How many florists did you meet with?

cgyvhu

A bit of a follow up to kristenrmu's question.  Flowers are next on my list, and I feel like I will need to head to Pittsburgh to meet with florists.  How hard was it to find a florist? How many did you meet with before you found the right one?  Are most people going to want face-to-face meetings, or can I get phone consults/quotes?

 I'm worried I'll plan too few meetings or too short of a trip and have to go back again and I really don't want to do that.

TIA!

gmc22

I met with 2 florists and ended up going with the second one. I did a lot of research online + many emails back and forth. Being from OOT I didn't have that much time to run all around meeting with many different florists.

jlbaxter33

I also met with 2 florists. The first one gave no alternative suggestions and quoted me at $5K (INSANE!), This is a vendor that I met face-to-face with. My second florist, By George Floral, was so incredibly friendly and had fantastic ideas on how to make what I wanted affordable and look great. Both florists took about 2 weeks to price things out. They need to call their seller and work out the numbers.

This is the one instance where having a planning bio was very helpful. I sent the link to George and was able to see my vision and what I wanted. I'm so excited to be working with them. Oh, here's my favorite part. After we met with George and we were wrapping up, I asked him if he wanted our budget? He said no b/c he wants to see what everything we wants come to and then we can discuss my budget and start cutting from there. I really liked this b/c we could shoot for the moon and then start cutting. BTW, his quote was $100 over budget, so we are going for everything we want!

kristenrmu22

Great question, mdphd. I am setting my appointments now too. I have one booked (Parkway Florist) and two that I am waiting to hear from on appointment dates. Good luck with your planning!

missyt180

I did all of my research online and never met with the florist face-to-face.  I did have several phone calls with many of them, which is how I made my decision.

The florist I eventually chose was not at all the cheapest but I had the best response/vibe from her. 

I was planning from Los Angeles (and doing much on my own/not relying on friends/family in the area) so it was vital that I be able to communicate w/o face-to-face meetings.  Several florists that do amazing jobs and are highly recommended by other Knotties were not responsive enough during this time for my comfort.  Basically, I needed an online portfolio / 24-48 email response time to help make the decision (oh, and have them be available on my date!).

I did receive a full itemized quote via email, and worked with the florist to add/subtract where needed. 

jlbaxter33

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-pittsburgh_many-florists-did-meet?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:116Discussion:cbabc69a-42fd-458f-941d-8ba738779529Post:bef097dc-c4a3-4ea2-96b0-dd2f8b27c48a">Re: How many florists did you meet with?</a>:
[QUOTE] I did receive a full itemized quote via email, and worked with the florist to add/subtract where needed. 
Posted by missyt180[/QUOTE]

I also recieved an itemized quote via email, which was very helpful. The first florist I visited just called my Mom with the number, not cool.

AP910

I too did all of my research online from OOT.  loved Karrie Hlista's website, and after my thorough phone meeting, where I shared my wedding inspiration board from *another* website I pretty much decided to use her before I met her. As i just posted in response to the last florist question, communication concerned me at times, but on the actual day of the wedding I was just thrilled with my flowers. THe bouquets and ceremony decorations were better than I could have hoped for, and the centerpieces were just right.  Karrie definitely tries to keep within whatever budget you give her.  She gave me an itemized budget too. I will always be in love with my flowers!  Our pictures should be on her website soon.

Photo by Joanna Fassinger

Ash2985

I met face-to-face with one florist, got a super high quote, and then called Kerry Kennedy to see if he could do basically the same thing for a lower price.  I talked to him for about 45 minutes, sent him pictures, and he gave me a quote that was within my budget, so I went with him.  His website isn't great but he has a fantastic reputation and a great personality, so that's who I went with.

AP910

Having trouble editing my post-- I just want to say that I think you will feel much more at ease if you can do phone meetings ahead of time, narrow it down to maybe two florists, and just meet them in person. If they aren't willing to discuss things with you over the phone, perhaps they aren't the florist you want anyway!

Hope61

I am also planning from OOT (living in Pittsburgh, wedding in Toledo). I spent some time researching florists and then chose three to meet with. I set up meetings all in one weekend (ended up being Friday eve, Saturday morning, and Sunday afternoon). It worked out well that way. One was really cheap but I would not trust her AT ALL. The other two were fantastic so I was able to choose the lower price of those two. I thought it was nice to meet with them in person, I got a better idea of their personalities and was able to look through books of their work with my mom. (FWIW I used the exact same plan of attack two weeks later to choose a cake baker and that seems to have worked out well too)

Flowerstar1023

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-pittsburgh_many-florists-did-meet?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:116Discussion:cbabc69a-42fd-458f-941d-8ba738779529Post:bef097dc-c4a3-4ea2-96b0-dd2f8b27c48a">Re: How many florists did you meet with?</a>:
[QUOTE]Basically, I needed an online portfolio / 24-48 email response time to help make the decision (oh, and have them be available on my date!). I did receive a full itemized quote via email, and worked with the florist to add/subtract where needed. 
Posted by missyt180[/QUOTE]

<div>Hi Missy. Who did you end up using? I'm uber into organized people with quick email response since that's what I'm used to. Thanks!</div>

cgyvhu

Thanks, guys.  The florist really is the vendor I'm least excited about (mainly because i have a super low budget and don't care that much about flowers).  Good to hear that a lot of you got email quotes and could discuss things via phone - that's definitely what I was hoping for.

I guess I'll start researching soon!

missyt180

Sorry, dup post!

missyt180

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-pittsburgh_many-florists-did-meet?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:116Discussion:cbabc69a-42fd-458f-941d-8ba738779529Post:f2febd25-33c9-45d7-9d46-b69f7144b2e9">Re: How many florists did you meet with?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: How many florists did you meet with? : Hi Missy. Who did you end up using? I'm uber into organized people with quick email response since that's what I'm used to. Thanks!
Posted by Flowerstar1023[/QUOTE]

I went with Megan at Fragile Paradise.

I had been told previously that she was on the pricier side; however, while I was there for my in-person meeting in June (for Sept. wedding) she had just gotten back from another wedding in which the budget was much lower than what I ended up at.  So I do recommend contacting her via email or phone for a quote - she does a wide range of prices and is great at suggesting lower cost solutions.

Ultimately, I decided on her due to her personality, she was from Greensburg (my old hood), and was amazing at follow up.  When I went in to see her, I had already given her a very vague idea of what I thought I wanted.  She had a "test" centerpiece set up and we played around with it until it was just perfect.  Also, she made great recommendations that made sense - for example, she did a site visit to the Fairmont 2 weeks prior to my wedding.  The ballroom has a wall of windows with random ledges that stretch the entire width of the room, so she suggested adding small mint julep vasesw/hydrangeas to these ledges (I think that added maybe $200) but it was a WOW moment, and enhanced the ceremony and reception both.  My ceremony was short and sweet, so she cut  back on the florals, and what we did use, she repurposed for the reception (for example, alter flowers were moved to accentuate the pierogie / slider station!).

If you would like to see pictures, feel free to email me at missyt180 at yahoo dot com.

She was my favorite vendor of all and I was so happy to have worked with her.

Also, I think I have mentioned her a few times already in my short time back to the boards, but I swear I don't get any type of commission - she just impressed me that much!