Things you should ask your florist when booking for your wedding

So, you are engaged- congratulations!! Hope you both are on cloud 9! You have a venue booked, a date in the diary- now you move on to other suppliers. Every couple prioritises each supplier industry differently and tackles their planning differently. Some tackle it like Stacey in “Gavin and Stacey” and have 8 weeks to blast it all- some break wedding planning down into bitesize chunks and book a supplier month by month while their wedding is some way into the future.

Do you have my date available?

When it comes to booking your florist- expect them to have some bookings at least a year- 2 years in advance, so first enquiring if they have your date available is the best starting point when wedding planning.

I would always suggest saving images of your colour scheme or any flowers that you like- and send them over at the first enquiry stage too. This gives your florist the chance to see if they are a good fit for your day. Each florist has a style that would need to be in-keeping with the kinds of designs you are after.

Are you familiar with my venue?

Ask your florist- have you decorated my venue before? If they have- great! They may have some pictures of how they have brought the flowers to life from a previous day. If not- it’s no biggie… I love going to new venues with couples to see how I can best maximise the budget for the day with repurposing flowers where possible. Depending on where this may be, this pre-visit may be chargeable- or added into your overall total. 

Will you be there on the day?

As the person that speaks to you and plans with you along the way- meticulously choosing the colours and flowers for the day you can 100% expect me to be the one to be delivering and executing the wedding on the big day itself. I love to see your careful wedding planning come into fruition- so if I need an extra set of hands to assist- I will bring in trusted freelancers that have worked with me a host of times and know exactly how I need the day to run- but I will 100% be there too.

Can my Nan/Aunt/Postman do some of the flowers and you do the rest?       

Unfortunately, no- I have collaborated with families in the past, and it has backfired big time. When one client begged me to allow her mum to make her wedding bouquet- I (against better judgement) allowed this- and the result was horrendous. I took care of the church, bridesmaids bouquets, buttonholes and some big suspended displays in the marquee reception- and was tagged by the photographer and videographer as doing all the flowers. The result- a half dead, ribbon loose and flapping, car crash of a bouquet which looked like I had run out of steam from doing all the rest of the wedding flowers and had just flung the remnants of my bin together for my beautiful bride. Other prospective brides saw those tags and were put off booking me as a result. Your bouquet is in SO many photos- it is so very important to get this made by a professional.  

And lesson learned- I do all of the flowers for the day- or I do none of them.

What is in season for my wedding day?

Something again that comes with YEARS of experience. And please don’t think you have to have roses- you can have whatever you like- (to a point). A lot of my clients say “I don’t know anything about flowers- just match my colour scheme”- and this is honestly music to my ears. My quotes are super visual- with lots of mood board space- so we can draw inspiration from any saved images and colour swatches to pull together a quote that looks as similar to your actual wedding day as possible. I love to use seasonal flowers for your day- this is also best for budgeting (no point trying to get daffodils in October- they’ll be terrible and expensive!).

Now that being said- I am a natural optimist- and when people say to me- “my wedding is late August, but I love peonies”- a stem that naturally is around May- July- I would never say never. Let’s get a plan A in the diary- and a great plan B that covers all bases too.

Do you provide packages or is my quote bespoke?

Every wedding is so different with its requirements, 90% of my quotes are bespoke. I like to get together with you, go through everything that you are planning for the big day, and suggest seasonal stems that will compliment your celebrations.

The other 10% like to see a quotation prior to enquiring to see an approximate costing for items they may need. I have a Packages tab on my website which outline three different popular packages.

Do you have a minimum spend?

Yes, I do- most weddings that I am asked to flower spend in the region of £3000-6000. I have a minimum spend for the day of £2000. This is my Freesia package on my website.

How far in advance can I book you?

I am in the very fortunate position that a lot of my clients are referred from previous weddings- and the majority enquire to ask if I have the date free, and then send over a holding deposit to ensure I am there for the day, and then work out colours and quantities of things at a later stage.

It is never too soon to book- but it may be too soon to be definitive. I need to know your exact requirements 6 weeks before the wedding date, so changes and tweaks can happen along the way. After all- you still need to get invites back from your guests- and this dictate numbers of table displays, numbers of buttonholes, numbers of rows of chairs etc etc.

I only take care of one wedding per day, so to avoid disappointment please enquire about your dates initially and then we can get into the details in any number of calls, Teams chats and in person catch ups, it is all part of the wedding planning fun.

How far away will you travel?

I will go wherever I am told! As I mentioned above- I only can take care of one wedding per day- so if you book me- I am happy to go to any venue. I will factor into your delivery costs and set up fees, my mileage and time on site. So, nothing hidden!

Where are your flowers from?

Where possible I try to source local and British grown flowers. In winter months this is more heavily supplemented by my sources in Holland.

Do you have other items for hire?

Yes indeed- I have a host of glassware, candlesticks, arches, crates, welcome boards and lots more for you to hire alongside the flowers to complete the styling.

How do I get the hired items back to you?

I build this into your quote too- whether it be collection at midnight as some venues stipulate this- or the following day- I can take care of this for you.

What if something I hired gets broken?

I take a holding deposit for hired items, so any breakages are deducted from the deposit and any surplus funds are returned to you.

What if I change my mind when wedding planning?

Your wedding planning always evolves- always. So, I fully expect quantities to change along the way. If you have a colour or theme change- just drop me an email- I am sure that I can adjust to accommodate your new plans. If your changes are within 6 weeks of the wedding, I may be more limited on what I can change, but pick up the phone, call me! My booking deposits are non-refundable as I will not be able to resell your date.

When do you need payment?

Once you have received my quote, and you are super happy to go ahead, then a booking deposit of £400 is due to secure the date. Then the final balance is due 6 weeks prior to the wedding. If you prefer to chip away at the balance throughout the planning stages, my software keeps track of all of the payments sent over so you can see your remaining balance at all times.

I hope that this has been a useful guide to the first steps when enquiring about planning your wedding flowers- if I can be of any help towards your dream wedding- please drop me an email- helen@flowersbyhelenelizabeth.co.uk

Looking for flower inspiration? take a look at some of my recent designs

First photo credit Megan Daisy Photography