We gave you some tips for DIY wedding flowers and now we have advice for those leaving their floral needs to the professionals.

We may be biased, but going to a florist for your wedding flowers is the absolute best way to ensure beautiful results.

What a florist can do for you

Florists know what they are doing, plain and simple. They have had training in floral design courses and know all the ins and outs of creating everything

These bouquets are a perfect example of the gorgeous work only a florist can create.

from a decadent cascading bouquet for the bride to intricate corsages for the Moms. A florist knows flower care like the back of their hand; how to properly condition flowers, what temperature to store them at and what’s seasonal when. They can also cover the logistics of delivery and set-up. But best of all, they’re creative and can design unique arrangements to suit your needs exactly, from the avant garde to the traditional. Plus they do it all for you, giving you one less thing to worry about.

Before the consultation

The biggest frustration for a florist is having a wedding consultation with a bride who just doesn’t know what she wants. We can suggest ideas until we’re blue in the face, but until you give us cues as to colour, style, flowers and budget, we’re not going to be able to find something you really want. Before your consultation, do some research. Look around in wedding magazines, online wedding forums, florist’s website (such as our wedding gallery and wedding packages) for ideas. Print off some pictures and bring them to the consultation.

Know the answers to these questions before you go in:

A unique bouquet with seashells we made for a bride getting married on a boat.

• What style do you want? Contemporary, traditional, linear, round, cascading? Consider your venue and the style of your dresses as well as your own personality. Also consider your body type. If you’re petite, a huge cascading bouquet will hide you and if you’re more full-figured, a small tight bouquet will pale next to your curvaceous self. It’s all about proportions!
• What flowers do you want? Have some top choices and some alternatives as well in case in turns out that what you like is out of season or out of your price range.
• What is your colour scheme? Complimentary colours or monochromatic? Bring in fabric swatches! There are thousands of shades of pink, we can’t guess which one you’re using.
• What is your budget? Some brides withhold this from the florist to see if they can get a better price, but then end up disappointed when they hear the cost of the arrangements they picked out during the consultation. Be up front so the florist can guide you to what fits with your budget.

Your answers to these questions may evolve during the consultation, but giving the florist a jumping off point will make the session run smoothly and let the florist design what you actually want right off the bat.

Also remember to book your consultation ahead of time. When we do our consultations we can spend up to a few hours making sure every detail is perfect, showing you how the arrangements will look and letting you see the flowers you want to use. We need to schedule the consultation so we can set that time aside and gather the right materials and flowers to show you.

At the consultation

The absolute best advice we can give you for an enjoyable wedding consultation is to come alone or with just one other person like your maid of honour or your Mom. Leave the rest of the wedding party at home. Too many people at a consultation means too many ideas, too many clashing opinions and too much time wasted on a round table discussion about the pros and cons of baby’s breath. It’s your day and only your opinion matters when it comes to the flowers, so let it be your decision.

Also remember to keep an open mind. The image in your head of your wedding flowers may not be what’s realistic for your budget and the season. Listen to your florist, they will give you alternatives that will still keep your wedding fabulous.

Choosing a florist

Here are some things to consider when deciding whether or not to use a florist:

• Did the florist respect your budget, style and ideas?
• Did I get along with the florist? Did the consultation “feel right”? No reason you shouldn’t like the person you are hiring.
• Did you like the designs? If you’re paying a florist to make you professional quality arrangements, they should look it. If you felt the designs were too amateurish or just plain not what you asked for, don’t book them.

Having gorgeous wedding flowers need not be a difficult task. Start with a good florist and a foundation of ideas of everything should flow naturally from there. And don’t stress too much about having all the flowers be perfect, leave it to us, we can do that for you too!

If you have any questions about shopping for wedding flowers, leave us a comment or tweet us at our Twitter feed.

2 Responses to “Professional Wedding Flower Tips”

1. Seasons says:

   October 30, 2010 at 7:42 am

   Maybe you should make changes to the blog subject The MoonFlower Blog » Professional Wedding Flower TipsFlowers, florist industry insights and tips from Toronto's MoonFlower Florist to something more catching for your webpage you create. I loved the blog post all the same.
2. AndrewBoldman says:

   June 4, 2009 at 9:36 am

   da best. Keep it going! Thank you