue before you set your heart on large installations. It’s important to know what’s allowed and what’s not
- Whilst you’re speaking to your venue(s), confirm access times and times for breakdown. Your florist will need to know how long they’ve got to get everything set up for you, which may have an impact on how much they quote
- If you’re on a budget, can any of your wedding flowers be used more than once? Ceremony arrangements can move to your reception for example or your bouquet could decorate the top table or cake table. Think creatively!
- Be flexible! You might have a certain bloom in mind for your wedding flowers but being flexible and allowing your florist to choose the best variety when they actually buy your flowers might mean you get more flowers for your money
- Foliage is definitely on trend and it can be much more cost effective but please don’t expect bouquets and arrangements to be cheap. Remember that a lot of the cost of wedding flowers is for the florist’s time and experience
- Don’t forget to think about your wedding vibe when you plan. Certain varieties lend themselves better to certain wedding styles so talk through your plans with your florist and ask for their input
- If you have your heart set on large installations then talk to your florist about incorporating some faux, especially for anything at height
- Be honest with your wedding florist. If you’re not keen on their ideas, then you must tell them as soon as possible. Remember that communication is key
- Be clever with your budget – a few statement arrangements will have more impact than lots of little details and more expensive individual flowers such as peonies and hydrangeas can have a bigger impact than lots of smaller blooms
- Your bridal bouquet will be in LOTS of photos and it will be with you all day. Go for the best bouquet you can afford – you won’t regret it!
Image credits: Greenacres, Coco and Kat & Hannah Duffy Photography
