Flowers

                You can make picking your flowers into one of the most fun activities in the whole wedding planning process if you try. We had three different florists locally that our reception site recommended so we decided we would take a day and make it “Flower Day.” We scheduled consultations with all three florists one after another to make sure we remembered everything that each florist said and promised to do. It was a long day, but it ended up being worth it because each florist had great ideas that we were able to take to the next appointment so we could get the best of all three at the florist we picked.

               

We started the day at a florist that looked more “industrial” and the outside of the building was not very attractive. We walked in and were taken back to the florist to start our appointment. He was not friendly and took pride in having the cheapest flowers in the area, which he bragged about constantly.  We left after he decided to show us his appointment book to prove how busy he was, which left both us feeling as if he was saying, “I don’t need your business.” Our next appointment was right after our first one so we moved on and on the way to the next place, we talked about what we liked and did not like about the first appointment.

               

The second appointment was at a florist that literally had no plants in their lobby for us to look at, which made us feel a little nervous. Once we started talking to the worker however, she really seemed to understand what my fiancée wanted for the flowers and colors for the wedding. You can tell when someone you are talking to understands what you want and starts to make suggestions that make you think. We did learn one important question to ask while we were at that appointment; will the person you are talking to be the person at your wedding putting together the flowers. We found out the woman we talked with would not be the person at our wedding. After that disappointing piece of news, our appointment ended and we went on to our third appointment.

               

Finally, we arrived at our last appointment. We knew the quality of flowers that this florist produced and were already leaning toward the third by the time we arrived. We sat down and were impressed by the appearance of this florist who was dressed in a smock and obviously had been working on putting flowers together herself even though she was the owner. She also understood what my fiancée wanted but offered even more suggestions than the second florist offered and told my fiancée that the flowers she wanted would be in season, which the others failed to mention. After the appointment, the florist told us she wanted us to come back for a follow-up appointment so we could see the flowers she had in mind. We waited a week and did come back and saw all of the flowers, which were beautiful. However, the last florist also seemed to understand what we wanted and was the most willing and helpful of the three but was the most expensive. We had a decision to make. Did we want someone cheaper who was harder to get along with or someone more expensive who really wanted to work with us? To be honest, if you have the money it is not even a question. We went with the more expensive florist because we knew that she would be there when we needed her and that she would do a good job. Overall, it all comes down to which florist understands what you and your fiancée wants. 

Pick the florist who is easy to talk with and you know will do a good job. One last tip: if you are not sure what quality of flowers come out of a florist’s workshop, order a bouquet from that florist. I would recommend you use a fake name so that they do not know it is someone they just consulted.