Planning a wedding comes with plenty of decisions and one of the most beautiful is your wedding florist. The florist can truly make or break your wedding day depending on whether or not they execute gorgeous blooms that compliment your style and captivate your guests - or the flowers can literally fall flat. As a wedding florist, we have worked with a wide range of couples and wanted to give our tips to finding and working with the best florist for you!
When: Before selecting a florist, the big decisions should already be made, specifically location and date. If you also plan to have a theme or main color, those decisions should be made too, although a great florist can help you with ideas.Most florists can do more than one wedding a day, but the great ones do get booked up in advance, so start the search and interviewing process early.
How:Three quick steps to finding your perfect florist.
- Start with References – Ask recent brides and grooms for recommendations. Your venue is also a great place for suggestions as many have preferred vendors that already know the space. Any good florist will have customer testimonials, either on their website, on weddingwire.com or when you ask for them. They should be happy to share references and testimonials, if not – that is a red flag!
- Portfolio/Prep – Before meeting with the
florist, a few pieces of preparation will help make that meeting productive and
informative to make the right choice.
- First, review the florist’s portfolio… again these should be proudly displayed on their website or weddingwire.com. This gives you a sense of the scale, aesthetic and experience the florist has. Don’t worry if the flowers aren’t exactly what you want – they will make your flowers uniquely yours!
- Second, make a list of the arrangements you think you want. How many bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, ceremony site arrangements, etc. It’s helpful to also have a budget in mind, so you can discuss options with the florist.
- Third, put those wedding/bridge magazines to work. Cut out pictures of flowers you like… whether its color, specific bloom, type of arrangement, etc. This will be a perfect way to convey your desires without knowing the specific blooms and/or terminology. Creating a Pinterest board is great too… just make sure you share it with your florist.
- Meeting – Set up interviews with a few florists you have chosen. Bring your lists and bloom inspirations – then use the time to get to know them. Also helpful is a list of questions to ask (Tons of blogs out there have good suggestions for this).
Why: Go with your gut! The florist is someone you will work closely with to create one of the most impactful elements at your wedding. You should feel they listen to you, understand your goals and style and are excited to be such a big part of your wedding. Go with your gut!
It is not uncommon to book your florist a year ahead of the big day. However, most brides book between 6-9 months out.At Narcissus, we would be honored to create your wedding flowers! We serve the Jersey Shore from Cape May to New York City as well as west to Philadelphia – give us a call to discuss your floral vision.
