If you are starting your wedding planning journey, you may be new to all things wedding florals. Once you have found your wedding venue, you will start looking for what to use and do for your wedding flowers. It can be overwhelming when you are trying to make decisions regarding your wedding day and those decisions can add up. You may not know what questions to ask or what you need or want to touch on for your wedding.
We know that weddings can induce decision fatigue, so here at Bring Joy, we wanted to help you with anything you may have missed. You may not even know that you are holding preconceived notions of what wedding flowers consist of or what your wedding florist can do for you. Hopefully we will be able to steer you away from any wedding mistakes that may come up for you.
Rather than a DONT list, here are some DOs to help make your wedding planning with flowers run a little smoother.
1. Be Flexible
You may be someone who has done all the research on what kind of flowers you want and now have a specific idea of what style your wedding will be. Even more important, you may have the specific flowers you want. Then, when it comes to decision time, what you want in a flower may not be available, or even still it doesn’t cost what you thought it would. If you are able to be flexible and adapt to these obstacles that come up, you may get something that you never thought you wanted. Oftentimes if you are able to leave room for surprises you get an even more special and unique look to your wedding.
2. Timeless with a Touch of Trends
We all know the dated wedding photo when we see it. The puff sleeves, the bridal head crown, the big bold cascading bouquets. If you stick too closely to what is new and trending you may not be broadening your style to get what you love. If you have timeless florals and design overall with added touches of trends that you really love, you will get a wedding that is full of charm and character and totally you. If you stick too closely to upcoming trends you can run the risk of not having much nuance and depth on your wedding day.
3. Communicate to Get Detail Shots
You’ve spent all this money on your wedding flowers; from the bouquet, to the ceremony arrangements to the cocktail tables. After your wedding, the flowers are pretty disposable. If you haven’t communicated to your photographer about getting the detailed shots of your flowers, you may not have the memories of your wedding decor decisions. Your wedding day goes by in a blur, if you are clear ahead of time about getting detailed shots from your photographer you will be able to enjoy what you spent money on for years to come.
4. Understand IRL Flowers vs. Edited
Continuing to talk about wedding photos, it is important to understand that what flowers look like in real life can be altered by your photographer. For example, if you want moody flowers and a moody looking wedding day, make sure you are looking at a photographer whose style of editing matches that moody aesthetic. Fresh and real flowers won’t look the same in person as an edited photo. But it’s important to remember that having those detailed shots edited the way you want will last a very long time.
5. Understanding Cost vs. Budget
When you are thinking about what you want to do for your wedding flowers and budget is something that you want to be cognizant of, it’s important to talk to your florist. If you don’t work in the floral field you may not know what the cost of flowers can be and often, they are much higher than you thought. Make sure you talk about the budget for your flowers, and be aware that what you want may not be in your range. But if you work with your florist, they will most likely be able to offer more affordable substitutes that you may not have known. For example, peonies are very popular but can be expensive, you can substitute them with garden roses or ranunculus for a similar effect.
6. Utilize Your Florist
Communicating with your florist is key when trying to get everything you can out of your wedding day flowers. You may not realize all the things that they have to offer you in the way of their experience. Your florist may have contacts for rentals or have rentals themselves and they may be able to offer flower substitutions. They have a lot of insider knowledge on how to make your wedding flowers be better than you ever thought. Don’t be shy if you have questions or want to use your flowers in a unique way. If you open communication up with your florist, you could be getting a bigger resource than you thought.
7. Have Flowers Do Double the Duty
If you are looking to cut costs or are on a smaller budget, make your wedding florals work for you. Instead of having ceremony flowers and separate reception pieces, you can always transition them and use them twice. You may have several bridesmaids bouquets and if they are made in a specific way, they can be doubled as reception centerpieces. Even the ceremony arch pieces can be repurposed to be used on the sweetheart table or even as a photo op. Talk to your florist ahead of time and let them be aware you want to repurpose your flowers, that way you can ensure the flowers will be arranged properly to be used in a variety of ways.
