Finding a florist...(not looking forward to this)

[newbie124]

So I''ve been kind of putting off contacting florists until now. I''m not really looking forward to this b/c

1) I''m nervous about how much it could cost to get the look I want (and I''m not even looking for anything too elaborate, relatively speaking)

2) I admit I''m probably stereotyping, but I just have a feeling that florists, being creative types, are probably going to be one of the trickier vendors to be good about timely responses and organization.

3) I''m still trying to figure out what the heck I want!

4) It''s hard for me to distinguish good florists from OK florists. I''ve seen maybe two or three sites where I really loved about 90% of the portfolio (but those are also the more expensive people). Then there are a TON more florists who have a few things I really like/connect with, but then I see some stuff that I really don''t like. And I can''t tell if that''s speaking to their abilities (or lack thereof) or if the arrangements were just what the bride happened to want.

Does anyone have any tips on how to go about choosing a good florist?

Also, am I kind of late in the game finding someone? I didn''t think I would need to be in a big hurry for this, especially when our wedding is 10 months out and on a Friday (haven''t had issues w/ other vendors so far). But I sent out 5 emails to potential florists so far and already 2 have written back to say they''re already booked or otherwise unavailable. (One of them even told me I was the 3rd person to request for that day!)

I''m planning to schedule in-person meetings while we''re out in CA in August. How many should I plan to try to meet with and are there certain things I should be looking out for/asking during these meetings to help make sure we''re picking the right person?

TIA!

 

[Gypsy]

Are you in So Cal or Nor Cal? We can help.

 

[rockzilla]

How did I know Gypsy would be the first to respond?!

You will be okay - there are a lot of florists in CA, and we can help you find a good one!

 

[newbie124]

Wedding will be in NorCal (Napa). Thanks!

I''ve tried contacting Huckleberry Karen (much talked about on theknot) and this other woman, Ingela, who I came across on yelp. Those are the two who are already booked

 

[Gypsy]

Okay well, I have a few suggestions.

The first one is my own florist. She's in walnut creek so you'd have to ask if she'd go out there, but I'd be surprised if she said no. Her website is a horror, but her actual work rocks... seriously awesome, as is her personality and responsiveness. She's very likeable, but also professional. Prices are good, and she'll work with you, with flower choices, and design ideas to make your vision and budget work together.

I had three or four others I really liked as well, but Katherine won because of her personality, creativity, her portfolio, her prices, and her... just her set up... she has a huge new white van outfitted for wedding deliveries, her garage is her studio, she has quite a few vases and so forth so that you don't have to go to an outside vendor for rental, and so forth.

www.floraldesigner.com

You can tell her that Layla referred you.

The others... I'd have to look up their names. I know one was floralisa.com very sweet, professional, good prices, but just not as established as Katherine and didn't have as many cost cutting, but design saving ideas. I think she'll travel too.

And then there was a woman in Moraga who was just great as well. I don't know if she'd travel. I think her name was karen. I'll check. She was great with the floral choices, also had lots of stuff for rentals. Her prices were good. I just clicked better with Katherine. I'm a PITA and she just seemed to have a personality who understood that, and the confidence to meet the expectations.

Twigs and Ivy is in San Ramon... don't know if they'd travel but its worth a call, she comes highly recommended, though she wasn't available for my date.

If Katherine can't help you ask for a recommendation in your area. I found other florist's recommendations to be HUGE and helpful. She's been doing florals for weddings for 15 years, so... she's got great contracts in the industry. She'll be able to give you a list of referrals of good affordable florists for you if she can't help you herself.

 

[Gypsy]

http://floralsbykaren.com/ is the lady in Moraga.

Ringster.. I really liked Floralisa a lot. She was one of my top 3 (and I interviewed many-- I''m anal about flowers). My only concern was the way she was going to arrange my centerpieces. Katherine had the best idea of the three about how to do them... and her idea allowed the guests to take the flowers (but not the vases) home and saved me money.

 

[newbie124]

Thanks for the recommendations!

Floralisa is another name that I''ve seen around and have heard people speak highly of her. Her portfolio was one of the ones about which I couldn''t quite decide how I felt. Some of the arrangements I thought were very pretty but then others I wasn''t so impressed with, but then wasn''t sure if maybe that''s what the bride wanted (several arrangements w/ greenery sort of "spiking" out, if that makes any sense). Still, though, the reviews have been overall pretty good, so I think I''ll at least shoot her an email/give her a call to see what she says.

