Flowers

eadarnell

I am so excited - today the fiancée and I booked our venue! We're not getting married until April of 2011 but I really wanted to start looking at different vendors and getting a feel for costs and what we like.

Do you ladies have suggestions for flowers? I have only looked online at places - nothing yet in person. Any suggestions? I do like more modern arrangements. I looked at flowers by Jodi and she had some pretty cool and different arrangements.

Thanks so much for all of your advice!

FutureMrsL.R.Allen

I am going with Butterfly Petals.  Amanda has been great to work with and she is VERY reasonably priced!  I know many girls on this board have used her and been very happy.

lcarp203

We are going with Jen at Ever After Florals.  She has been really nice and great to work with.  She was a referral from some Ladies here on the Knot.  Her quote came back right on with the next two vendors listed below (butterfly petals and also Flowers By Jodi).  We really clicked with her.

We also heard great things about Butterfly Petals, but Amanda was Pregnant and couldn't meet with us   We did get a email quote that was in the ballpark with the other vendors.  I have heard many great reviews.  We wished we would have had the opportunity to meet with her.  I have heard that she is back doing weddings now.

I met with Flowers by Jodi.  I didn't really click with her.  Her prices were in the ball park of the other florists I met with.  You will have to go to her office at Camelback and central for your consultation.  You will leave with an rough estimate and she will then mail you the final estimate.

Also met with Jenny at Flower Power Weddings.  She was the least expensive (by about 400 bucks!), but service, professionalism and response time was less than impressive. 

Good Luck.  I would recommend bringing LOTS of pictures of things you like.  This will help the florist get your view for your day.

acnahm

I second Amanda with Butterfly Petals.  She has a very fun style and my first quote came in about $500 under budget which was really exciting because we can definitely use the $ elsewhere!  She's really creative and has amazing ideas and really can work with any budget.

FutureMrsL.R.Allen

In regards to Amanda being pregnant, she did have the baby and is available again.  I think she was on bed rest towards the end of the pregnancy, but she is up and running again!

FutureMrsL.R.Allen

Oh, and OP, congrats on booking your venue!!!  Where did you end up booking?  April 2011 will get here before you know it!  I highly recomment that since you have your venue booked you should start booking all of your big vendors by this April since that is a very busy time of the year, maybe even sooner if you find someone you really like!  I booked my venue last April for my wedding this April and then immediatly started booked vendors, some were already booked up even though I was a full year out.

eadarnell

Thanks so much! We are getting married at the Biltmore. I'm really excited. Thanks so much for your suggestions.

What vendors do you think we need to book out the farthest in advance?

FutureMrsL.R.Allen

Beautiful venue!  I think the next most important vendor to book is the photographer.  Florists, cake bakers, etc can do more than one wedding in a day, but a photogrpher can only do one, so to make sure you get the one you want you should start talking to photographers asap.  I got engaged in April of 2009, booked my venue in April/begining of May (I forget) booked my photographer the day after I booked my venue, and then almost all of my other vendors over the next month.  I would say 90% of my vendors were booked by the end of May.

kristinmcclaff

Congrats!  I'm also getting married at the Biltmore!  Our date is 9/25/10. 
I'm going with Table Tops Etc because the owner, Melissa, really impressed me.  She's very talented, creative and professional and had tons of examples of past events they've done.  Her designs are very chic and I felt like she grasped my personal style right away.   http://tabletopsetc.net/
I also met with Tamara at AZ Petal Pushers and she was really nice.  Her email quote was right in my price range.  The only downside is her shop location (Avondale) is a bit far.  http://www.azpetalpushers.com.

You may also want to reach out to Stacey, the catering sales manager at the Biltmore and have her send you their preferred vendor list (I can also PM it to you if you'd like). 

As far as which vendors to book early, at 8 months out, I had a few photgraphers and a DJ in mind that were already booked on my date, so it's really never too early!

Hope this helps!

lara.erica

My name is Erica, my husband and I started our own floral business last year,

THE CHERRY BLOSSOM.

I have over 9 years experience in the floral industry and have dedicated my designs to weddings for the last 4 years.  I was lead designer for White Shears Flowers in Goodyear until last year when it was sold to Desert Oasis, where I was lead designer and manager until two weeks ago.

I love to do weddings! It's my passion and during theses difficult financial times I have learned that brides to be are struggling to find vendors that will provide good services at reasonable prices.
It was then,
that The Cherry Blossom was born...
were exquisite design doesn't have to be expensive.

We work with several top rated wholesalers in the valley and only use the best products available (I personally hand pick the flower for your special event).  The difference between a shop and our business, is attention to detail...

 If you like to set up an appointment, please feel free to email me at cbfloraldesign@yahoo.com, by phone 623.698.8304 or text me your info to 623.332.2774. 

WE GUARANTEE THE LOWEST PRICE AND WILL BEAT ANY COMPETITOR'S ESTIMATE BY 25%.

FutureMrsL.R.Allen

Erica-  Vendors are not allowed on The Knot.  I am assuming that you just did not know this since you are not trying to hide the fact that you are a vedor, but this is not the appropriate place for you to post.  We as brides come on here to get un-biased opinions from other brides and do not appreciate vendors posting on here.  Please do not post on here anymore, The Knot will ban you for doing so, and it will not help your business as brides on here just get annoyed with all the vendors who come on here and try to push their business.  If you want to advertise your business on The Knot you must buy advertising space.  Good luck with your new business, if you do a good job for someone here they will give you a good recomendation, that is what this forum is for.

techchic8

I'm going with Amy's Floral Designs! Amy was so professional and knowledgable about what flowers to use for my outdoor May wedding (read- hot). Her designs are also amazing, ranging from modern chic to classic. Her quote was in my budget, which was a bonus. I can't wait to see what she will do!

Agentmysterycat

Hi there!
I am an old Knottie, just decided to poke my head over to see how the new batch of brides are doing and saw this post.

We used Amanda at Butterfly Petals! She was BEYOND amazing! I had 9 BM's, 9 GM's, a huuuuge gazebo piece and I think 35 center pieces....She blew my flowrs out of the water!

I have some pics posted on DH and I's website

http://www.azhappilyeverafter.com/

Good luck in planning! I am ususally on the PHX Nest board (at least I check it daily) if you have any questions you can page me there or email me, as my screen name is my email addy

paulina&eric

We used flowers by Jody and loved her work. We also used pewcones.com for satin and pearl coness for the flowers. Biltmore is just gorgeous!!!