Guest Post: Amy Armstrong
Floral Designer and owner of The Conservatorie: Floral and Event Design
10 Tips from The Conservatorie Floral Designers:
- Be Flexible About Color: Flower colors differ from farm to farm and from region to region. Often times we receive multiple bunches of the same flower with slight color variations among them. This is the beauty of mother nature... she has no bounds. Start to think about colors that compliment your overall idea. For instance if you main color is bright coral think about incorporating softer peaches and apricots to compliment the coral. Also, keep in mind that the pictures you see online may not be realistic to the flower in real life.If you can be flexible with color the creative process is limitless.
- Make it Personal: Incorporating special heirlooms and pictures into your flower arrangements help make it your own. Etsy is a great place to find all sorts of custom photo charms to adorn your bouquet.
- Supporting Roles: Our work is all about collaboration and a supportive second opinion. We all know there are people in our lives that help us to make better decisions. When attending your floral consultation, bring with you a friend or family member that will not only give you an honest opinion, but agrees with your style and over all concept. It's important to have somebody that is supportive of you and your ideas. If you know one of your friends or family members might have a different idea of what your wedding should look like, perhaps coax them to participate in other wedding activities.
- Have a Budget in Mind: None of us would walk onto a car lot without telling the salesperson what you wanted to spend. Your budget dictates where to start on a car lot and where to start with flower choices. No matter what your budget, there are beautiful flowers waiting to be yours. Perhaps create a range that you would feel comfortable spending. This will allow your floral consultant to hit the ground running with some great ideas and not make you fall in love with something that will break the bank.
- Prioritize: Start to think about areas in which you can splurge and areas that can be simplified. We always recommend splurging on your bouquet. Your bouquet will be in your wedding pictures from the big day for many years and will often adorn your family members walls. It should be something that you love and when viewing brings you right back to your special day. However, many brides also want the reception to be the big bang! You'll be spending most of your time amongst the tables in the reception venue and they will get enjoyed the longest.
- Venue Ambiance: When choosing a venue take note of the overlying color schemes, the height of the ceilings, the chairs, and the little details surrounding you. This will help you gain perspective on colors to choose and what size arrangements to put on the table. If you've always dreamt of a collection of bottles arranged on your table but are getting married in a venue with tall vaulted ceiling, you may want to incorporate taller arrangements on some of the tables.
- Know What you Like and Don't Like: Knowing what you don't like aids in finding out what you do like.
- Squeezing your Budget: Choosing flowers that have large heads is a great way of getting the best bang for your buck. Hydrangea go a long way and are priced very well. It would take 8 roses to compensate for the size of 1 hydrangea. Flowers like king protea, or dinner plate dahlias make a strong statement on their own. Bouquets of either stand on their own. Many flowers have lookalikes. Being open to the equally beautiful counterpart to the peony is a great way to stretch your wallet.
- Create a Pinterest Page: Pinterest is a great resource for translating your inspiration to your florist. Knowing your whole concept and what your dresses and favors look like helps us to get to know your style better.
- Trust Your Florist: Choose a florist that you feel understands your vision and style and then allow them to do their thing. Creativity flows when there is freedom to do so. Consider allowing your florist to make substitutions on the spot when making your flowers. Many times, we have other items lying around that would enhance your flowers more than we spoke about durring our initial conversations. If however, you don't want to make adjustments when the flowers are decided upon, be clear with your florist to ensure you are on the same page.