I will definitely also call up your florist, Gypsy, and see if she''ll deliver to Napa. Or maybe we can just have our DOC or a family member pick up the arrangements from her.

Someone also recommended this place to me: Dragonfly Floral. The photos on their site are very much in line with the look I think I''m going for. I also like that they use organically grown, local flowers from their own garden. I was warned, though, that the woman running the show there can be a bit eccentric and also laid back about responding to emails. But they get a lot of praise from locals and apparently she''s pretty good about "getting" one''s vision.

I guess I''m just wondering how you really know if someone "gets it" until you see their actual work...on your wedding day, which is kind of too late if it isn''t what you envisioned?

Also, right now I''m hoping to stay around $2,000 for our floral budget (it shrank significantly after we found the venue and photographer that we want). I''m hoping that will be enough to cover what we want, especially since we''re not having a huge wedding. Right now I''m estimating we''ll need 9 centerpieces, 1 bride bouquet, 2 BM bouquets, 1 groom, 2 GMs, and probably 3 additional bouts and 3 corsages/flower pins. Additional "maybe" decor would be for cake, sign-in/welcome bar tables, fireplace garland, 6 hanging kissing balls for ceremony, and flowers for the bride/groom reception chairs. Does this sound fairly in line with the prices you were quoted?

 

[newbie124]

Here are some pics of reception decor that I''m really drawn to...

 

[newbie124]

Like the romantic feel of this reception

 

[newbie124]

A little simpler than the first two

 

[Gypsy]

Oh, you have wonderful taste in flowers! And I've been dying for someone to do a yellow and white and green wedding. If I had a spring or summer wedding, I totally would have gone for that. So lovely.

That's about the same amount of flowers I'm getting give or take. But a lot it depends on the size of your centerpieces, the flowers in them etc. Your bouquet, unless really unreasonable in terms of flowers and huge will probably cost around the same as mine. Keep your attendant's bouquets as small as possible. Bouts should use flowers already in other arrangements. If you want some expensive flowers either keep them to your bouquet and the grooms bout, or use them as really obvious accents.

I was qouted before a lot of the price increases recently. But my budget is around 2000 give or take.


I'm getting:
1 Brides bouquet.
1 BM bouquet (posey size-- so small)
3 bouts.
3 corsages.
Sweetheart table decor (candles, petals, flowers)
Flowers for the cake top
10 tall vases with willow branches and flowers. Vases will be filled with crackle gel and one orchid suspended
8 chair decorations (like the chair decorations in your reception pic only smaller, 3 flowers each) for ceremony
Flower petal gutter.

I had your same concern about Flora Lisa, but I found I liked the work in her portfolio much better than what she has on her site. Most florists aren't great about updating thier websites... if you are long distance ask them to send you pics of the latest weddings they've done and also of a couple where they've done peices similar to the pics you are sending them. What I did was get recommendations. Sent them a request for a qoute... with pics of everything I wanted and some flower guidelines. Then looked at each qoute (each florist does things differently. Some have some costs separately listed, some have rentals separately listed, some include all of that in the per piece price) and the responsiveness... etc. I also talked to them. Most were very nice. Then I set up meetings. I went to Karen's home, and to Katherine's, and Lisa met me halfway. If you are long distance, that's okay. More phone time, emailing pics from the portfolio. And trust. Trust is important.

 

[newbie124]

Thanks, Gypsy! These are some great tips and thanks for sharing your estimate for comparison.

The flowers I''m thinking of are along the lines of hydrangea, roses, carnations, eustoma, ranunculus and maybe a sprinkling of peonies if they''re available. (I''m not very knowledgeable about flowers, so those are basically the ones I can think of that fit into the look what I want But I''m really not so much concerned about what types of flowers they use as long as the overall look is achieved. I''d rather our money go towards that than have the florist have to track down a specific flower half way around the world.

Did you find that it was more reasonable to have your florist provide the petals for the ceremony gutter rather than you getting those on your own?

For my cousin''s wedding, her brother just bought a couple of bunches of roses that we snipped the petals off of. I''m not sure how much he got them for. I was also thinking maybe it''d be cheaper for us to find our own flowers/candles to float in the fountain by the terrace rather than have the florist do that. I just don''t want to overwhelm my day-of helpers, though, if it gets to be too much work...

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 6/5/2008 11:39:14 AM
Author: newbie124
Thanks, Gypsy! These are some great tips and thanks for sharing your estimate for comparison.

