Flowers for your wedding are one of those things that can easily fall through the cracks. With all the details you have to attend to during your wedding planning, it seems like you can simply slip in flowers at the last minute and everything will be fine.  However, nothing can be further from the truth.

Whether you know exactly which flowers you want, or you have no idea what to choose, don’t assume you can order your wedding flowers over the phone without ever stepping foot into a flower shop.  Even if you think you know what you want, a florist can offer options that you never knew existed and help with your budget.

When choosing a florist, it’s best to select one who has experience designing wedding flowers, or one that subcontracts a professional wedding floral designer.  These designers keep up on the latest trends, so they can give you some idea of what’s readily available. Or if you want custom flowers, a professional designer will be more open to creating bouquets and arrangements that fit your exact needs.  Whereas a florist who simply orders pre-packaged flower arrangements will be hesitant to change anything.

To be on the safe side, call your florist two to three weeks out of when you’d like to first meet, which should be six weeks to six months in advance of your wedding day.  That might seem too early, but if you have your heart set on something that’s seasonally hard to come by or extremely popular, it’s going to take some advance planning to get what you want.  Also, you need to give your florist time to design options for you, as well as figure out what he can provide given your budget.

Your first meeting will be most productive if you come armed with some basic information.  First, let your florist know your wedding date, or at least which month you plan to marry.  Also, the location and time of day of which you’re getting married are important, as many flowers are climate sensitive, so you want to make sure you don’t choose flowers that can’t hold up.  For similar reasons, you want to let the florist know what time of the day your photographer will be taking pictures.  That way he can make sure your flowers stay fresh as possible if there’s a time gap between the ceremony and when pictures are actually taken. 

The florist will also need the name and phone number of your wedding planner (if you have one), and the addresses of the ceremony and reception locations, as well as contact names and numbers for people there.   Florists who regularly service weddings are accustomed to coordinating flower deliveries directly with the ceremony and reception locations, ensuring your flowers magically show up on time.

And finally, if you’ve already picked your bridal wear, show your florist pictures of your wedding gown, bridesmaids’ dresses, and tuxedos, and if possible provide fabric samples of these garments.  This way your florist can select flowers that not only go with your bridal wear, but he can also make sure you avoid flowers that could possibly stain or have an unfavourable reaction with the fabric.

And when you meet with your florist, don’t be afraid to talk price.  Tell your florist how much you’ve budgeted for flowers and then you can decide together which relatives and friends you can afford to outfit with flowers.  Typically, it’s considerate to get corsages and boutonnieres for mothers, fathers, grandparents, godparents, ushers, ring bearers, flower girls, readers, featured musicians, your wedding planner, and the people who hand out programs.  If your budget allows, it’s also nice to have the mothers of the couple carry a small nosegay to set them apart from everyone else.

Even though flowers seem like a simple touch that can be added at the last minute, don’t make the mistake of putting off talking to your florist.  If you do, you could end up with flowers at your wedding that have little meaning for you.  And if you did, that would be a wilting shame.