372-Georgian-Bay-Euclid-Design-Co-best-advice-florist-consultation.jpg — GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

If you’re getting married in 2020 you may already be deep into planning mode, sending out inquiries and scheduling time to meet with or talk to various vendors who will help you bring your wedding to life. So what can you expect from a consultation, and more specifically a consultation with a florist? Well, we’ve got a great post this week direct from Rachel Kwan of Euclid Design Co to give you everything you wanted to know about wedding floral consultations. Enjoy!

Wedding flowers. Some folks like to say that the flowers make it a wedding. I'm not sure if the person who said it was a florist, but flowers do play a big part in many people's weddings. If you're planning a wedding for the first time, the idea of booking a floral designer can feel a little overwhelming. Are you planning to contact a floral designer soon? Do you wonder what you might cover during that conversation? If you’re curious and want to take a peek behind the curtain, read on! This guide will cover a few areas that will help you get ready for -- and rock -- a floral consultation.

When is the right time to get in touch about wedding flowers?

This answer might vary from couple to couple. You might be really excited about your wedding flowers, and have a designer in mind that you're super keen to work with. Or, flowers might be less of a priority, and something you'd rather wait to sort out later.

Contacting a floral designer earlier in your planning process will increase the likelihood that you'll be able to work with the person you like, on the date you need. Even if you don’t have a specific designer in mind, it gets harder to secure your date the closer it gets. Many wedding vendors are booked six months to a year in advance, especially for popular months like September, and long weekends.

If you feel like you've got an in-demand date, and you've got some key pieces of information about your wedding nailed down, it's a good idea to start inquiring and get the conversation rolling.

What should I bring to my consultation?

The consultation is a great way for us to get to know each other more, and catch up on where you are in your planning process in general and as it relates to your wedding flowers.

Depending on where you are with your planning, you may have more or less detail to share. Both are ok! To get you started, here is a list of some pieces of information, that will be important for your floral designer to know:

Event date, delivery locations, and any key times (e.g. ceremony and reception start times, first look time)
The type of service you are interested in (Full-service florals vs A La Carte/drop-off service)
Guest count and general estimate for number of tables
Number of bridal party and immediate family members that may require personal flowers
Colour palette, if you've chosen one already (e.g. wedding party clothing colours) -- or, colours you really dislike
Inspiration images that you like, or feel capture the emotion and look you’re going for
Details about other folks who will be on site day-of (e.g. wedding planner, venue coordinator)

What happens during a floral consultation?

Every floral designer has their own approach to holding consultations but I generally, like to cover the four areas below.

YOUR STORY

You're probably speaking with your floral designer for the first time, maybe you've seen their work at a wedding you attended, or spent a few minutes scrolling through their portfolio online as well. Your consultation will give you both a chance to get to know each other, and helps your designer capture your vision in more detail. Personally, I like to ask you questions such as how you met in order to get to know you better. I invite you to get to know me too!

DESIGN: Colour palettes, wedding themes, flower preferences and overall wedding vibe

If you've got an initial sense of colours, a theme that you're hoping to work with or even just the overall vibe you want your wedding to have, the consultation is a great place to discuss them further. Your colour preferences will help to shape the flowers that will be chosen for your event. If you have established a colour palette, definitely share! If not, no problem. There also might be flowers that you’ve always dreamed of having at your wedding or really dislike. This is a great opportunity to share that with your designer.

I usually share my understanding of your colour palette back to you in a personalized visual proposal so that we're on the same page about what "dusty rose" actually means.

In speaking about your colour palette, I will suggest specific flowers that could work for your wedding and inspire you through what is seasonally available here. I love to speak to flower farmers in my area early in the growing season to share your colour palette with them, and ask what beautiful local product might be available for your event.

PRIORITY ITEMS: What are the floral elements that mean the most to you?

In a perfect world, the wedding fairy godmother swoops in and says, "spend whatever you like on your wedding flowers!" The reality is, there are places to invest your flower budget, and places where you might choose to scale things back. These decisions are unique to you. That's why your floral designer may ask you what you're most excited about in terms of your wedding flowers. If you absolutely must have an Italian Renaissance garden brought to life for your reception, then it’s important to put it out there as a priority!

I tend to recommend investing in personal flowers for the wedding party, like bouquets and boutonnieres. These are often the most photographed items and the floral elements that you'll be holding closest to you.

BUDGET: Is there a number that scares you?

Floral designers may ask you if you have a budget that you're working with. This may or may not be a hard and fast number, but it definitely can impact the type of flowers and design elements that are possible. I like to ask if there's a number that would give you sticker shock. From this, I can help you understand what might be possible within that and work together to create a quote that you're comfortable with, while also being true to your vision.

A floral budget (or any vendor budget) can be a sensitive or scary thing to talk about, especially when Pinterest and Instagram give us so many dreamy options (but conveniently leave the price tags off). Luckily there are ways to break costs down and think them through. I remind every couple I work with that there are three main factors that impact their budget: material choice, complexity of the design, and volume. The types of flowers you choose, how complicated or labour-intensive the designed items are, and the number of items that you need, will dial your costs up or down. In my experience, keeping an open mind and speaking openly about what you want will help us get to the mix that you're happy with.

What happens after an initial consultation?

Following a consultation, you should have a clear idea of what it would be like to work with your floral designer. It's good to ask yourself whether you feel comfortable to ask them questions, make requests, or provide feedback.

While the process may vary slightly for different designers, I usually follow up with an emailed visual proposal that includes a ballpark estimate so that you can see both my design approach and put a number to what we’ve discussed and any other suggestions I’ve made. This gives us a chance to refine an approach and budget before you put down a deposit to secure my design services for your date. Hopefully, reading this has helped you feel prepared to rock your floral consultation! I love flowers and it makes me so happy to talk about them with my clients. No matter who you end up working with, I believe it’s important that you feel confident and eager to partner with them for your wedding flowers.