Elisha's Flowers

How to find, and work with, the right person to bring your floral vision to life.

You will probably purchase more flowers for your wedding than for any other occasion in your life, and the flowers you carry and display will help set the tone for your big day. Besides your bridal bouquet, traditionally you'll need—at a minimum—bouquets for your attendants, boutonnieres for your groom, groomsmen and fathers; corsages for your mothers; flowers to decorate the ceremony site, and centerpieces for the reception tables. To make sure all of these blooms are beautiful and within your budget, picking the right florist—and knowing how to work with her—is crucial.

These days, many florists who specialize in weddings don't just do blooms; they also conceive and execute the design for your reception, from flowers to linens, candles, decorative trees, lights and more. Whether you go with one of these full-service designers or a standard florist who'll provide bouquets, centerpieces and the like, you should start looking for a professional at least several months before the wedding, or even earlier if you can.

To find your guru of blooms, begin by asking for recommendations from recently married friends and from wedding professionals. Your contacts at both ceremony and reception sites probably have florists they've worked with repeatedly and can recommend. This is helpful because it means the florist is already familiar with the site—but be sure to follow up with your own research and reference checks.

Once you have your initial candidates, make an appointment to view each one's work. First look at any arrangements on display in their shop to see if you like the colors and combinations, and if the blossoms on hand look healthy and fresh. Take a careful look at the florist's portfolio of other wedding work, and be sure to study both bouquets and table arrangements. If you like what you see, it's time to talk about your needs.

When interviewing florists, be prepared to give them a full picture of your entire wedding, and to discuss your flower preferences and budget. Everything—from your color scheme to how your attendants plan to wear their hair—sets the mood for your bouquets and arrangements. Be sure to bring swatches and photos of your gown and your bridesmaids" dresses, as well as drawings or pictures of the sites you'll be using so you can discuss ideal placement for floral arrangements. Visualize all the places you can adorn with blossoms. (Obviously this means that you can't plan your flowers until the big decisions of date, location and gown have been made.)

Think in advance about your flower budget and let your potential florist know this immediately. And, to make sure she understands the look you're after, clip pictures of any floral arrangements you like from magazines, be it sparse birch branches for a winter wedding or a bunch of colorful tulips. You don't need to be able to reel off the specific flowers you want to use, but showing her examples of the style you prefer will help her work up designs—and realistic estimates.

Once she understands your desires and price range, the florist can start making her own suggestions, based on her expertise about flower types and prices. If you tell her you want to carry roses, she can offer options from budget to blow-out. For example, a simple armful of roses hand-tied with elegant ribbon will require far less labor and therefore will cost less than the same flowers arranged into an elaborate mixed bouquet. If your heart is set on the time-consuming arrangement, she can recommend elegant but reasonable flowers to mix in, plus ways to save on the centerpieces to keep it all within budget.

This type of back-and-forth is the kind of relationship you should look for in choosing your florist. She should be someone who can take your vision and run with it, who offers advice and suggestions but gives you the final say, and who commits to working within your style and price range.

Making the Final Choice

No Regrets: Smart Flower Choices

• Unless you have an unlimited budget, do not expect to bedeck every surface with blooms. Instead, work with your florist to allocate your funds where they will be most visible. It is better to choose beautiful bouquets for you and your maids and then reuse them to decorate tables than to be dissatisfied with skimpy centerpieces. Or pick creative vases and containers that look good with just a few flowers, rather than overspending on more lush arrangements.

• Flowers are natural products and supplies can sometimes be unpredictable, so specify the exact type you want, but also pick an alternative. You may be far happier with your second choice than with a substitute the florist picks without consulting you.

• Be sure to specify any flowers you do not want used because of allergies, scents or looks you dislike, or any other reason (such as bad associations with an ex-boyfriend!).

• Wedding flowers need to look their fully-opened best on the day they are arranged, which makes arranging them very different than producing the long-lasting bouquets sold in retail shops. Make sure your florist has experience with the scope and special timing of weddings or you may be disappointed in the results.

When you've narrowed it down to two or more finalists you liked, ask each of them to submit a written estimate based on what you've discussed. This should include a total price and a breakdown of what that includes (i.e., the number of bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, etc. and what each will consist of). Then, if you simply can't decide between two candidates, ask each of them to create a sample centerpiece to demonstrate the arrangements she'd make for you; most florists will do this at no charge.
Before you make your final florist choice, ask about the payment schedule. Typically she'll ask for a 50-percent deposit when the contract is signed, with the balance due the week of the wedding. Those terms should be in the contract, as should specific details about:

*The number and descriptions of each arrangement, with prices

*The date, place and time that the flowers will be delivered and set up

*Any rental fees for vases or decorations the florist is providing, along with pick-up details

*Any additional labor charges, taxes, or other hidden fees

Make sure your florist is aware of and cooperates with any limits on delivery or set-up times at your ceremony and reception sites. For example, she may not be able to decorate the chuppah at your synagogue until after sundown on a Saturday; or she may need to collect the rented urns from the country club dining room before it opens for brunch on Sunday.

As your wedding day approaches, give the florist a list of key contact people (your caterer, bridal consultant, parents) with their addresses and phone numbers. That way you can avoid being the middleman if she needs to get in touch with them.

Blooms on a Budget

To make the most of your flower budget, bear the following points in mind:

Using flowers that are in season or locally grown will cost far less than the flown-in, hothouse varieties. Holidays also affect prices—around Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, general demand for flowers increases, as do their costs.

Elaborate arrangements mean more of your money is going for the florist's labor rather than for the flowers. Sticking with simpler displays will help your budget cover more, or fancier, blooms.

Rather than buying expensive vases for your centerpieces, consider renting interesting containers from your florist, such as wooden boxes or terra-cotta pots. (Just remember that this means guests can't walk off with the arrangements or you'll have to pay for the holders.) Or, if you don't mind an unmatched look, start collecting attractive but inexpensive bowls and vases from thrift stores and tag sales.

This article is courtesy of www.BridalGuide.com. It can be found at: http://www.bridalguide.com/wedding-planning/article.cfm?aID=350