10 Flower Mistakes Your Wedding Florist Wants You to Know
You can skim inspiration sites and flip through bridal magazines looking at wedding flowers, but when it’s time to make decisions, picking centerpieces, boutonnieres and bouquets can be difficult. Fortunately, florists and wedding planners can guide you through floral accent choices for your special day. Let’s look at 10 common mistakes couples make with wedding flowers that your florist wants you to know.
1. Being Unclear About Preferences
When you start to work with your florist and wedding planner to choose designs, upfront communication is vital. It’s your wedding day, so your florist wants to know your goals and how to help you achieve them. Let them know your priorities for your decorations and what you’re expecting on the big day. Explain your preferences and give examples of other wedding setups you like.
2. Avoiding Flowers
Some couples want to be unique with their reception centerpieces, and they choose to go flowerless. However, even incorporating a few flowers can change the ambiance of a space. Try to hear your florist and event planner out when they suggest flowers. Even minimal floral accents can help to make your other decorations stand out beautifully.
3. Overdoing Flowers
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some brides want to pack their ceremony and reception with flowers. While flowers are a significant addition to weddings, they have certain places where they’ll shine best.
If you can see flowers everywhere you look, other details can go unnoticed. For instance, you want your bridal bouquet to look full, usually with about 24 to 36 stems, but many brides add other elements to highlight their personality or heritage as well, and those might get overpowered by too many flowers. You want guests to see everything, so trust your florist’s advice to guide you in the design.
4. Limiting the Color Palette
Many brides know exactly what colors and flower types they want before they meet with a florist. But florists’ knowledge of flowers is extensive, and they can recommend types that complement each other. Limiting the color palette holds back many brides from attaining the best decorations for their wedding. Florists can let you know about seasonal options and lesser-known blooms you might fall in love with.
5. Recreating an Impossible Image
When you’re planning a wedding, you can find inspiration from the internet and magazines, but recreating these images can be difficult. Whether you’re trying to replicate a royal’s wedding flower details or copy your friend’s reception decor, an impossible standard will only leave you disappointed. Your wedding is a unique experience that won’t look exactly like another. Florists can help you create attractive, inspired floral designs that will fit your taste and budget without cloning someone else’s wedding.
6. Inaccurately Representing Your Budget
Florists need to know your price limit so they can find the right blooms for your budget. You can save time and stress by communicating how much you are willing to spend on flowers for the wedding. While some couples might be willing to take out a loan for their wedding, if you’re realistic about how much you can spend, you can find appropriately-priced and beautiful flowers without breaking your budget.
7. Not Coordinating With the Venue
When you decide on your wedding venue, you can’t ignore the style and features of the space as you pick table settings and centerpieces. Consider the lighting and structure of the venue, so you know where flowers can stand out and be appreciated by guests. Certain colors will also help your flowers and venue mesh well, so consult your florist to pick complementing blooms.
8. Opting for Strong Scents
Flowers that have a strong scent can overwhelm guests with allergies and distract others. Select safe choices for wedding flowers when they’re near guests. Powerful scents should be reserved for outdoor floral accents or for your bridal bouquet.
9. Sticking Too Closely to Tradition
If your preferences are naturally traditional, then don’t sweat it. But some brides try to meet the expectations of family members or guests when they’d rather choose blooms that are a little different. Florists can suggest alternative flowers you may not normally choose, but that would be perfect for your particular style, so keep an open mind when you pick bouquets and centerpieces.
10. Failing to Communicate the Schedule
Let your florist know the wedding itinerary so they can bring the flowers on time. Florists need to account for delivery and setup as well, so you want to be sure no one is rushed. You can put your wedding planner or helpers in contact with the florist in case there is a problem, too.
Choose the Right Wedding Flowers for Your Big Day
Selecting blooms for your wedding requires you, your florist and your wedding planner to work together. Communication and flexibility can help you achieve the wedding of your dreams while keeping realistic expectations.
Kacey Bradley is the blogger behind The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us. Kacey graduated with a degree in Communications while working for a lifestyle magazine. She has been able to fully embrace herself with the knowledge of nature, the power of exploring other locations and cultures, all while portraying her love for the world around her through her visually pleasing, culturally embracing and inspiring posts. Along with writing for her blog, she has written for sites like U.S. News, SUCCESS, Ruffled, and more!
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