Congratulations!

You’re recently engaged, feeling excited and full of happiness at what the next stage of your life will bring but this is a new experience for you and planning a wedding can feel fairly daunting. You may have never done this before (or perhaps you have!) and you have no idea where to start and who to speak to or what you should be asking! Believe me, I totally get it! I remember feeling exactly the same when I got married, yes I was a florist and had worked in the industry for a few years but this felt different. I’d never planned my own wedding, where should I start and how am I going to bring all my ideas together to create my perfect day?

Or you could be thinking that you know exactly what you’d like your day to look like. You’ve done the research, create multiple Pinterest boards, found your perfect suppliers and even booked the honeymoon…totally nailed it! Whatever the situation, you need to start speaking to suppliers and getting booked in to avoid missing out.

Whatever stage you’re at, these are my top tips on how to choose your florist and what preparation you need to do before booking in a call.

• Have a think about your favourite flowers, anything you’d like to include and an overall look that you’d like to incorporate into your big day. Do you like peonies or tulips? Are you wanting a contemporary slick look or perhaps a boho, natural style? Think about your chosen venue and what would work best.

• Think about your chosen colour scheme. Are your Bridesmaid dresses going to determine the colour scheme of the whole day? Will the season dictate the colour scheme? Think about burnt orange and deep burgundy in Autumn months or perhaps pretty pastels for the Spring.

• How many people will you be expecting? What table set up will you be having? Long trestle tables or round tables? And will your Top Table be long, round or perhaps a Sweetheart table for two? Will you be serving plated food or will you have sharing platters? All of these questions will determine my suggestions for table flowers.

• What time will your Ceremony be? Can we reuse the Ceremony flowers for your Reception? Will you need someone else to move the flowers or can you ask your Ushers to do this?

• Have a list of your requirements to hand during your initial call. Make sure you remember all the people who require buttonholes, and if you need to think about cake flowers.

• Pinterest boards are great but they’re not always necessary. You should have a fairly good idea of what you like (and don’t like!) so jot this down instead of getting bogged down by hundreds of images on Pinterest that could confuse matters! Sea shells on napkins may look beautiful in the pictures, but do you really want them at your wedding? And don’t forget that they’re all professionally shot photos with perfect lighting and editing so not always the best representation to real life and they don’t make any reference to seasons so you don’t want to set your heart on flowers that aren’t in season on your chosen date.