When?

fyrchk

At what point should I start looking for a florist? FI's cousin is a florist and at one point said she would do our flowers but she keeps putting us off saying we have time. (We aren't getting married til June.) However, I'm nervous she may flake and I don't want to be stuck with nothing.

When should I start consulting other florists and just let he know we've got it covered?

mrscomposer

To me, nailing down your florist and putting the flower order in are two separate events.  Find one you like, who will work within your budget, and put down a deposit to secure their services.  Then, a couple of months before the wedding, start talking specifics with them.

Granted, we got married in a small town, so we had exactly one option for a florist, but we put down a deposit a couple months in advance, and then a month before the wedding I went in and we talked about what we wanted and how much of everything we needed.  They're not going to put the order in until closer to the wedding anyway, so having specifics done months in advance is not necessary.

If your FI's cousin is a florist (like, an actual florist in an actual shop, rather than someone who just does it for fun), there should be no problem with sitting down with her and getting a contract and deposit done.  Flake insurance. 

labro

We booked our florist when we booked our venue (the two went hand in hand really, but we still would've booked around the same time anyway).

I definitely feel like there should be zero hesitation with booking, signing a contract, and making a deposit (if required). And honestly, I kind of feel like if you think she's going to flake out on you, that maybe you should start researching some other options. Yes, it is a little bit early, but most florists will limit how many weddings they'll do in a weekend so if your preferred florist is already booked up, you're out of luck. You definitely don't need to start making decisions until later next year...but I think that you should go ahead and book. June is a popular month for weddings.

MesmrEwe

O.k. if she's a professional florist, it's a lot different than someone doing this for fun.  Remember that florists work in some cases on a day or two notice, but with weddings it's nice to have the date booked in advance..  However, if you want really exotic blooms, you'll need more time, but a lot depends on what you want in the first place - for example, if you want Lily of the Valley it's a lot different than if you want basic Roses and Callas.  If she is flakey in general, go ahead and start looking now.  Nail down your budget and what you want.  And, set up an appointment with her because she may have offered to do your flowers, but that also doesn't mean that she's not going to charge regular working rates vs. at-cost so meeting just to go over things is a good idea.  You don't want to be a PITA, but you do want to know the parameters in which you're working!  Have your FI work intercept on this one because it is FI's cousin after all...

julieanne912

My aunt is a florist professionally and is gifting me her services (I'm paying for the flowers themselves).  She was out here visiting in February and we chatted a bit about what I wanted and she took notes.  After that, I didn't hear from her til last week when she was reconfirming the notes and making sure my original plans were still what I wanted (some of them changed).  

My wedding's on 9/12, so I do think you planning 10 months in advance is jumping the gun a bit. Maybe just reconfirm with your cousin that she is reserving that date for you.

fyrchk

julieanne912 said:

My aunt is a florist professionally and is gifting me her services (I'm paying for the flowers themselves).  She was out here visiting in February and we chatted a bit about what I wanted and she took notes.  After that, I didn't hear from her til last week when she was reconfirming the notes and making sure my original plans were still what I wanted (some of them changed).  

My wedding's on 9/12, so I do think you planning 10 months in advance is jumping the gun a bit. Maybe just reconfirm with your cousin that she is reserving that date for you.

Thank you! That makes me feel much better!

[Deleted User]

You have time, but no harm is checking out other florist over the next few months to see what they are offering you and their prices. This way if feel that your cousin isn't going to deliver you have already done the research on different florist and know you like and don't like.

But if cousin has the date RVSP for you, then as long you discuss the details a couple months in advance to let them know what exactly you want and in regards to how many flowers & what kind, you will be ok. They will know how early they need to order flowers for your wedding. The big thing for picking out florist early is so that they put you on their books to make sure they don't over book themselves for that date.

ahyatt87

I think a lot of this depends on a) how important a specific florist is to you and b) how popular that florist is. As previous posters have mentioned, many florist limit how many weddings they will book per day. We booked our florist 10 months out from our wedding. I thought it was a long time out, but when we booked, they only had spots for two more weddings on that day.

Have you signed a contract with your FI's cousin? If not, I would start shopping around to see what else is available. Friendors often don't work out, and FI's cousin may also not work out. It's perfectly acceptable to arrange for meetings with your top few florists to figure out who you and FI feel most comfortable working with. Who knows, maybe FI's cousin would be happy just being a wedding guest and not a wedding guest/florist.

britneydel

I will only be getting the bouquets from a florist (1 bride, 3 bridesmaid, and 1 throwing) and I've honestly just started looking at florists this week. I'm not a huge fan of flowers, so they weren't that high up on the list of important things for me.