I have a reminder in my diary for the middle of May each year and it says, “Find some peonies”. In my mind, this ‘appointment’ marks the start of fabulous flower season and so I have a vase of beautiful white and pale peach peonies taking pride of place on my desk this week. They may only be in season for a few weeks every year, but peonies do seem to have a special place in the hearts of many wedding floral designer, and prospective brides.

How beautiful is this bridal bouquet of white peonies (source: www.marthastewart.com)? I have this image displayed in my office because it literally makes me smile every time I see it…

I thought I’d share a few tips with you today about the questions you should ask when you’re ‘interviewing’ florists for your wedding day. Experience has taught us that taking a little bit of control and responsibility, as well as building a rapport with your florist from the very first conversation really does mean you’ll enjoy a more positive experience.

Here are my top five questions for florists…

1) Are you available on our wedding date and how many other weddings will you be providing flowers for on that day?

It’s good to establish a florist’s availability as soon as possible so as not to waste their time, or yours. Equally importantly, finding out how much work they’re prepared to take on for a single day will enable you to make a judgement about how important your wedding is going to be to them – and how flexible they are going to be able to be with any last minute changes to your order and delivery details.

2) Can you provide what we need within our budget?

Use the expertise of the florists you’re talking to, after all, they will know a lot more about flower combinations, volumes of blooms needed and the viability of your ideas, than you will! It’s important to establish that the things you want are achievable within your budget and, if not, what alternatives you could consider.

3) Who will be delivering, and setting up, the flowers on our wedding day?

Find out if the florist sends a qualified floral designer out with their orders or if local couriers are used. This will enable you to decide if you’re going to need to look at additional help on your wedding day as couriers are employed to literally deliver the order and leave, whilst a floral designer will spend time ensuring your flowers are set up as previously discussed.

4) Have you worked at our ceremony/reception venue before and, if not, would you be prepared to visit with us?

Florists who are familiar with your venue(s) are worth their weight in gold, as are those who are happy to meet you at the venue(s) to discuss your requirements. Money can be saved, arrangements can be dual-purpose and nothing will come as a surprise if you’re working with someone who knows, and has provided flowers for, your venue(s) before.

5) Please could you put us in touch with some couples you have recently worked with?

As with every other wedding supplier, a good florist will happily put you in touch with couples whose weddings they have recently worked on. It’s important that you follow up and contact them in order to get an objective description of the service they enjoyed from the florist(s) you’re considering. Whilst it’s highly unlikely that they’ll put you in touch with unhappy clients, it’s still extremely useful to get an idea of what working with individual florists is really like.

And remember, floral arrangements don’t have to be flowers to be stunning. One of my favourite images is of these voile-covered bay trees, lining the entrance to the wedding ceremony (source: “The Best of Martha Stewart Living”, Potter). Absolutely stunning and totally achievable as many florists now hire out bay trees and lengths of voile and ribbon can be bought inexpensively and transform these trees into a magical scene. You could even add battery-operated white fairy lights for extra sparkle!

If you would like to talk to me about how we can kick-start your wedding plans and help you enjoy the planning of your wedding, please get in touch. We’ll happily chat to you, with no obligations, about our services and if we leave you feeling confident and capable of planning the day of your dreams (not anyone else’s), that is our reward!

Until next week,