A:       CHOOSE A THEME: 

Variety of flowers, colour scheme and quantity.

B:       MAKE UP A PORTFOLIO: 

As a starting point look around at the types of flowers, colours and bouquet designs you like.  Gather these ideas into a small portfolio of between 5-8 photos.  Save them into one document ready to forward onto the florist or create a ‘Pinterest’ page so you can send the link in your initial email enquiry.      

C:       DECIDE ON A BUDGET: 

A great florist will not be put off by a very small budget or get excited about a very large budget.  Florists are there to help you achieve the best you can afford for your day.  They will act professionally.  Follow these simple steps to plan the flowers for your important event before seeking a quote.

Research flower costs in the local area or by using the calculator provided on the local website or use the guide listed at the bottom of this document.

D:      COMPLETE THE CHECKLIST: 

The florist will want to know how many arrangements and how much time they will spend to make your wedding the way you want it to be.  So completing the attached checklist will ensure you and the florist are ‘on the same page’.   

E:       SEND FOR A QUOTE:

From the beginning of the day to the close of trade, most florists (including most of the very large, well established floral businesses) will not have a person dedicated to respond to email and telephone enquiries.  The same hands that are typing your email or holding the telephone are the ones creating your bridal bouquets.  So be patient and allow a few days and up to a week for your enquiry to be responded to. It takes as little as one hour and up to 3 hours to properly quote a wedding.   Anything less is a calculated guess.

Avoid the awkward question; “How much do you want to spend?”  Once you have decided on your theme, quantities and know it will fit within your budget, send an email with your portfolio, completed checklist and anticipated budget to a florist for a quote.

F:        CHOOSE A FLORIST:

Knowing you have chosen a reliable florist who understands your wishes, and has the skills and background to deliver on the day will take the worry out of the wedding day.  What sort of things should you look for in a florist?  An experienced florist will ask for information listed in “A guide to choosing the best florist” to help them assess the scope of your wedding.  This is the starting point to calculate the costs so you get an accurate quote.

C:            A guide to calculate a flower budget.Read through this ‘guide’ and check the relevant points when you get your quote returned.   This will assist you to choose the best florist.

For the exercise here are the price variations for two dozen roses.

1. 1.       24 roses for a romantic gift $240
   1. a.        time to create = 15 mins
   2. b.       roses are long stem = costly $$
   3. c.        Roses wasted to create the design = none
   4. d.       End design “Devotion” Click for photo
2. 2.       24 roses in a cut stem bridal bouquet $230
   1. a.        time to create = 20 mins
   2. b.       Roses are long stem = costly $$
   3. c.        roses wasted to create the design = 6
   4. d.       End design “Classic Rose Posy” Click for photo
3. 3.       24 roses in a teardrop or trailing bouquet $280
   1. a.        time to create = 40 mins
   2. b.       Roses are long stem = costly $$
   3. c.        roses wasted to create the design = 6 to 12
   4. d.       End design “Rose Teardrop Bridal Bouquet” Click for photo
4. 4.       24 roses in a vase $143
   1. a.        time to create = 10 mins
   2. b.       Roses are medium stem = costly $
   3. c.        roses wasted to create the design = none
   4. d.       End design “Roxy” Click for photo
5. 5.       24 roses in a ’Rosemelia’ $423
   1. a.        time to create - 180 mins
   2. b.       Roses are long stem = costly $$
   3. c.        roses wasted to create the design = 16
   4. d.       End design “Rosemelia” Click for photo
6. 6.       24 roses for rose petals $65
   1. a.        time to create = 10 mins
   2. b.       Roses are supplied as heads only usually multi coloured = cheap
   3. c.        Roses wasted to create the design = none
   4. d.       End design “Rose petals” Click for photo
7. 7.       24 roses purchased as they arrive from the grower $5-9 each
   1. a.        Time to create = 1 min
   2. b.       Roses are sold according to length
   3. c.        Roses wasted to create the design = none

 F:            A guide to choosing the best florist. 

 

1. 1.       Is that variety of flower or colour easily secured locally or will it need to be imported from around the country or overseas thus increasing the cost by adding airfreight.

1)       Is that variety of flower in season?

2)       Does the supplier have other bookings for your type of wedding flowers?

3)       What is the back-up plan?

4)       How many suppliers will the flowers be ordered from to complete the order?

5)       Is this flower rare or commercially difficult to buy?

6)       Is this flower colour subject to soil temperature changes on your wedding date?

7)       Is this flower grown outdoors where bad weather and storms can affect quality?

1. 2.       Wedding flower specialists will know that all flowers arrive from the grower/supplier in tight bud or fresh picked stage; for instance a fully open rose will take between 4-8 days to open depending on the variety and oriental lilies can take up to 14 days from bud to full bloom.

1)       How long do the flowers need to be cared for or ‘grown’ to get them to the perfect blooming stage? 

2)       Will there be wastage due to damage or unseasonal warm weather over the ‘growing’ period?

3)       Is an extra cold room required to store the flowers during this ‘growing’ time?

4)       Does the flower colour change with age?

1. 3.       In most cases the longer the stem the more expensive/better quality and larger the flower head size.

1)       What stem length is required? 

2)       Is it important to have every bouquet, table centre and flower bloom exactly matching?

3)       Are good quality large head blooms important for this wedding or function?

1. 4.       How many extra staff will be required to complete the wedding in a timely manner?
2. 5.       Will a specialist courier be required for delivery at a specific time or are there multiple delivery addresses?

1)       Ceremony delivery and set up,

2)       Reception delivery and set up,

3)       Brides dressing room,

4)       Grooms dressing room etc.

5)       Family home for the before party or after party

1. 6.       Will there be hire items to set up and pull down for the ceremony or reception.

1)       Urns for the chapel

2)       Pew ends

3)       Vases for the reception

4)       Candle holders and other decorating items for the reception

5)       Who is the contact person at each of these venues for delivery and collection

6)       Are the flowers being collected from the floral store or how many couriers and staff will be required to complete the job in a timely manner?

7)       Pick up time of the hire items the next business day.

 

1. 1.       What is the flower theme?

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1. 2.       How many bouquets do you need?

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1. 3.       How big is your wedding dress?  (Full skirt requires a bigger bouquet than a slim fitting dress.)

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1. 4.       What is your ideal end budget?

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1. 5.       What style of bouquets are the bride, bridesmaids and flower girls carrying? Will you need a throw posy?

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1. 6.       Do you need buttonholes for the groom, groomsmen, brothers, fathers and grand-fathers? How many?

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1. 7.       Will you require ceremony flowers, rose petals for confetti and pew ends? How many of each?

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1. 8.       Are there flowers for the table centrepieces at the reception and on the bridal table?

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1. 9.       Are you hiring or buying the decorating items?

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1. 10.    The delivery locations?

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