10 Steps for Preparing for Your Wedding Flower Consultation
1. Have Your Wedding Date Chosen
Knowing your wedding date will allow your florist to give you an accurate floral quote as well as offer suggestions about bloom seasonality for your big day. Most florists have limited availability for weddings each week and knowing your date will allow your florist to know if they have availability for your date or not.
To find out more about flower seasonality head to our blog on Wedding Flower Availability and Seasonality!
2. Have Your Venue Booked
Your wedding florist will need to know your wedding ceremony and reception locations to suggest floral arrangements and installations that will complement the aesthetics of your chosen venue.
If you need help finding stunning venues check out our blogs on the 21 Best Calgary Wedding Venues and 14 Best Wedding Venues In The Canadian Rockies!
*While we can take a booking without knowing your venue with a non refundable reservation retainer and a signed contract it's best to have both your date and venue chosen before scheduling your consultation.
3. Have A Colour Palette In Mind
It will be easier for your wedding florist to suggest suitable blooms to use if they have a colour palette to work with, but we are more than happy to work with you to create a beautifully unique colour palette for you.
If you don't have any colours in mind, feel free to read 15 Popular Wedding Colour Palettes to spark some inspiration!
4. Have Your Dress Selected (or an idea of the style you are looking for)
When choosing a bouquet for your wedding day it is important to consider how the bouquet will complement your bridal dress style. It is also helpful to have your bridesmaids dresses chosen to help your floral designer understand the overall design.
Check out our Bridal Bouquet Style Guide to learn more about what bouquet style works best for your wedding gown.
5. Share Your Inspo
We love to see your Pinterest boards! Share photos of bouquets, centrepieces and other floral inspiration you have found with us, but be open to suggestions from your wedding florist about ways to make your florals reflect you and your partner. An inspiration board is also very helpful to have and can be sent to your florist prior to the initial consultation.
6. Have A Budget In Mind
Your floral budget may need to be adjusted based on your floral needs, but your florist will work with you to answer any questions you may have on pricing. We suggest a budget of 20-25% of your total wedding budget for Pinterest-worthy, fine-art inspired, lush designs. Most of our couples come to us because they love florals and really want the florals to be a key element in their wedding.
Read more about our starting prices here!
Read our blog post The Truth About Wedding Flower Pricing to learn more about why fresh, high quality flowers designed by a professional florist cost what they do.
7. Create A List Of Floral Needs
How many bridesmaid's bouquets do you need? How many centrepieces? Do you need ceremony flowers? Is there a stunning fireplace mantel that should be adorned or an entryway they could use some flowers? It's okay if you aren't sure who should have flowers or exactly where you should place flowers at the ceremony or reception. Your florist will go through a list to help you answer all of these questions.
For some additional help, you can download our Wedding Flower Checklist here.
8. Think About Potential Allergies
Find out if anyone in the bridal party has an allergy to the flowers you are thinking of using before you ask your florist to include them in any design and be sure to let your florist know about these allergies. Due to allergies we typically try to stay away from using lilies, craspedia and baby's breath in our floral arrangements. We also do not work with dyed flowers as the dye could stain your dress and table linens.
9. Fill Out Our Contact Form
Are you planning a wedding in Calgary, Canmore, Banff or the Canadian Rockies?Interested in scheduling a consultation with us? Please fill out our contact form and will will send you the link to our consultation calendar if we have your date available.
Ideally you should contact your florist 4-8 months prior to the wedding date to set up a consultation. If flowers are a high priority item for you then we suggest setting up a consultation and booking your wedding florist even earlier, between 7-12 months. If you wait until a month or two before the wedding to book a consult you may be very disappointed to learn that your favorite florist is completely booked for your date.
This is especially important if your wedding date is in June, July, August or September - the most popluar wedding months in Southern Alberta. Winter is also becoming a popular season for mountain destination weddings and we are often busy year round with weddings.
10. Have Fun!
Choosing flowers and designs for your wedding is such a fun and exciting experience, don't forget to relax and take it in as it's happening!
Our initial consultations are done via Zoom. A follow up consultation can be arranged in person if desired.
We look forward to being your Calgary and area wedding florist!
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