Going to the florist today

dcbride86

Any advice?  Any specific questions I should ask?  I've pinned some photos of bouqets, centerpieces and chuppas I like, but I can't think of what else I should do

Sugargirl1019

Are the flowers you want available during the season you're getting married in?

Do you provide glassware/mirrors/candles for centerpieces or do I need to provide my own? (this was HUGE for us, saved us time!)

Will you reuse pieces from the ceremony to decorate the reception space to save us money?

Sugargirl1019

Don't forget about boutonnieres for the men, include both fathers and any other men important to the day but not a groomsmen (reader). Corsages for women - do you want wrist or pin-on? Include mothers and even grandmother or other VIP women in your life.

dcbride86

Sugargirl1019 said:

Are the flowers you want available during the season you're getting married in? Do you provide glassware/mirrors/candles for centerpieces or do I need to provide my own? (this was HUGE for us, saved us time!) Will you reuse pieces from the ceremony to decorate the reception space to save us money?

OMG thank you!!  I know my flowers are seasonal, but the other questions were things I definitely would NOT have thought of!  I kind of feel like the worst bride ever right now lol

Sugargirl1019

dcbride86 said:

Sugargirl1019 said:

Are the flowers you want available during the season you're getting married in?

Do you provide glassware/mirrors/candles for centerpieces or do I need to provide my own? (this was HUGE for us, saved us time!)

Will you reuse pieces from the ceremony to decorate the reception space to save us money?

OMG thank you!!  I know my flowers are seasonal, but the other questions were things I definitely would NOT have thought of!  I kind of feel like the worst bride ever right now lol


No you're not, just giving you my experiences with my florist! She was wonderful to provide all these things for me, and it never occurred to me someone might not provide glassware to put the flowers in or candles to make it look pretty.

Sugargirl1019

Also ask about set up and tear down. Are you and family responsible for putting everything into cars afterwards? Or does the florist have a team that will come back by and take everything away that they set up?

SUPER IMPORTANT!

dcbride86

Sugargirl1019 said:

Also ask about set up and tear down. Are you and family responsible for putting everything into cars afterwards? Or does the florist have a team that will come back by and take everything away that they set up? SUPER IMPORTANT!

OMG yes!  Definitely important!  I should also ask my venue about that.  Do hotels often do that kind of a thing?

Sugargirl1019

dcbride86 said:

Sugargirl1019 said:

Also ask about set up and tear down. Are you and family responsible for putting everything into cars afterwards? Or does the florist have a team that will come back by and take everything away that they set up?

SUPER IMPORTANT!

OMG yes!  Definitely important!  I should also ask my venue about that.  Do hotels often do that kind of a thing?

I would call your venue's wedding coordinator today before the meeting to ask if they have staff to move everything. This would be good to know so you don't tell your florist the wrong thing. But they also might know your venue, and will tell you what is done.

dcbride86

Sugargirl1019 said:

Sugargirl1019 said:

Also ask about set up and tear down. Are you and family responsible for putting everything into cars afterwards? Or does the florist have a team that will come back by and take everything away that they set up? SUPER IMPORTANT!

OMG yes!  Definitely important!  I should also ask my venue about that.  Do hotels often do that kind of a thing?

I would call your venue's wedding coordinator today before the meeting to ask if they have staff to move everything. This would be good to know so you don't tell your florist the wrong thing. But they also might know your venue, and will tell you what is done.

They definitely know my venue.  They were my venue's recommendations and do the flowers for my venues lobby and stuff.  But I'll call anyway - I need to ask about a few other things anyway

 

Thanks!!!!

novella1186

You should ask her to specify which types of flowers she'd use as a substitute if you can't get the ones you want. Most florist contracts I've read say something about a "reasonable substitute" in case your flowers arrive in bad condition and the florist can't work with them, or something happens with the grower and those flowers can't be provided anymore. 

If you order peonies and she'd substitute garden roses as a last resort, ok good. But if she'd substitute them with daffodils... not so good. 

goldchocobo.defunct635829490514903826

You might want to ask if the vases are rentals or included in the centrepieces.  I think they are typically included but you might want to make sure.

dcbride86

novella1186 said:

You should ask her to specify which types of flowers she'd use as a substitute if you can't get the ones you want. Most florist contracts I've read say something about a "reasonable substitute" in case your flowers arrive in bad condition and the florist can't work with them, or something happens with the grower and those flowers can't be provided anymore. 

If you order peonies and she'd substitute garden roses as a last resort, ok good. But if she'd substitute them with daffodils... not so good. 

Oh good call!  esp since one of my flowers is blue hydrangeas and I know those can be super unpredictable.  I've made jokes to my MOH about us painting white ones if blue ones dont come in (obviously a joke - im not *quite* that insane)

I just want to get all the pieces done and get married already.  I'm kind of sick of being engaged (long engagement) and I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going to stop caring about most details fairly soon