Choosing Your Flowers and Briefing Your Florist

Choosing your bridal flowers can be as scary as finding your perfect dress, and are just as important in the overall look of the day. But what should you consider when choosing your flowers: scent, colour, or texture? A good florist will always suggest the best flowers for your colour theme, size and style; as well as tailoring the arrangements for your requirements.. Follow these tips below for your dream wedding flowers!

Choosing a Florist
Recommendation is a great way of finding your florist, but it's a good idea to browse several flower shops too, in case your styles drastically differ from the person who recommended the service. You can take a look at our members' websites to help you get started (see the 'where to buy section'). Once you've made your mind up, always book a consultation - it's worth the money as you'll get lots of time devoted to you, and you'll be able to work out the best choices for your big day.  Try and make time on a week day because the florist will have more time to discuss ideas, as the shop may be busy on a Saturday.

Try and help the florist out as much as possible.  As creative as most florists are, they are not mind readers so the more information you can give them the better – pictures from magazines, pictures of the dress, fabric swatches, key themes, or special items the wedding theme is based on - for example, if you're wearing your Grandmother's brooch, it might be nicer for you to incorporate this into your bouquet, rather than wear it on your dress.

It may be helpful to prepare a brief, such as:
Style of bouquet: 
- Traditional shower (a long, trailing bouquet, wired or in a foam holder)
- Garden flower posy (country-style loose bouquet, hand-tied or in a holder)
- Compact hand-tied (all the flowers tied tightly in a dome)
- Wired hand-tied (a victorian bouquet has concentric circles of flowers, or you could opt for a 50's style small wired posy)
- Continental wand (the flowers are layered and upright)
- Wire -work decorative bouquet (flowers are stuck to a decorative, handmade wire trailing frame)
- Crescent shaped bouquet
- Body jewellery
- Collate some ideas from magazines, books, and our on-line wedding gallery

Remember that wired work will be more expensive, but will last better on the day. Wired work takes a lot of skill and time, and ensures you have a completely bespoke item - as any Princess deserves!

Headdress:
- Circlet (flowers wired in a circle)
- Floral tiara
- Floral Alice Band
- Flowers woven into hair

Type of Flowers:
- Preferred colours
- Shape of the bouquet
- Scented Flowers
- Flowers with special meaning, like the first flowers he ever bought you, orr what your Mother had
- Avoid scented flowers if you have allergies - ask your florist to recommend the best flowers for you

Carrying the bouquet:
- Do you want to carry it in one hand, or select body jewellery such a wrist corsage so you can have your hands free?
- Trailing or upright
- Will you need to carry it with both hands?

Style of Dress: 
- Have a clear drawing or picture of both dress and veil
- Colour swatch of fabric

Size
Something that if often forgotten is the size of the bouquet.  For example, if the bride is small an enormous trailing bouquet will overpower them, whereas a small hand-tied posy would be far more suitable.  A good florist will take the bride's frame – height and basic shape into consideration.

Budget
Set a budget and give this to the florist.  Be prepared to be slightly flexible but do not be pushed into anything which is not wanted.  A good florist can work with any budget and suggest ideas to suit.  If your are on a budget then stick to flowers of the season.  Remember these flowers are going to be handled so ensure they are hardy.  Again the florist will advise on what will flop! It's advisable to set aside 10-12% of your overall budget to spend on the flowers for you, the venue and your reception.

Ask…
…to see some of their previous work to ensure that your wedding flowers will be as beautiful as you dreamed.

Table Arrangements
These should be very low or nice and high to avoid getting in the way of guests.  Don’t forget plants could also be used as table arrangements, these can be very attractive as well as cheaper (dependent on the plant) and a memento for people to take home with them at the e end of the night.