Our florist is offering us the choice to have either my bridal bouquet or a centerpiece to preview

Re: Our florist is offering us the choice to have either my bridal bouquet or a centerpiece to preview

• JoanE2012 member

  

  February 2014 edited February 2014

  I'd probably pick the bouquet.  It will be in so many of your photos (walking down the aisle, family photos, bridal party photos, you and your DH, grand entrance, etc) and seeing it in a mockup will ensure it's exactly what you want.  The centerpieces will only show up in maybe a couple of photos.

  
  

  FWIW, we didn't have any mockups and our florist did a beautiful job.  It's hard to have crappy flowers.  Pretty sure the centerpieces will be beautiful.

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• wrigleyville member

  

  February 2014

  I was waaaayyy pickier about my bouquet, since it was going to be included in so many photos and I knew people would want a good look at it (and they did). Centerpieces are nice, but they're mostly "background". If they aren't perfect, it isn't a huge deal.

  
  

  I'd go for the bouquet.

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• indianaalum member

  

  February 2014 edited February 2014

  I am not sure which I would pick, but here is a story for you to help think about

  
  

  When doing my wedding, I never saw anything ahead of time which I found kinda odd but people here assured me that was kinda normal. We had picked flowers, so I knew a general kinda theme of flowers and how it would look.

  
  

  All of my actualy bouquets looked fine and my centerpieces were pretty, but I paid 150.00 a piece for "alter flowers" which I assumed would be huge elaborate floral pieces. I actually bought something to display them on at reception since they cost so much money I had arranged to take them to reception to be used there, too. When I got to church, they LITERALLY were just normal flowers in a normal old vase (sorta like the ones at the grocery store that cost about 25.00). I was sooo disappointed and they looked RIDICULOUS displayed at my reception because they were so tiny in the designated space. I had naively thought the expensive cost mean they would be this vast amount of flowers (sorta like a large Funeral arrangement if you know what I mean). I felt ripped off.

  
  

  I guess my point is that it is probably also important to see the SIZES of the actual things you expect because that can also lead to disappointment.

  
  

  50.00 for table centerpieces seem a little on the cheap side compared to your 200.00 bouquet, so I would probably make sure you will be happy with what you get for that price, if that makes sense. I am not saying that you should spend more, I just want you to make sure you know what 50.00 is truly gonna get you as you might end up with a situation like me

  
  

  To all brides, always ask "what size" stuff will be. If they can't make an arrangement for you to how exact configuration, have them show you a picture of what that price point has gotten another bride.

  
  

  I have gone to a million weddings, so I ASSUMED (which is my own fault) that my alter flowers would be this large sprawling bouquet. It wasn't, and I realize it was my own fault as I never though to ask about that... I had actually spent money to buy pedastals to have them displayed on at reception so I think it just seemd silly so I felt embarassed when I was having people transport this puny little vase to the reception.

  
  

  What I realize now, is that my florist "cut corners" to make his profit that way....

  
  

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• MandyMost member

  

  February 2014

  Both of those sound complex to me! I was all prepared to answer that if you're getting a simple bouquet (I'm planning just simple red roses), then definitely go with the centerpieces. 

  
  

  But really, either one you go with will be fine. You'll get an idea if she's interpreting the description the same way you are, and if she has a similar general aesthetic to you. 

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  February 2014

  GlitterWitch22 said:

  If you get the bouquet, can you use it in your bridal portraits?  

  That would be one of the primary advantages of getting the bouquet, I can setup my studio appointment for that same weekend and take the bouquet with me.  Leaning towards the bouquet at this point.  I'm also toying around with doing a "test-run" on preserving my bouquet DIY with the Mock Up so I have some experience with it by the time I get to the real one.

  
  

  Thanks all for your suggestions!!

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• JoanE2012 member

  

  February 2014

  prettybirdy27 said:

  I would do the bouquet.  I wasn't given a mock-up, and I wish I had.  I would've dropped my florist right then and there had I seen what she was planning on giving me for my bouquets.  I think it would be really hard to mess up white hydrangeas and pink garden roses and renunculus, but she managed to give me green hydrangeas and regular completely closed pink roses, which I abhor.  Would've been cute if my colors were pink and green, but they were blush and champagne.

  Were the flower details in your contract?  I hope you pursued this after the wedding!  That's awful.  But, a mockup wouldn't necessarily have prevented that.  They could've done the mockup correct and still messed up on the day!

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• jenna8984 member

  

  February 2014

  FutureMrsPatten said:

  GlitterWitch22 said:

  If you get the bouquet, can you use it in your bridal portraits?  

