Florist

BrideinWaiting2012

With a florist how do I chose one?  Do I make an appointment and go in to discuss what I want and the vision for our day?  What questions do I ask?  I'm not really sure with how to proceed with getting a florist.  Am I supposed to "book" them?  I am totally lost here!  Help!

Also I am wondering, is using fake flowers from hobby lobby tacky for center pieces, the bouquet toss etc?  Because I saw some of the prices for real flowers and I am not spending $700 dollars on flowers that will die eventually lol!!  I don't care how good they look!

kerrib11

  I booked appointments with a few florists and told them what kind of flowers I wanted and how many of each thing I needed (such as bouquets, and bouts).  I'd go in and discuss your vision with them.  They'll be able to write you up a quote right then or get it to you in a couple of days.  You don't have to book them that day.  Just tell them you want a consultation.  

  It's fine to use fake flowers.  My sister used them for everything and it looked goood.  Flowers are expensive, I agree with you.  I didn't use any flowers for centerpieces.  We used floating candles instead.

  HTH.

jennOK

I found an article some time back that had 10 questions to ask your florist. I haven't been yet, but I'm going to tell her how many centerpieces and bouquets I need. Then I'm going to give her colors and my theme. I'll ask what are some of the most cost effective flowers she could use that would work with my colors.

I didn't save the link to the article, but here are the main questions it said to ask:

Can you provide photographs of your work?

Can you provide references?

Have you done arrangements for my venues?

What is your staff size?
What's included in the fees? -- Are vases and decorative bows additional? How much is the delivery fee? Ask the florist to write up a contract that specifies everything.

When is payment expected? -- Most florists operate on payment plans, which include deposits and first and final payments.

What is your refund/cancellation policy?

How many weddings do you work in one day? -- An overbooked florist means more room for error.

What flowers are weather-appropriate? -- Some flowers are likely to wilt, especially in the sun. Make sure your florist knows what flowers will hold up for the duration of your event.

What flowers are in season when the wedding takes place? -- Is the florist familiar with seasonal flowers? How much extra will it cost to work with out-of-season flowers?

baboo1231

I'm mixing real flowers, silk and organza flowers, and paper flowers (not in the same arrangement though!!) to cut down on costs.  I think silk flowers are fine, but they can get kind of expensive too so I'd definitely nab them when they're 1/2 off - check out dollar tree too, it's kind of "luck of the draw" as far as what they'll have when you go in - sometimes they're raggedy but I've found some really nice flowers as well.  If you look through the DIY photo galleries and/or the boquet gallery there are some pictures of A-MAZING paper flower arrangements.

As far as the florist, I think jennOK's questions are spot on - I'd look to see if any of the florists in your area have websites - you could probably get a lot of the who-what-when-where questions answered through e.mail.

I'd also ask about what they do about the flowers after the reception - I talked to one florist who included that vases/containers in the price she quoted because she doesn't like messing with getting all her stuff back, and I talked to another florist who uses all her own vases but picks up the flowers after the reception and arranges them in cheap-o containers (or your own personal vases that you bring her) for you to pick up the next day and do whatever you want with.

If you're crafty I'd also look at doing the boquets yourself - look around in the DIY stuff - you can get some incredibly good deals on mail order flowers specifically for DIY brides - or I've seen some people talking about buying flowers in bulk from Sams.

kate3246

I ordered my flowers online from Sams Club! They were beautiful! I also ordered from fiftyflowers.com for my reception and they were beautiful as well!