Struggling to find your flower power? Patricia-Ann Young quizzes three wedding florists on how to find your bridal bloom groove
Working with a florist to create big-day blooms is loads of fun and can be a very creative process. Still, it’s hard sometimes to find your own style amid the deluge of options and inspiration that’s out there. Who better to ask for advice on bringing your ideas into bloom than three florists with masses of experience in all things relating to wedding flowers…
Q. I’m seeing my florist for the first time next week. Is there anything I should bring with me to the meeting that would help?
A. Lyndsay Martin at Blossom and Bloom replies:
“Yes! It’s always worth taking along a few photos that’ll give your florist an idea of what you’re looking for (not too many pics, though, or it gets a bit confusing!). When I meet a bride, I want to know what her style is more than anything, so the photos don’t have to be of flowers – they could be images of decor that you really like or even your dress. Just something that gives us a clue about your tastes and how you want your wedding to look and feel. Some clients want a price before they’ll give us an idea of the theme they’re going for, but that’s difficult for us to do – a round of perfect red roses has a different cost to a more wild-looking bouquet, for example.”
Q. I’d like my flowers to mean something. How do I achieve that personal touch?
A. Helen Hardman at the Greenshed Flower Studio replies:
“Incorporating loved ones into your bouquet can be done in lots of different ways. I’ve worked with a bride who wrapped a piece of her grandmother’s jewellery around the stems and another who had photos of her grandparents printed onto discs around the stems – it was almost like holding hands with lost loved ones as they walked down the aisle.
A different option would be to honour them by including their favourite flowers or perhaps a flower that represents them. A couple I’m working with just now are having a bouquet of white roses because the groom’s grandmother was from Yorkshire and the white rose is the emblem of York. For a wedding I did last year, sunflowers had significance for the couple’s family, so I made sure these were present in the mix.”
Q. I’d love to have amazing flowers at my wedding but I’m on a tight budget. How do I work out what’s possible?
A. Pamela Bonner at Eternity Blooms replies:
“A lot of couples tell me they don’t know what to budget for flowers, because they don’t know how much flowers cost. My answer to that is to suggest keeping it in line with what they’re spending on other parts of the wedding. If it’s a big, extravagant day, with flowers to match, obviously the cost is going to be higher. If it’s an intimate do with only close family and friends, the cost will be less. I usually ask how much they envisaged paying for flowers, and if they are still unsure after that, I ask them to tell me which flowers they’d want at their dream wedding, and I create an estimate for that. If the price is a bit too high for them, we sit down and go over everything and try to tweak it to bring the price down to a figure they’re happy with. Bear in mind that you can reuse flowers throughout the day – your ceremony flowers can be used as the table centres for the meal, for example.