  That would be one of the primary advantages of getting the bouquet, I can setup my studio appointment for that same weekend and take the bouquet with me.  Leaning towards the bouquet at this point.  I'm also toying around with doing a "test-run" on preserving my bouquet DIY with the Mock Up so I have some experience with it by the time I get to the real one.

  
  

  Thanks all for your suggestions!!

  
  Wait, what is this? Do you get all dressed in your dress and stuff and go take pictures with a photographer months/ weeks before the wedding? Does FI go too? What is the point when you're going to have a milion taken on the wedding day? I'm not being rude, I have honestly never heard of this.

                                                                   

  
  

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  February 2014

  jenna8984 said:

  FutureMrsPatten said:

  GlitterWitch22 said:

  If you get the bouquet, can you use it in your bridal portraits?  

  That would be one of the primary advantages of getting the bouquet, I can setup my studio appointment for that same weekend and take the bouquet with me.  Leaning towards the bouquet at this point.  I'm also toying around with doing a "test-run" on preserving my bouquet DIY with the Mock Up so I have some experience with it by the time I get to the real one.

  
  

  Thanks all for your suggestions!!

  
  Wait, what is this? Do you get all dressed in your dress and stuff and go take pictures with a photographer months/ weeks before the wedding? Does FI go too? What is the point when you're going to have a milion taken on the wedding day? I'm not being rude, I have honestly never heard of this.

  It was kind off new to me too, but as part of our contract the photographer offered both a "before" session and an "after session."  The after will be with both me and FI, but the before is just me.  FI doesn't think it's worth it to pay $200+ to rent his tux for the before session, etc.

  
  

  Yes, I'm planning to make it part a boudoir session (which my photographer is really well known for in addition to wedding photography) and also a "solo shots of the bride" and "shots of bridal stuff" (rings, shoes, dress, etc.) session.

  
  

  I think the solo shots of the bride portion will be really helpful with a couple things:  I'm planning to take my dress, jewelry, etc. as well as do the trial of my hair and makeup that same morning, so that we can knock out a lot of the pictures that would be taken on the actual wedding day of "just the bride in her dress looking pretty."  We really want to be courteous of our guest's time and not spend a bunch of time taking photos between the ceremony and reception.  We are also doing a first look, but again want to maximize the time our photographer spends with us on the day of, on things we can't do before hand.

  
  

  Also, I think that doing some of these shots in the studio will turn out really nicely/differently than they would the day of, to give some variety. Studios just tend to have different lighting, backgrounds, etc. especially for capturing different objects.

  
  

  Additionally, I'm going to try and have the photographer take some pics of my dress hanging up on it's personalized "April Said Yes" hanger, pictures of my wedding shoes, pictures of our wedding rings, etc. during this session as well--which will again help us be able to have him spend his time the day of taking pictures of people, rather than of these inanimate objects that can just as easily be photographed before hand. I'm sure he'll still take some of these on the day of, but just not as many as he might try for otherwise.  It will also help me feel better knowing that some of the "must have shots" have already been done and accounted for.

  
  

  It is completely unnecessary, but it isn't costing us anymore, and seems like a good opportunity to take care some of the "must have pictures" ahead of time, and also have a trial run with the whole look (dress, hair, makeup, bouquet, etc.) which after seeing how everything photographs, might allow us to make needed adjustments prior to the actual wedding.

  
  

  Not sure if this is the "correct" use of such a session, but that's what we are planning to do with it.  

  Great question!!

  
  

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• jenna8984 member

  

  February 2014

  @futuremrspatten That makes sense!! How soon before the wedding do you do it? That sounds like fun. 

  We are also really concerned with doing as many shots beforehand as possible so we can actually attend cocktail hour. I'm having a budget wedding and all the photographers in my area were way out of budget. So my really good friend who is a photographer is flying in (my expense) and staying at my house and doing ours for over half off her normal rates. It definitely puts me at ease because it's not the standard "6 hour block", we literally have her the whole weekend to take as many as we want before and after the wedding.

                                                                   

  
  

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  February 2014

  @jenna8984 I think you could do it anytime you want after you have all you accesories and dress picked out. I also recommend coordinating it with your hair and makeup trial. My wedding date is April 26 and I'm doing the pictures March 1st.

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• jenniferurs member

  

  February 2014

  Seems I'm in the minority, as I'd go for the centerpieces. There are going to be much more of them than the bridal bouquet, so I'd be more invested in how they turn out. But that's just me, personally.

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