10 Things No One Told You About Wedding Flowers
Demystifying the process behind wedding flowers and common misconceptions surrounding them!
Test your floral knowledge: how many of these did you know?
Not designed on-site
Did you know, most of your floral pieces are designed and put together ahead of time before your wedding?! Some specific larger installations are designed on-site the day of, but most of your pieces are designed earlier. After your pieces are designed, they all need to be consistently watered and refrigerated at a certain temperature to stay fresh. This is where a lot of DIY brides run into an issue if they are trying to create all of their arrangements themselves. If they make them too early in advance, fresh flowers will be limp and wilted by the time of their event. Making them all the night before is a long time-consuming process and one thing you shouldn’t have to worry about the night before your wedding!
Complement, don’t match!
When designing your color palette, you don’t want to match but rather complement! For example, when planning your bridesmaid’s dresses and bouquets, the colors should complement rather than be an exact match!
Hydrangeas
One of our favorite types of flowers to work with are hydrangeas! They are so versatile and a beautiful component to many of our designs. However, as their name suggests, they need a LOT of water! They need a constant water source otherwise they are quick to wilt and go limp. For this reason, we do not like including them in bride or bridesmaid bouquets. They would not withstand an extended period of time out of water and with all the events that you would like your bouquets to be featured (long picture sessions, waiting for ceremony, the duration of the ceremony itself, and through the reception) we would not want to risk your bouquets not looking their best!
Myth Busted: Silks are cheaper
A big wedding myth is that silk flowers are cheaper than fresh flowers! In order to create a set of centerpieces and bouquets in exactly your colors and to your specific flower selections, they would cost the same if not more than fresh flowers in regards to the high production and shipping costs of quality silk flowers. That is why we have large installation pieces for rent in silk (arch pieces, column pieces, etc.) that we have pre-made in one color palette that can be rented for your wedding at a lower cost than we can design that large piece individually for you in fresh flowers. But in terms of 20 centerpieces made to order for your unique needs, fresh is cheaper than silk! We can however supplement your fresh arrangement with a couple silk stems if there is a certain flower that you love but is not in season at the time. They blend right in and look incredibly real! We are a custom wedding designer making everything unique to you and your style!
Will my sales associate be setting up my wedding?
Usually your sales associate is not present on the day of your wedding! We have a large team of designers that will be setting up your day, but most likely your sales associate will not be part of that team. That is why it is incredibly important to ensure that all of the information included in your design contract is correct and up-to-date. Your sales associate goes over your contract multiple times fine-tuning and double-checking all of the details ahead of time, but it is also important that you go over everything as well and let them know if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made before you sign off on it for the final time!
Greenery is NOT cheap
Did you know greenery can be quite pricey?! A common misconception is that greens are very cheap, which is not the case. Opting for an all green garland instead of a small floral centerpiece can actually be more expensive in some cases based on footage and labor! Of course this all depends on product and dimensions, but be sure to ask your floral consultant for pricing!
Flowers come from where?!
Our flowers come from wholesale companies that ship products from all over the world! We are fortunate to have these connections so as to have access to an incredibly large and diverse selection of flowers that otherwise would not be available locally due to our climate and region. When the seasons afford it, we are able to get a lot of products locally, but during the colder months, our flowers come from Ecuador, Colombia, Holland, etc. For this reason, we must place our flower orders well in advance to ensure we can source the best quality and quantity that we need for our events. Our wholesalers take time to curate and procure the best products.
Set-Up Responsibility
Most venues (check with your individual venue) will not set up your flowers and decor. Florists do not just drop arrangements off to the venue and leave them for the venue to set up. Florists must stay to put everything on the tables from the vessels/stands down to staying to light the candles. Venue staff have a long list of other things to prepare for your day and do not have the resources to set up boxes upon boxes of decor items. If you plan to DIY your floral decor make sure to communicate to your venue and ask what they would be willing to set up. Otherwise, be sure to have a group of friends or family that will be able to do it.
Pick- Up Responsibility
The same goes for picking up as it does setting up, there is a limit to what each venue will be able to help clean-up and store for you to pick up later. Most venues require night-of pickup and cannot store all of your things until the next day (They usually have weddings the following day coming to set up early). Full service florists return after your event to collect all of the rented hardgoods (vases, stands, chargers, candles, etc.) from your venue. We leave your flowers as they are yours. If you plan to DIY be sure to make a plan for how your items will be picked up (check with your individual venue). You don’t want to be stuck running around packing up all of your own candles the night of your own wedding, leave it to us!
Weather Restrictions
Weather determines whether certain flowers or installations are feasible. One of our favorite ways to save for your budget is to repurpose ceremony decor for your reception! But on a 95 degree day in the middle of August, that ceremony arch that has been sitting in the sun during an outdoor ceremony, will most likely not be viable to be moved into your reception for your sweetheart table. We try to do everything in our power to come up with cost-effective solutions, but sometimes weather is a big dictator on what we can make happen!
TIP: Reuse your flowers!
Your flowers are yours! At the end of the wedding, we don’t collect them, we leave them for you and your guests to take home and enjoy! You can even reuse them the following day as the farewell brunch decor. We encourage you and your guests to take them home, we hate seeing all of those beauties end up in the garbage when they still have so much life left in them!
DONATE: There are also some organizations and programs that you can donate your flowers to! They can usually pick up your flowers and repurpose them to bring to hospitals, care facilities, assisted living communities, schools, etc. (Check their specific services!)
Some resources include:
https://forgetmeknotflowers.org/ Services: NJ and Philadelphia
https://www.bloomagainbklyn.org/about Services: New York City
https://petalsplease.org/donate-flowers/ Services: PA
Photo Credit: Katherine Joy Photo
