How did you pick your florist and baker? Who did you choose? Cost?

dljackma

I have been looking though the stickies and I cannot decide how to go about choosing a florist and a baker. The ceremony is in Commerce and the reception is outdoors in Goodrich, MI. Any suggestions?

Gwenwhyfare

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_did-pick-florist-baker-did-choose-cost?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:88Discussion:bafb8936-20b5-4d31-aa08-af8007f8c685Post:ad6e8dc7-b285-418f-9b93-caeca976a396">How did you pick your florist and baker? Who did you choose? Cost?</a>:
[QUOTE]I have been looking though the stickies and I cannot decide how to go about choosing a florist and a baker. The ceremony is in Commerce and the reception is outdoors in Goodrich, MI. Any suggestions?
Posted by dljackma[/QUOTE]

<div><div style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;background-color:initial;background-image:none;background-attachment:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;color:#1f1f1f;font:normal normal normal 11px/14px Arial, sans-serif;text-align:left;line-height:normal;">Our cake was included in our reception package, so there was no choosing there. As far as flowers go, I used April from April Irelynn Designs based on price and her reputation here. She was the lowest priced florist I met with, and was able to work within my budget. <div>
</div><div>I met with a couple Florists out in Howell in addition to meeting with April. These florists were recommended to me from our venue and just didn't get a good feeling when I met with them. Plus their prices were nearly double that what April quoted me. April works out of her home in Trenton, and I met her about halfway for both of us, in Canton for our initial meeting.</div><div>
</div><div>Basically what I am saying, is that you don't need to use a local vendor for cake or flowers. If what you're quoted meets your budget, you like them and they have a good reputation, that is how I selected my last few vendors (Florist and Photographer).</div><div>
</div><div><strong>ETA</strong>: Cost and breakdown of what I had for flowers are in both bios (Engaged and Married). Price will vary depending on the flowers you use, and if the flowers are in season.</div></div></div>

emarston1

Ditto Gwen on actually meeting with florists.  You will have to meet with them in person to get a quote.

As far as cake are concerned, I just called around to a bunch of places to find out the average cost/slice.  Then meet with the ones that are within your budget.  You'll also want to consider if you want fondant because some bakeries use it and some don't.  It does tend to be quite a bit more than regular icing.  You'll also want to take into consideration travel fees/delivery fees.

Ultimately, you will have to do your own research as well.  The stickies are a great place to start but you'll have to actually meet with them to find out who's best for you.

abbeylynne06

I called around like crazy to bakeries, both that I had heard of on the board, and others that I knew of.  I wrote down the price per slice and delivery fees for each bakery and met with the three with the best price and that I got the best feeling for on the phone. 

I wouldn't let location narrow your choice too much.  I ended up going with a baker who was located over an hour away from our venue, but the price per slice was so good that even with the delivery fee, the cake was less expensive than many others that were closer.  And, I absolutely loved her work.

As far as florists, I just met with two that I had heard of from the (Toledo) board.  I knew both had good prices.  I really liked the first one, so I went with her.  If I wouldn't have had such a fantastic meeting, I probably would have just continued the search.

MMRoberts11

I got most of my flowers from afloral.com (I'm doing silk and making everything myself).

As for the bakery, I'm going with the one 2 blocks from my house (about 1 hour away from the reception location).  I chose the bakery I did because they have always done a great job with birthday and graduation cakes that I've had from there as well as all the other products they make.  My FI and I did try samples from other bakeries and they didn't compare at all! 

sunkissed212

For my cake, I found a cake in a local photog's blog and fell in love with it. Found out what bakery it was from and made an appointment. Went for a tasting, it was delish, and we secured them on the spot. I did not look anywhere else since I knew that the cake I was picking was tricky and that this bakery knew what they were doing. Thank goodness the cake was tasty!

For florists, I was very intimidated because I had no idea what a 'reasonable' cost would be for the flowers I wanted. I met with Liz at The Parsonage with a number in my head (still not knowing how reasonable it was) and she ended up coming in less than the number I had in my head. I loved the work I saw of hers, her reputation, and everything we discussed in our meeting. So, I booked her. Loved her, she is awesome.