Welcome to the New Year, and to the first of my monthly posts for 2019. Over the coming year I’ll be sharing the knowledge I’ve gained over the last 28 years as a florist; together with advice about creating the dream floral scenario for your wedding. Starting with how social media influences your decision making choices, and mentioning the money side of things as well; over the coming months I’ll be delving into much more detail about every aspect of wedding flowers, helping you create your dream celebration.
Firstly, I want to say that choosing the flowers for your wedding is one of the most enjoyable parts of the planning process (or at least it should be)! We’re not talking nuts and bolts here, but a beautiful part of your celebration that will take centre stage throughout the day, and for years to come in the photography.
Secondly, the way couples choose the flowers for their weddings has changed beyond all recognition from when I started my training at the end of the 80’s. Traditional flower shops with commercially produced catalogues have given way to social media. Instagram and Pinterest have opened a whole new world that you never knew existed! They’re saturated with gorgeous images of flower walls, enormous hanging installations, arches and flower heavy photoshoots. The floral world is your oyster, and it’s hard to know where to begin. My advice is STOP! Before you get completely carried away, and bombard some unsuspecting florist with 47 images of wedding bouquets, start with the money!
I’m in a fairly unique position, in that I’m married to a wedding planner, so I’m very familiar with the budgeting that my husband advises his clients to allow for each element of their wedding. Most couples don’t know this crucial information though, and to be honest why would they? Unless you’re used to spending a five figure sum on flowers for your house every week, you’re never going to spend that much on them, except for a wedding.
The cost of wedding flowers is sometimes like the elephant in the room. Couples don’t like talking about it, and much of the wedding industry seems to be ignoring it. A lack of discussion about what wedding flowers actually do and can cost leads to a huge amount of frustration, misunderstanding and embarrassment for florists and clients alike. A serious lack of information about the work involved for a wedding florist isn’t helped by the media and bridal press telling couples to ask for discounts, and that they can have it all on a budget of £500. There is of course nothing wrong with spending £500 on wedding flowers, as long as you don’t expect them to look like £5000!
MY advice is to ALLOW 10% of the overall budget for flowers. That doesn’t mean you have to spend 10%, but keep it in mind as you decide on on your guest numbers, the number of arrangements you want, and crucially the work it’s going to take to make it all happen.
I firmly believe that you should choose your wedding florist because they’re creative and talented individuals, and because you love what they do. Start from that point and everything else will follow.
Next month I’ll be covering the first steps in choosing a florist, and the questions you need to ask.
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