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How to Plan Your Wedding Flowers, Part 4: Booking Your Florist

All right. You've inquired with some floral designers, talked about your ideas and heard their suggestions, and received a few quotes from them. If you've inquired with more than one designer, you've now got a decision to make: who do you choose?

Image by Brittany Mahood Photography, designed by Stone House Creative for Host Winnipeg

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR WEDDING FLORIST

Your best bet will always be to go with your gut: choose the person you CONNECTED with the best. If you're debating between two floral designers and they both came in at similar price points, but you had a better conversation with one than the other, then your decision is easy-peasy. Now, if you're debating between two or more designers who came in at different budget numbers and who offered you different ideas, I'm again going to suggest that you consider the one who genuinely GOT YOU better (assuming, of course, that you are a fan of the work of all of the designers you're considering). Selecting the person who really understands your vision and is excited about bringing it to life with her own creative spin on it, will be the happiest decision. If this company is a touch over your budget, you can come back to her with a request for a lower budget option, knowing that she'll still be able to create something that works for you because she gets you!

A FEW DETAILS:

  • Expect to sign a contract and submit a non-refundable deposit (your payment structure and refund policies should be noted in the contract).
  • This is the perfect time to ask any last questions that have come up since your consult and your initial conversation! 
  • Send your designer any inspiration pictures and pictures of your dresses for your designer to keep on file.
  • Here are some tips on how NOT to plan your wedding flowers.

WHEN SHOULD YOU BOOK YOUR WEDDING FLORIST?

I suggest that you book as soon as possible after you know who you want to work with. There will always be minor changes (or sometimes, even major changes!) that you need to make throughout the wedding planning process, but don’t feel like you have to wait until you know all of those details. In fact, it will likely work AGAINST you to wait - your floral designer may be booked up by the time you get around to it. Most floral designers suggest booking their services 8-12 months in advance of the wedding, and keep in mind that Winnipeg vendors tend to book up even earlier than that (I'm currently booking 2017 weddings!).

Don't miss a single post in this helpful 4-part series! You can find Part 1 herePart 2 here, and Part 3 here. And, now that you know everything you need to about planning your wedding flowers, click the button below to check your date with me, and tell me a little about your plans so far! As mentioned, I'm now booking 2017 wedding consultations. I have some winter 2016 availability still, so if you're planning for November/December of this year, shoot me an email right away and we can start talking.