“I don’t know anything about flowers” – That’s the most common comment we hear from our copies when we sit down at the initial meeting.
It’s understandable…I can walk around the Arboretum at the University of Kentucky and marvel at the beautiful landscapes of trees, shrubs and flowers. I probably couldn’t name half of the trees that I see, BUT, I know what I like and dislike. Don’t despair brides, you don’t need to know anything about flowers—you just need to know what you like and don’t like—and be able to communicate that with us.
More often than not, the bride reveals to us her Pinterest Board or her own collection of photos cut out from magazines and hands us glossy pieces of paper that expresses her likes. That’s a great start. A bride can try to explain what she is looking for in her words, but nothing truly expresses her vision quite like a picture. Just as the bride has probably researched our previous work and said, “yeah, I like Doug and Glenn’s work”, the picture can do wonders to communicate without even saying a word.
The comments we receive after the wedding from the bride are “they got my vision!” What is vision? The way we interpret “vision” is how happy and special the bride feels the day of her wedding. There are lots of visual components that comprise the wedding day from the bride’s dress to the linen on the reception table. These are all important items that make for a beautiful day. The flowers, though, soften and meld all of the other important items into a cohesive, beautiful and personal part of the couple’s day.
To ease the anxiety of the brides first meeting with us (or any floral designer) when they are expected to let us know what they want, we basically just need to know the style and colors that she wants used and we’ll take care of the rest. When you choose a designer for your flowers, you are choosing that particular designers style to bring your vision to life.
Another common thing we encounter at our first meeting with a bride is when she shows us a picture of a centerpiece she wants and the true cost of that particular centerpiece is well beyond her budget for centerpieces. That’s where our creativity and knowledge of flowers and their cost comes into play. I know if I was the client and heard “you can’t afford that centerpiece”, I would want, pretty quickly, to hear a solution as to how I can achieve the vision within my budget.
Some solutions to fit within a budget are to scale back the number of pricey centerpieces with inexpensive substitutions like a vignette of floating candles. Not only does that provide some elegant lighting in a venue, it can be very elegant. If you feel that you need to add an element of color to the candles, some interesting greenery with colored floral blooms can give your inexpensive option added dimension. Another opportunity to help with a growing wedding budget would be to repurpose ceremony flowers. Altar arrangements can certainly be used as focal pieces on a head table or on a buffet and pew arrangements used as centerpieces on cocktail tables or if a vase is added, they can be used on guest tables along with votive candles. The sky is the limit and we would be happy to help you bring your vision to life!
(Headshot: Wes Brown Photography, Featured Image: Claire and Barrett)