Guide to Preparing for a Floral Design Meeting
If you’re a bride-to-be, chances are you have a design meeting with your florist somewhere on your to-do list! It is an incredibly important conversation to create the wedding you have pictured in your head into a tangible, physical masterpiece. That can be pretty daunting for anyone, and I often hear brides make comments about them never having planned a wedding before. Doing anything for the first time can be intimidating - but there are several ways you can prep your mind + heart before you meet with your florist! In the case of my brides, this conversation occurs after booking and before I have created a proposal with a design board and mockups. Other florists might do it differently, but the advice in this blog can still be found useful for any bride!
Here are my tips for prepping for a floral design meeting!
Before you set a date:
In any conversation with a lot of decision-making, I find it helpful to create a setting conducive to your goals! In the case of a design meeting, there are some things to consider prior to scheduling:
- Place: Will the conversation be over Zoom or in person? If on Zoom, find a quiet place for you to focus with minimal distractions. If in person, try and find a coffee shop or space that is comfortable for you and your florist to brainstorm together.
- People: Will you invite anyone to join your design meeting? If you have hired a planner, oftentimes, they must be included as well. Consider including your partner or parent if you find it more helpful to make decisions- not hurtful.
- Time: Depending on how long your engagement is, your design meeting can fall within a wide range of dates. The beauty of working with a live product is that florists can only order so far in advance - in my case, I order around the two-week mark from your wedding date. I suggest doing your meeting after you have gotten your dress and photographer. These two factors can really impact the overall design. Also, make sure to cut out a good amount of time to have your meeting. Talking through every aspect of your florals and poking through photos can be time-consuming.
Before you meet:
Now that you have a date let’s talk about things you can do to make the most out of your meeting!
- Pinterest: Include a section just for florals in your wedding board! That way, you can really refine the floral vision with your partner and not get distracted with other wedding details. Finding individual photos of bouquets, ceremony, and reception tables will be super helpful for your florist to understand the vision. It’s okay if you can’t find something you love 100%. That means your florist gets to make something even more original!
- Overall Vision: Talk with your partner about what you both want the day to FEEL like for you and your guests. Your inspiration could be from a place you’ve traveled, the aesthetic from a movie, or as simple as a color palette. This will really help your florist understand you beyond just the florals!
- Numbers: It is really difficult to get accurate centerpiece quantities with no idea of floorplan! If you don’t have a floor plan already, ask your venue or coordinator for some examples with a similar guest count. This will help you see the most accurate pricing updates!
- Budget: You should have some idea of what florals are going to cost you since you’ve received a quote, but continue to research! Take a look at the rest of your wedding expenses and try to better gauge what you really think you can spend on flowers. Also - it’s more than just flowers. Your florist will also provide candles and their services that need to be included.
- Linens + Rentals: If you have already picked these items from a rental company, bring a copy of your order to the meeting so your florist can ensure the flowers match the linen colors. If you haven’t chosen these items yet, your florist will probably have recommendations as to what will coordinate with your florals!
After you meet:
Relax- your florist will handle it from here! After a design meeting, my brides will receive an in-depth proposal with tons of inspiration images, a custom color palette, descriptions, and virtual mockups of your ceremony and reception space. From there, we can tweak all the little changes!
Flowers are meant to be fun! So should your time be with your florist. I hope these tips come in handy and help you feel more at ease when it comes to having a design meeting. While you might have never done this before, I assure you that your florist has and will help guide you every minute!