The flowers I'm thinking of are along the lines of hydrangea, roses, carnations, eustoma, ranunculus and maybe a sprinkling of peonies if they're available. (I'm not very knowledgeable about flowers, so those are basically the ones I can think of that fit into the look what I want But I'm really not so much concerned about what types of flowers they use as long as the overall look is achieved. I'd rather our money go towards that than have the florist have to track down a specific flower half way around the world.

Did you find that it was more reasonable to have your florist provide the petals for the ceremony gutter rather than you getting those on your own?

For my cousin's wedding, her brother just bought a couple of bunches of roses that we snipped the petals off of. I'm not sure how much he got them for. I was also thinking maybe it'd be cheaper for us to find our own flowers/candles to float in the fountain by the terrace rather than have the florist do that. I just don't want to overwhelm my day-of helpers, though, if it gets to be too much work...

I think it works out better sometimes if you just find someone who you trust, and whose style you like give them pics and an overall look to achieve and let them do their thing. If you find a florist you feel good about... just let them do their thing after you've talked to them to ensure they've got your 'vision.'

As for the gutter. I thought about ordering petals, and I thought about just buying roses to petal and bagging them up. But then I thought of the day of and thought... that's one more thing someone is going to have to worry about. Now, my DOC could have easily done it. But the florist is going to be there anyway... my aisle is going to be pretty long (if we have it at Garre), and I want the color of the orange to be right.

I forgot to add that my estimate includes... 4 or five votives for each table with long burning candles too. And the rentals of the vases and the votives. I knew someone would have to return the vases to her... so I asked her for candle/votive prices and it ended up the same or cheaper than me doing them myself. And it's one less thing to worry about.

 

[newbie124]

I managed to get our caterers to include complimentary votives on the table w/ our package since, like you, I figured it would be one less thing for me to worry about (especially since we''re coming from OOT).

I''ll probably still need to get some for the other areas, but hadn''t thought of renting them from the florist. I''ll definitely look into that and consider the prices. (Also reminds me that I need to ask the caterers if they''ll have long-burning candles for the votives...)

Btw, I really liked the photos of the bouquets that you posted on the other thread! Especially that one w/ the hanging green ribbon. So pretty!

 

[Gypsy]

Smart! I tried to get my venue to throw in votives but they don''t have any. So the florist it is.

I love those bouquets too. I actually have some pics of some lovely yellow and white bouquets. But they are on my laptop. If you want I can post them for you to see later.

What color BM dresses are you thinking of?

 

[newbie124]

Date: 6/5/2008 12:39:01 PM
Author: Gypsy
Smart! I tried to get my venue to throw in votives but they don''t have any. So the florist it is.

I love those bouquets too. I actually have some pics of some lovely yellow and white bouquets. But they are on my laptop. If you want I can post them for you to see later.

What color BM dresses are you thinking of?

Uh...yeah...the BM dresses. Still haven''t figured those out at all. I''m still kind of debating between black or color, although it sounds like my mom and sis are pretty against having black. My sister''s suggested a silver or some kind of grey or maybe even a champagne. The dress I ended up getting is more ivory than I originally anticipated, so my original idea of a pale yellow probably wouldn''t match as well now. A champagne could work as long as it''s not too close to the wedding dress. Dark brown could also be an option.

If you wouldn''t mind posting some of those photos when you get to your computer, that''d be great! I haven''t found as many bouquet photos w/ yellow flowers that I like.

 

[Gypsy]

I like green with possibly ivory sashes personally.

 

[Gypsy]

I have this one pic of a yellow bouquet on my work drive. I love anemonies (those might be poppies actually, not anemonies). I have more on my laptop.

 

[bensbride]

Oh wow! I love the yellow and white look! All the inspiration photos you posted are fabulous, newbie! I''m maybe going to have to add another color scheme to my ideabook! Sorry, I live in Iowa and can''t really help with California florists, though.

 

[newbie124]

Date: 6/5/2008 2:46:17 PM
Author: Gypsy
I like green with possibly ivory sashes personally.

Hmm...now that you mention it, that could very possibly work. If we're able to find the right shade of green, that is (can be such a tricky color). That's one more thing I need to add to the list of things we'll need to do during our week in SF: drag my sister to some stores to look for dresses! I'm so glad I decided to stick with 2 BMs...less people to try to appease!

Oh, and keep those pictures coming I do like the one you just posted.

bensbride - Glad you can find some inspiration in these photos! Our wedding is in spring, so I really like the idea of yellows and accents of green. I think it could be pretty for a summer wedding as well

 

[Gypsy]

Here's a pic for BM dress color (not for the flowers). I was thinking of a honeydew or celery.

