The Number 1 Thing You Can Do To Get The Best Wedding Flowers Possible
Want to know the number 1 thing you can do to get the best wedding flowers possible? It’s actually really easy, and it has nothing to do with how much money you spend:
Give your floral designer some flexibility.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Maybe a little too easy to actually be the answer? It’s not - I promise.
Here’s the thing: when you work in the wedding industry, obviously you work a LOT of weddings. Depending on the year, I’ll take anywhere form 25 - 60 weddings. And the other thing about weddings is that they are very trend-focused, and trends are very cyclical. Thanks to wedding blogs and Pinterest, everyone getting married sees the exact same things and is inspired by them. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this - at the end of the day, when you’re happily married and loving life with your new spouse, all I want is for you to have loved your wedding day. But at the end of my day…I can get bored. 😬And I feel a little guilty for saying it out loud.
But hear me out: if I design florals for, say, 50 weddings a year, I can almost guarantee that about 1/2 of them will want basically the exact same things as each other - and that is the LAST thing that I want. I want you to love your flowers, and maybe you’d love pretty much anything that I give you! But I also want your flowers to be uniquely designed, for you. And when 50% of my clients bring in the exact same inspiration pictures, it gets pretty challenging for me to come up with unique combinations and ideas that will make your wedding flowers different than the rest.
So here’s what I’m suggesting: Give your floral designer some flexibility, and we’ll be in a much better position to design a gorgeous, creative, unique floral design for you. Bring us those inspiration pictures, yes, because we want to get a really good feel for what you like and what you’re drawn to (whether you’re aware of it or not! I love finding commonalities between a bride/groom’s inspiration pictures) - and then once we’ve looked at those together, say the magic words: “I’d love to hear your suggestions!”
We’ve always got ideas and things that we want to do. I keep a running “wish list” every year, of ideas I have and designs I have been dreaming up in my head and want to bring to life. Your wedding might just be the perfect place to create one of those floral designs, but if I don’t get the feeling that you’re open to ideas, I might not pitch it to you.
Here are some of my favourite things I’ve created when I felt like I had the client’s permission to be a little flexible:
These pictures are examples of designs that I had been dreaming about in my head and were on my “wish list" - so when those clients asked me for ideas, I was ready!
Somewhat coincidental that these were all at Cielo’s Garden…but not really. If you’re planning to open a venue, do your floral designers a favour and build a space that’s really easy to work and design in!
Left and middle photos by Ariana Tennyson, Right by my super iphone skills 😂
With this head table design at Pine Ridge Hollow, I had full creative control from the beginning. Meredith loved the idea of something over the head table, because she really wanted the wedding to feel as outdoors and garden-inspired as possible. She didn’t care what I did as long as it tied with the rest of the florals. I had so much fun coming up with this concept!
Photos by Camryn Elizabeth Weddings
These are all examples of playing with colour palette. I LOVE working with an interesting colour palette - whether it’s muted but layered, or vibrant and bold - I just feel like a great palette brings everything else to life.
First, you’ll see a fairly traditional white and blush bouquet - in weddings, we get asked for this palette a lot. I suggested that we add in the smallest caramel and raisin accents in the way of foliages. It’s still obviously a blush and white bouquet, and the accent colours don’t compete with that palette at all, but the additional touches add a little something extra.
Next up, this peach and coral number which I LOVED. This was a fall wedding, and I loved being able to compose this bouquet with a lot of peach hues, tucking in coral and orange. I also layered in some mauve and plum blooms deep into the bouquet, which provided unexpected depth and really set off the peach. Photo by Jaclyn Leskiw Photography.
Third, a more interesting take on neutrals. Why go all white when you can add in some very soft sandy tones for a little warmth? Depending on your overall wedding style, your venue, your dress - something like this could take your bouquet from just another white bouquet to a really well-designed statement. Photo by Almond Leaf Studios.
Finally, a delicious berry tone palette. I did a bit of colour blocking to make specific flowers and sections of the bouquet stand out. Any time a client asks me for something like this palette, I’m going to just eat it up :) Photo by Izabela Rachwal.
And I’ll wrap it up with two more colour palettes that I LOVED and that show you two very different ways of using colour. On the left, Lauda asked for a really vibrant palette that would fit with their late summer garden wedding. I used a lot of locally grown flowers and I loved the boldness of it. And on the right, Stephanie and I chose a more earth-tones palette of terracotta and sandy tones, with the accent of the lavender. Both of these are out-of-the-norm colour palettes that aren’t really muted AT ALL, and through comparing them you can see that you can go many, many different ways with colour.
Left by Sugar & Soul Photography; Right by Ariana Tennyson.
So bring your ideas to your floral designer, and then say those magic words: “I’d love to hear your suggestions!”
Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?
Whether you’re planning a whimsical garden-inspired celebration or a formal ballroom fete, I think flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you already have a specific vision or you might want me to dream up something custom just for you - either way, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
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