Regardless of where or when you are getting married – your choice of flowers is one of your most crucial decisions.
Let’s look at the “8 MUST ASK questions for your prospective florist”
1 – How long have you been working in the Bridal Flower Industry. Can you provide any unbiased 3rd party reviews? Have you won any Industry Awards?
Experience provides ‘ease of mind’. If your florist has only been providing flowers for weddings for a short period you may think twice about using them.
Reputable Florists may be able to direct you to ‘unbiased’ reviews. It is difficult to obtain unbiased reviews but if they are available your Florist will be more than happy to provide them.
Ask them if they have received industry awards from bodies such as ‘the Australian Bridal Industry Academy’ (ABIA). ABIA awards are voted on by newlyweds recently married. They rank suppliers under various categories- the ‘Quality of Product’, ‘Quality of Service’, ‘Value for Money’ and ‘Attitude of Staff’. They are a good guide for you.
Do you want to use a ‘Wedding Flower Specialist’ or merely someone who supplies wedding flowers? Despite common held beliefs, Wedding Flower Specialists don’t have to be more expensive than your general Wedding Florist.
2 – Can you supply flowers within my budget?
Any true Wedding Flower Specialist will be more than happy to work with you to provide a floral solution to suit your budget. Floral Specialists will usually see your budget as a challenge and not an impediment. They will work closely with you to select flowers and styles to fit within your budget.
After your first meeting your florist should be able to offer you a detailed quote covering everything they will be providing for you. They should then be happy to sit with you to further tailor the quote to meet your expectations as well as your budget.
3 – Is your wedding the only booking they have on the day?
All businesses need to exist and it is often difficult to refuse work if you are inundated.
If your Floral Specialist has more than your wedding to cater for on the day they should be able to advise you how they plan to cope with the workload. Generally, if they have more than 2 weddings to cater for on the day, they will source additional resources to ensure all clients receive optimal service.
It is always best to plan early and confirm your booking. This way, a reputable florist will only accept further bookings if they can fit around your wedding.
4 – Who selects the wedding flowers?
It may seem like a silly question but the florist who is actually preparing your arrangements should personally select your flowers.
Check to see how far the florist is from the wholesale market where they source their flowers and how many times a week they actually attend the market to select flowers.
You would be amazed at the difference in the quality of flowers from florists who personally select their flowers several times a week.
5 – What is the ‘origin’ of my flowers?
Flowers at the wholesale markets today come from a diverse range of suppliers. Unlike years ago when all flowers were locally produced – flowers today come from locally and also from around the world.
Although most Australia producers comply with production methods that are ethically and environmentally sustainable many overseas suppliers do not. Your Florist should be able to advise you of the origin of all the flowers they will use.
6 – How and when are the flowers delivered?
Some people choose to collect the flowers themselves to save money but think carefully before you do this. There are so many things that are required to be done on the day- do you want to add this job to the list?
Generally flowers will need to be delivered to various locations. They will need to be delivered to- the Bride, the Groom, the parents of the Bride & the Groom, the place where the ceremony will be held and also to the place where the reception will be held. Ensure your quote covers all of these delivery costs.
Not only do flowers need to be delivered but you may also be required to remove the flowers after the wedding. If this is the case, and you want the florist to do this, please make sure it is included in their quote.
Also check to see who will be making the deliveries. Is it a courier or is it staff from your Florist. It is always preferable to have flowers delivered by the florist’s staff.
7 – Can I decide what happens to my flowers after the wedding?
Absolutely!
You have paid for your flowers and your florist should be happy to arrange for your flowers to be used in whatever way you wish after the wedding.
There are many options here but 2 common ones-
(a) Allow your guests to take them home. Some florists will even arrange for the flowers to be re-wrapped so that this is possible, or
(b) Have your flowers delivered to local nursing homes or hospitals. Florists will generally also offer a service whereby the flowers are re-arranged and then delivered.
A cost will obviously be payable if you wish the Florist to handle the flowers for you after the wedding. Verify what this would be.
8 – I have no preference for flowers- can you supply some inspiration?
A Wedding Flower Specialist will be proud to display an extensive array of their previous work. In our modern world they will also often have websites, Instagram pages, Facebook pages and Pinterest pages that they can refer you to for inspiration.
Any passionate Florist should be able to offer you most of these options.
Probably the most popular method of gathering inspiration today is by creating a Pinterest page. You can share this with your florist so that they get a better understanding of your preferences.
Drawing from their experience you will find that your Florist should be able to assist you in all these ways- they should also help you understand how your flowers need to compliment your dresses, wedding themes & styles.
We hope these questions and explanations help you choose the most appropriate wedding florist for your special day.