 

[newbie124]

Btw, just wanted to let you know, Gypsy, that I emailed Katherine a couple hours ago and just got a reply from her complete with a fairly detailed quote that already sounds close to what I told her we want. Yay!!

With the exception of the 2 florists who wrote back to tell me they were already booked, she''s the only one who''s responded to me, and the others I emailed at least 2-3 days ago. I''m liking this woman already

Only downside is that her delivery fee is $250 since it''s such a far distance

The upside, though, is that w/ fee and taxes, I think we''ll be just at $2,000. I''m going to schedule an appointment with her and see how things go from there.

Thanks again for the referral!

 

[Gypsy]

Her delivery fee for me was right around that. I''m in Livermore. It includes full set up though... and even with her delivery fee (remember I said different florists calculate things differently?) she was very competitive. Yeah, I like her a responsiveness. Talk to her on the phone and see if you click.

 

[newbie124]

Date: 6/5/2008 5:32:52 PM
Author: Gypsy
Her delivery fee for me was right around that. I''m in Livermore. It includes full set up though... and even with her delivery fee (remember I said different florists calculate things differently?) she was very competitive. Yeah, I like her a responsiveness. Talk to her on the phone and see if you click.

Cool. This is the first real quote I''ve received, so I''ll definitely keep that in mind. Although, now that she''s given me the quote, do you have any suggestions for what should I talk to her about over the phone?

 

[Gypsy]

You can ask her about how long she''s been doing weddings, what her favorite type of arrangements/flowers/ whatever is. Ask her what types of flowers she''s thinking of-- let her know you just want to hear her thoughts. About what size each piece would be. Talk about the overall feel you are going for. What kind of bouquet she has in mind. If she''s done a similar color scheme and if so, can she email you some pics. Maybe ask her to suggest a bouquet. What type of containers she''s got... that kind of thing. Ask her if there is anything special she''d like to do with your ideas... like special rose types, anything.

Each designer I spoke to had some interesting flower suggestions that made me go ''hmm!" and some additions to my vision I liked and some idea I hadn''t considered.

Just general conversation to get a feel of her personality. It was important to me anyway, that I clicked with all my vendors.

 

[ringster]

Date: 6/4/2008 9:41:49 PM
Author: Gypsy
http://floralsbykaren.com/ is the lady in Moraga.


Ringster.. I really liked Floralisa a lot. She was one of my top 3 (and I interviewed many-- I''m anal about flowers). My only concern was the way she was going to arrange my centerpieces. Katherine had the best idea of the three about how to do them... and her idea allowed the guests to take the flowers (but not the vases) home and saved me money.

yep lisa was great to work with. i also didn''t have many options as we decided last minute to not DIY. i was very happy with her attention to detail and how easy it was to plan everything via phone and email.

what was katherine''s idea? just curious.

 

[Gypsy]

With Lisa I was going to have to buy the vases I wanted and provide them to her. Then, because of the 6 foot tall arrangement height she was going to have to pretty much assemble all the centerpieces at the venue.

Katherine had the vases, included the rental of them in the price of the centerpeices, and came up with the idea of using the vases as pedestals-- filling them with some cool clear crackle gel and suspending orchids in them... then doing the arrangements in oasis and then setting them on top of the vases. That way the guest can take the entire arrangement (sans vase) home.

Also Katherine had the best peony alternative ideas. Plus she did a few very classy things that were thoughtful and above expectations.

 

[newbie124]

Gypsy - I was just wondering if you asked Katherine for any references before you booked her? I asked her for a couple of names of brides she's worked with in the past 8 months. Her response was:

"All our clients are referrals from past clients or other vendors, we do not have a retail presence nor do we advertise widely. Rest assured that we are extremely meticulous and professional, with 14 plus years experience in the wedding and events industry."

I'm sure they have a good reputation, but I'd still like to talk to some previous wedding clients to get their first-hand take on the experience. I was just wondering if she provided you with any names, assuming you asked?

 

[Gypsy]

No, I didn''t. Two of the bakers I interviewed had worked with her and had only raves. I posted on the knot and got only raves, and she works with several venues and I called them and only raves. So... I probably should have, but I didn''t really feel the need.

I would call her and ask her for a referral from a couple previous brides. That I''d do over the phone.

 

[newbie124]

Cool, thanks for your help!

Now I just hope she doesn't get booked for our day before we have our consultation! I'm really surprised how many florists have responded to tell me they're already booked for our Friday wedding...and we're just approaching 10 months out!