Now that lockdowns are beginning to look like they may be a thing of the past, and confidence is starting to recover, we're delighted to say we're seeing a welcomed increase in weddings taking place throughout Oxfordshire. Orders for wedding flowers, bridal bouquets, button-holes, sprays, table decorations, floral arches and all of the wonderfully happy, colourful and vibrant additional touches which add the perfect finishing touches to a wedding are on the increase.

That means, demands for local florists are starting to increase once again, so it's important to once again consider planning and booking your wedding flowers in advance of your special day. In this article, we cover some of the top questions and things to consider when having a consultation to discuss your wedding flower requirements with your local florist.

When should you start to think about your wedding flowers?

A bride in a white wedding dress holding a wedding bouquet containing pink and white flowers including peonies, and roses with green foliage. Well, it might not be the day after you accepted a proposal of marriage, or you proposed, but as soon as possible after that!

The relationship with your wedding florist is a special one, as they will be creating your dream wedding flowers and tailoring the designs no matter how big or small, to your personal taste. Being as prepared as possible for your wedding consultation will add to making this a fun experience.

What To Expect From Your Wedding Flowers Consultation

The initial, free consultation with your chosen florist, will take between ½ - 1 hour. Make sure you book the consultation as early as possible as the best wedding florists are likely to be booked up months in advance. You want them to dedicate their undivided time to you during the consultation. Their approach should be friendly but professional and you want them to listen to your requests.

• Spend this time not only explaining your ideas but also getting to know your floristry designer.
• Expect your wedding florist to take notes and ask you questions about your floral needs and wishes.
• The florist will be able to show you some of their previous work and inspirations. This could help you develop your ideas.
• You'll be able to talk about your budget. If you haven't done so read it, you may find our article "How much do wedding flowers cost?" helpful 
• Anticipate there will be a floral wedding contract sent to you after the consultation once you have decided on your designs.

 

Developing Your Ideas Together

This first meeting will allow you to explain your ideas about your wedding. If you already have one, take your inspiration board to the consultation. This can include images, for example photos and cuttings from magazines, wedding dress design ideas with a swatch of the fabric, your wedding venue, the time of year for the wedding, your wedding stationery (so your flowers and stationery complement and don’t clash with each other), also colours you particularly like or want and, if you already know them, the flowers you would like included.

Your florist will take note of your requirements and use their creative design flare, along with your input and ideas. But if you haven’t any particular ideas yet, don’t worry, this is where your wedding florist can really help you, by working with you to develop your ideas. The florist uses you as their inspiration to design your wedding flower arrangements. And when it comes to flowers, you know you can trust them to create beautiful displays and bouquets that are uniquely for you and your wedding.

Your wedding florist will be able to show you:

• some inspiration from wedding magazines
• some photos of previous weddings they’ve worked on
• other examples from other sources for inspiration (Pinterest is a useful tool to demonstrate styles that can be catered for)
• depending on the time of year that you have your wedding consultation and the season of your wedding date, your florist may be able to show you some sample flowers, which are in season during the time of your wedding date. Alternatively, an online view might be used.
  
  

Creating Your Vision

Now you are feeling more comfortable, florally-speaking, your florist will create your design, working to your budget that doesn’t compromise on your vision. To give you the wedding flowers you dreamt of and within your budget.

A rough guide for your wedding flowers budget is around 10% of your overall wedding budget. If you are having a more intimate wedding and asked for only one bridesmaid’s bouquet, the budget may be less but if you change your mind and ask for four more, the budget will also need to match this.

It might be you have always dreamt of a wedding full of floral features and you want to spend more of your budget on flowers than any other element of your wedding. So you can let your florist know at this consultation stage.

Bear in mind, prices of flowers can vary depending on the season, who is having a bouquet and what size of bouquet. Also, knowing how many guests will attend your wedding is another good indicator to help you work out your budget.

 

How many flowers and floral arrangements would you like?

It’s an exciting time because you can now talk about how many flowers you want.

• How many in the bridesmaids’ bouquets?
• How many boutonnières do you need?
• How many centrepieces, flowers for the cake and table flowers?
• Are you having garlands, hair florals/crowns, corsages, ceremony arrangements, or a flower arch?

And again, this is where your wedding florist has the expertise and the experience to help you to make an informed decision.

Any Additional Requirements?

• Is your wedding florist going to decorate the wedding venue?
• Will you be able to use the wedding ceremony venue flowers for the reception venue?
• Are you going to have any additional features supplied by your florist? This could be anything from dried petals as confetti to thank you bouquets.

Your wedding florist should be able to answer your questions and allay any fears you have during this consultation process. And be happy to have a second consultation at a later date, if needed.

When you and your florist have been through your requirements, addressed any questions you will receive a quote, detailing your consultation discussion and costings.

Once you are happy with everything, sign it and relax knowing you have sorted out one very important part of your wedding day.

Contact us today to book your free wedding flowers consultation

At The Flower Shop, our team of florists both in our Oxford and our Witney shops and haveyears of experience designing and providing beautiful, personalised and luxurious floral arrangements for weddings across Oxfordshire.

With The Flower Shop, your special day is in safe hands so why not contact us to book your free wedding flowers consultation today.