What to ask your florist?

As wedding season begins to slow down for the 2014 season, I find myself reflecting on how to improve my bride’s floral experience. For most brides the stress of finding vendors, going to consultations, and wading through the millions of Pinterest wedding ideas is overwhelming. To help alleviate this, Thistle Bee Blogging is proud to tackle these issues, one step at a time.

To begin, we want you to know what you should be asking your vendors, especially your florist! Coming into a consultation prepared leaves less time having to “interview” your vendor and more time for you to talk about your wedding vision (which is the fun part).

· Do you charge for a consultation? Sounds like a silly question, I know. Some vendors do charge for a consultation for whatever reason. We personally don’t. I think this is an important question to start the conversation with a potential vendor. If you already feel uncomfortable spending the money to meet with them, they are probably not the right match for you.

· Can I see your portfolio? Another question that is often times overlooked. With Facebook, Instagram, and so many other options available, take the time to look at their work. Without a doubt, every florist has a style. Although most florists are trained to create a variety of styling’s, designs, and use different techniques there is always a part of that designer that creeps in; it’s part of their floral being (even though that sounds super hippie-flower-child-ish). Recognizing the commonalities amongst all of their designs is a great conversation point for when you meet with the vendor.

· Do you have a minimum budget? Some florists do have a minimum budget. They will not work with a bride that doesn’t meet those requirements. We don’t have a minimum budget; we believe every bride deserves to have their dreams come true with whatever budget they may have. Remember, you need to feel comfortable with your vendors; you shouldn’t feel pressured to increase your budget to work with someone.

· What should I prepare for the consultation? So, you got past the first three steps. You feel comfortable with their consultation set up, you like their portfolio, so now what? Some florists don’t have you prepare anything in particular for your consultation. We send you a General Information form to fill out before we meet with you. The reason why we have you complete this form is to maximize your design time with us! If we spend the first twenty minutes going over the logistics we’re spending less time getting to know your style . . . and if we don’t know your style, we won’t have as good of a chance to capture the right design proposal for you.

· To see the rest of our recommendations for consultations head on over to our F.A.Q. Page.

· Do you deliver? I cannot STRESS ENOUGH how important this is. It’s your wedding day, you get to do this only once. You should not have to worry about getting your flowers, giving directions to your bridesmaids to pick up the flowers, or worse TRANSPORTING them. That adds a lot of unnecessary stress to the day. Most florists deliver and usually have a fee for it. Just pay them to do deliver and setup your day; they are the professional for a reason. Paying them to take care of everything is easily worth its weight in gold.

Have more questions, advice, or comments? Please leave them here or feel free to Contact Us!

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