What to expect and how to make the most of your first consultation with your wedding florist

Well, this is exciting! Congratulations on your engagement! As you start your exciting journey of wedding planning, one of the most wonderful aspects to consider is choosing the perfect flowers to add charm and the beautiful joy of nature to your special day. Meeting your wedding florist for the first time is a lovely step towards bringing your floral dreams to life. To make the most of this consultation, here are some friendly tips to make sure it’s a fun, relaxed and enjoyable part of your wedding planning.

Share your love story

I love learning all about you both. How did you meet? How long have you been engaged? What are your hopes and dreams? Your love story is unique, and your wedding florals should reflect that. Sharing this delightful part of your life is such a pleasure and a privilege and I get totally swept away by the romance and excitement of it all.  Let me share these happy times with you. Sharing your love story with your florist is also practical - how you met, special moments, favourite places and people and pets.  All of these can provide inspiration to help your floral designs reflect your story and journey – floral storytelling. Please also let me know if there are any special or sentimental elements you'd like to incorporate into your floral arrangements. Getting to know you is a joyful part of the process and means we can relax with each other as we plan your floral story together over the coming months.

Inspiration boards and scrapbooks

You may already have a strong vision of what you’d like.  Perhaps you have been planning and dreaming of your perfect day for years. Or maybe flowers are a foreign language and you have no idea at all.  Do whatever feels right – there are no rules here. A blank canvas can be the most fun; we’ll go through some scrapbooks together and you’ll have an instant reaction to the things you prefer.   I’ll draw up some mood boards for you and we’ll gradually hone exactly the right flowers for your day.  On the other hand, if you already have your own Pinterest boards and mood boards please bring and share them.  The trick here will be for me to identify exactly what and why you like the different images you have chosen. 

It is important for me to truly understand your vision because flowers are fleeting and unique to the time and place – they cannot be replicated, but your favourite tone and vibe can be created especially for you and your day.

Venue and day plan

It is my dream for someone to love flowers so much that they ask me which venue would be best for this flowery vision.  If that’s you, I really can’t wait to meet you, please contact me right now!  In reality, often the venue and the date are the starting point of your wedding planning.  In choosing a venue, you will already have given a lot of thought to the overall style and ambiance of your day – perhaps a sophisticated elegant hotel, or a relaxed woodland vibe or a bohemian unconventional choice.  This is a great starting point to work out how enchanting floral designs can help your venue reflect your style and story even more. Your venue will usually have an existing colour scheme, décor and history so we want to make sure your flowers create harmony and add just a little charm to enhance rather that detract from your beautiful venue. If your ceremony and reception are to be held in different places, we’ll talk about floral designs that can be repurposed to make the most of your budget.

Budget considerations

I think it’s tricky to have a budget for flowers if you don’t know what wedding flowers cost.  It is very likely that you won’t have done this before, so I fully expect you to have lots of questions. Most florists do not work with price lists because of the huge variation in the flowers and time necessary to create your look, the types of designs and when they will be created.  The joy and challenge of flowers is that they are so fragile and precious, so they often need to be designed on the morning of your wedding.  For grand designs, this is going to involve a little teamwork and often some interesting travel considerations. It is helpful to look at different florist’s minimum spends and average spends when you start thinking about your flowers and choosing your florist. My flowers are bespoke to each client and so after our consultation I will create a detailed, visual proposal for you. This includes visual moodboards for your day and your venue, colour schemes and costings.   This helps me check I’ve fully understood your vision as well as giving you some more personalised recommendations.

Favourite colours and flowers

If you have favourites already, please, please mention it. You may not know the words to describe your flowers or colours, but with a little time, we’ll get there because I really want to listen and understand. Even your favourite season can help me identify your floral style and really deliver flowers you will truly love. Think about your flowery memories, such as a treasured floral gift, flowers in your garden or seen on a lovely holiday, or the flowers your grandparents grow.  Perhaps you want to incorporate some of the flowers your family had at their weddings many years ago. I adore colour palettes and really enjoy understanding exactly your shade of blush or peach or blue.  Do you love the natural, whimsical look of foliage or do you prefer more floral-only designs?  Are you aiming for minimalist elegance or abundant, lush blooms?

Consider the season of your wedding

The very essence of flowers relies on the beauty of nature. It is respectful to the Earth and the flowers to consider the flowers which would naturally grow in the place that you are to be married, at the time of year you are to be married.  This varies year on year, often by more than a few weeks.  For this reason, no floral choice can be guaranteed, but it can give us a good guide. I find it truly charming and romantic to incorporate the flowers growing close to your venue on your wedding day.  Every anniversary, you will see those flowers start to bloom and it will remind you of this special day. 

If you have your heart set on a particular flower that will not be available, we’ll work out what it is you love about that flower and find gorgeous alternatives. One of my questions to you will be about sustainability.  This comes with no judgement because I offer both imported flowers and British flowers, but it is important for me to understand your feelings and priorities in this regard so I can add that special flowery magic to your day.

Communication preferences

I understand that you have a busy life and a lot of other priorities, so I’ll ask how you would best like to communicate.  I adore helping my couples with their wedding flowers, so if you’d like to send me lots of messages and inspirational images in the months leading up to your wedding,  I love it.  I also love to share your excitement in the countdown to your wedding, so I like to check that you are happy to receive messages and Instagram shares from me.  Some people would prefer to make their plans and move on, in which case we can share a few emails and then arrange a final catch up about six weeks before your wedding.  In all cases, I will be led by you and am always happy to be contacted if you have any ideas or questions.

Sending flowery wishes

Meeting your wedding florist is a delightful step in the wedding planning journey. I love my consultations and hearing your stories of love. Flowery consultations are happy, gentle times shared over a coffee or glass of prosecco and usually repeated over the months as we get to know each other. Happy planning!

Photography credits: Butterfly Road and Jessica Reeve