Wedding Flowers
Wedding flowers are an important part of the wedding decorations and can create a nice silver lining. All flowers at the wedding; the ceremony, reception and so on are usually designed to match the flowers the bride picked for her wedding bouquet.
Wedding florists
Wedding florists can be found everywhere. Some florists will focus and specialize in wedding flowers but even though they don't advertise it as a specialty most florists will do wedding bouquets and other wedding decorations.
Word-of-mouth, friends' recommendations, the store down the street are all great ways to start looking into a florist for your wedding. Another option is to look at different websites, type in the city+florist, to find someone in your area. Make appointments to talk to a couple of florists. Different florist may interpret your style a bit differently and offer you different ideas. If you have something very specific in mind already or something very simple it may be easier to find 'the right' florist. Most florists will have a few books of photos showcasing their previous work so that you can see references and get an idea of what they offer. If you don't really know what you want as far as wedding flowers go, then explain to the florist what type of flowers you like, any ideas you have for the wedding, colors you are incorporating, and maybe explain what your dress looks like. Also, take pictures with you as references; flower photos that you've found online or in magazines about weddings or gardening.
If you've come up with what flowers you would like and what kind of arrangement it may be a good idea to go to a couple of different florists and see what kind of prices they give you. Flowers can quickly become expensive so it is good to see what alternatives you have. If money is no concern you can obviously save yourself the time.
A lot of times you will need to put down a deposit once you have decided on a florist, what kind or flowers, how many bouquets etc you will have. The wedding flower deposit will usually be a percentage of the total cost. Most florists are open to changes during the process though. Make sure you know when your final payment is due.
Choosing wedding flowers
When choosing your flowers, bring in a picture of flowers you like. Depending on what those flowers are your florist may make different recommendations as to what other flowers you can gracefully combine it with. They may also be able to give you an idea of how many flowers you can combine together without it getting too busy and the flowers taking over rather than being a nice complement. Same goes with colors. You may be able to see some live examples of flowers (depending on season etc) to get a good idea of how it will work for you.
The most traditional wedding flower is probably still roses. But lots of other flowers are being used and make great wedding bouquets. If you don't really want flowers as anything other than a small decoration you can always go with a smaller flower in a subtle color.
Wedding flower seasons
It is good to talk to a florist before you get too fixed on a particular flower to use as a primary flower for your wedding as flowers come and go in season. Some are not available during different seasons pr can be quite expensive. If you really wanted a particular flower though but know it is not available, let your florist know. They may not be able to get a hold of them (or the cost might be quite high) but what they can do is to give you other alternatives of similar flowers that can also give you the look and style that you are looking for.
Wedding flowers for wedding party
Flowers are not only used by the bride at the wedding. Flowers can be just a small, natural and beautiful accent at your wedding or it can play a larger role in setting the feel and look. So as far as flowers go, once it has been decided what flowers to use for the bride there are more flower decisions to make. You will need to decide whether or not the groom is to wear a flower, your florist can make a small arrangement, for him to wear on his jacket. So now the groom and the bride are taken care of, lets decide on the wedding party. Your bridesmaids bouquets can either be smaller bouquets of the same flower(s) as the bride's or maybe just one kind of flower is chosen for the bridesmaid's bouquet, it depends on the flowers and the contrast or similarity you want to create. Some also choose to make smaller arrangements such as a corsage or pin with flowers for the mothers of the groom and the bride and perhaps also the grandmothers.
Pick-up and timing
Make sure that you talk to your florist a couple of weeks before the wedding to confirm the timing of pick up etc. If you are not available to pick up the flowers yourself make sure to give that responsibility to someone else in good time before the wedding. If a friend is picking up all the flowers make sure they know were to deliver them. If you have flowers for anyone else than yourself you will also need to delegate the responsibility of getting the flowers to the rest of the wedding party etc, just something to keep in mind.
After the wedding
Some flowers will dry up well too. Ask you florist how to best take care of your flowers if you want to dry them.
Most florists will be more than happy to receive a wedding photo of you with your flowers so they can see how the end result looked. Also it is great for them to be able to use that as a reference in their portfolio for other clients. So if you liked your florist this is a nice gesture of thanks to give after the wedding.
