What to expect from floral consult?

rooey5004

Hello all,

Happy New Year!  Hope you all had a great holiday.  I feel like things are slowly but surely moving along with my planning but I feel stymied by just one last thing... booking a florist.

I had a floral consult a few weeks ago and really liked her but feel hesitant to book because I left not reallly knowing what type of flowers she was going to use.  I feel that she understands the vibe I am going for, had a lot of good ideas, and is familiar with our ceremony/reception venue (she told us exactly where she felt we needed flowers, and surprisingly, also told us where not to waste our money!).

I told the florist the specific type of flower I was interested in using for my main flower (ranunculus), and she said that it would be best for me to come back and see that flower in person because it might be smaller than what I expect.  Also, she said that we would just see what comes in the week of my wedding... sometimes the ranunculus is good, other times it's bad.  If it's bad, she can open up garden roses for a similar look.  Ok, so from a practical standpoint this makes sense, but I am worried that I don't really know what the end product will be, and I don't want to be disappointed.

Also, the way she does her weddings is that she has you come in a few months before your wedding to check out what is in season.  Then the week of your wedding, you get to see all the flowers ordered in, and make the final decision of what you want and don't want then.  

Is this typical, or is it your experience that you have a much better idea of what you are getting by the end of a consult?  Again, it all sounds reasonable (says the practical side of me), but it is hard for me to fully trust someone I don't know! I am generally sort of a perfectionist, so it might just be my nature to get anxious about this type of thing, but I think I will feel better knowing what a floral consultation typically is like.

What are your thoughts/experiences?  Thanks in advance :-) 

Caitlynmk

Everything seemed typical from my experience until you mentioned:  "you come in a few months before your wedding to check out what is in season.  Then the week of your wedding, you get to see all the flowers ordered in, and make the final decision of what you want and don't want then"

That seems really odd to me. I personally would never work with someone if they told me that because it just leads to too many questions. The florists I spoke to wanted to know exactly what flowers I wanted, then they make sure they can supply them or they find a greenhouse that will have them during that season. If not, they should tell you that it will either be difficult, not possible, or definitely available. They should have a fairly good idea of what will be available and should not make you randomly show up one day and see what you can choose from. I think you should check elsewhere.

In our case, I really wanted dusty miller or lambs ear instead of any dark greens because I wanted all of the bouquets to look pastel. 2 florists told me lambs ear at that time of year are unlikely but said dusty miller is possible  as long as the winter isn't too harsh. Then they offered a different type of greenery just in case that didn't work. But they know in advance that they need peonies and hydrangeas for our wedding flowers, so they make sure they either grow them or get them elsewhere.

I hope that helps. In summary, I think you should def check out a few more florists before you commit because that doesn't seem normal. We're using Parkway Florist and Cheryl has been awesome so far, plus very good prices, so just an option if you want to hear from other florists!

manjermj

Our consultation was a bit different. I contacted the florist  we wanted to use by phone and told him exactly what I was looking for - white roses and hydrangeas with greenery for our January wedding and emailed him photos of what I was looking for with our budget (which was tight for what we wanted). A few hours later, he emailed me the breakdown of pricing and I paid the deposit. We will meet with him the week before the wedding to finalize everything and make the final payment. That's it. I was worried about not getting hydrangea's in the middle of winter and he said to not worry at all, he can get them for me. We're using Kerry from KS Kennedy Floral and he really has been great. He made it easy to trust him to make my vision come together. 

rooey5004

Hey, thanks for sharing.  This was definitely helpful.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being too much of a control freak ;-)

I checked out both of your florists, but unfortunately they're a little far from my venue in Leechburg, so thats east of Pittsburgh. 

Anyone have a recommendation for someone out that way?