Newly Engaged and need some advice on how to plan your wedding flowers? Then I hope you will find this information useful. It can be very overwhelming planning a wedding around an already busy life, so we are here to help and make your life easier.
Start Early: Once you have a date for your wedding then ideally it’s best to start looking for florists 6-12 months before your wedding. Some couples will book earlier than this and some much later. The latest I’ve had an enquiry was 3 weeks before the wedding day! They were after simple designs of locally grown flowers so it was easier to fit them in. However I wouldn’t encourage you to book that late as most florists work on their own so can only take on one wedding a day/week depending on the size. So do some research and if you love a florists particular style or ethos then get in touch with them as soon as possible. As we grow some of the flowers we use ourselves it really helps if couples book at least 6 months in advance as it gives us time to grow flowers to their colour theme and I can also liaise with other local growers to see what they are planning to grow.
Research & Inspiration: I would advise looking at florists within an hour of your venue, take a look at the florists Portfolios, Pinterest boards, Instagram page and blog posts to see if you like their work. My style is garden gathered or wild flower style using locally grown flowers. Collate images that resonate with your vision to share with your florist, it always helps the florist to see your preferred style and colour palette. Your florist will then be able to advise what flowers are likely to be available within your colour palette.
Here are a few images of very different themes using locally grown flowers.
Think Seasonally: Choosing a florist who works with British seasonal flowers will ensure your floral designs are more unique. Locally grown flowers are also kinder to the environment too, so please consider our planet. Also by choosing local flowers every year on your anniversary the flowers you choose are likely to be blooming again. Some of my couples whom love to garden have bought plants of the flowers I’ve used, which is a lovely way to remember your wedding day through your flowers. If you would like an idea of which flowers bloom at certain times of the year then take a look at my Seasonal Flower page to give you an idea of what to expect. I love to work with couples who understand that flowers are a natural product and nature is always in charge. I often don’t have availability lists from other growers until a week before your wedding, our experience tells us what is likely to be flowering but sometimes due to crop failures or high demand we can’t always get hold of the flowers we want. Which is why I can’t promise you exact flowers, although growing some of the flowers ourselves gives us a little more control. The way I work is to let the flowers that are available within your colour theme dictate what I create and it’s not until I have gathered up all the flowers, greenery and interesting elements that I can start this process.
Set a budget: I appreciate when you first start looking for wedding flowers you will have no idea of costs, that’s why I decided to put a price guide on my website. The budget you set is entirely up to you, flowers are more important to some couples, or your venue may need more or less floral decor to give it the wow factor. So don’t feel pressurised to spend more than you can afford. Try and get an idea of costs first before you start planning elaborate designs and then get disappointed that your budget doesn’t allow for these. Most florists also have a brochure they can send you but please remember most prices are ‘from’ prices as the final cost will depend upon how much floral content you want in the design and how easy it will be to install the design in your venue.
Flowers are an expensive luxury that take time to grow, they have to be picked by hand and they are difficult to transport, which automatically makes then expensive. That’s before your florist has taken time to prepare the flowers, create designs and delivered them. I have also written a blog post on Why wedding flowers cost so much, if you want to read here.
Possibly the only time you have bought flowers before is in a supermarket and unfortunately this doesn’t give an accurate cost of flowers as supermarkets have a huge buying power and often sell flowers as a lost leader as they just want to give that ‘feel good’ look as people walk into their stores.
Some florists have a minimum spend, especially at peak wedding season, so be sure to check this before enquiring. We have a minimum spend of £1000 for our bespoke service, however we also offer wedding flower packages if you are on a tighter budget and also allows you to save by doing some DIY flowers as we offer buckets of flowers to arrange yourselves from April – October.
Create a floral plan: You may dream of a floral arch, meadow aisle flowers, hanging florals and the full works. However if budget is tight then your florist will share ways of repurposing your wedding designs to make the most of your budget. Ceremony flowers can often be designed to be moved to your top table or other areas of your venue. Bridesmaids bouquets can also be used as table centrepieces, aisle flowers can also be moved, so there are ways to stretch your budget. I always like to have a video chat with couples when they enquire and find out what elements of their day are important to them and their overall vision for their wedding day. I can then better advise what flower designs to suggest to work within their budget. So if you really aren’t sure which designs to have then don’t worry your florist will talk you through this. I don’t need to know exactly what florals you want at booking stage, sometimes these things will often evolve and once you go back to view your venue then you can start to really confirm what you would like, so I would definitely recommend getting booked in with your preferred floral designer as soon as possible and discuss the finer details later. For my bespoke service I will give you an itemised quotation so you know the cost of each design and also send over a mood board of seasonal flowers. Overall I want you to enjoy the whole process and experience of planning your wedding flowers. If you would like a quote for your wedding flowers I’d love to hear from you so please do get in touch via my website – The Flower Patch
Photo credits:
Kate Hollingsworth Photography
