Things You Should Know Before You Plan Your Wedding Flowers

I am so excited to share with you this insightful and timely guest blog post. Kimberly from Chloe Rose Floral Designs is an amazing artist, ready to break down a few myths you may have heard about wedding flowers. My hope is that through her open conversation here, you are able to gain confidence to approach your wedding florals and florist with respect and trust.

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When planning a wedding, most couples might have a good grasp on details like the location, color palette, and style. However, one of the most impactful details that often proves to be a challenge is the floral décor.

Whether you are looking to plan an intimate, minimalist wedding or a grand celebration, flowers play a significant part in the overall aesthetic and atmosphere of the event. They can be one of the best investments you could make for your big day. From ceremony to reception, and all of the special moments in between, your wedding flowers will bring your entire look together and make your day more unforgettable.

That said, before we start making flower plans, let’s debunk some of the top wedding flower myths one might encounter!

Myth 1: Wedding flowers are too expensive; I can make my own floral arrangements.

Just as every element on your wedding day is significant, your floral décor is an integral piece to the overall aesthetic and atmosphere of your wedding. Providing and making your own floral arrangements may seem like a great option to cut costs. But you should consider the amount of work and time it would take you away from your own event.

When you hire a florist, you aren’t just paying for the flowers. You are also investing in someone to take care of everything so that you can comfortably enjoy your special day. Florists dedicate long hours to each wedding from start to finish. Starting with the knowledge they’ve gained over the years learning about different floral stems, their seasonal availability, and how to work with each one differently. There’s the communicating back and forth, sourcing the flowers, and prepping and designing. Then there’s the delivery, set-up, and cleanup as well.

With our expertise, you’re ensuring that your wedding flowers are beautifully designed, cared for, and set up exactly as you envisioned. Making your wedding dream, a dream come true.

Etcetera Photography | Lily Tapia Photography

Myth 2: More greenery would be cheaper.

While pound-for-pound a bunch of flowers is most likely going to be more expensive than a bunch of greens, to say that an all-greenery wedding is always cheaper is a deceiving myth. One must take into consideration how many leaves you would need compared to flowers to fill up an arrangement or space.

Having just greens can sometimes turn out to be just as or even more costly. For example, tons of having garlands or a greenery ceiling installation. Ideally, the goal is to be intentional with how greens are incorporated into the overall design. Rather than assuming greens will automatically be more cost-effective.

Myth 3: My wedding needs to follow the current trends like what I see on Pinterest.

Pinterest and the internet are surely great resources. And it’s always fun to see what the current trends are and how others have conceived their weddings. However, you should never feel obligated to follow what others have done before.

Just because a featured wedding had a lush ceremony aisle lined with flowers, or a wedding on Pinterest had a giant floral wall, it doesn’t mean you have to have them too.

You should consider the internet as a tool to help bring out your own creativity, and inspire you to create your own unique design. Remember, it’s your wedding day and you are allowed to make it whatever you want. It’s an opportunity to showcase your personalities and tell your love story your own way.

Oh Missy Events | Etcetera Photography

Myth 4: I need to know exactly what I want before meeting and contacting my florist.

While it’s always helpful to know exactly what you want, it’s in no way a requirement. Your florist most often can take any small idea or vision and help you navigate through the entire process.

Ideally, your florist will also strive to make this experience fun, easy and stress-free. Your florist should be able to use their expertise to help guide you as needed to find the perfect floral fit.

I have had couples reach out with a lot of information. And other couples who have absolutely no idea where to even begin when it comes to their wedding flowers. And that’s perfectly okay! For couples who don’t have a clear vision, I typically share a questionnaire asking some general questions, from their color palette to their desired style. To more specific questions like what their favorite flowers are and what particular look they are envisioning for the centerpieces. This questionnaire helps couples get a better understanding and idea of what they need versus what they want.

I always ask for a few inspiration photos as well to get a better visual of what their aesthetic is. With all of this information, I can then put together a personalized proposal for them along with a mood board. The proposal is extremely helpful, not only for the couples to see the overall budget but also for them to see the vision come together. Every item is broken down with a list of florals and greens that I feel would fit the aesthetic shared. The proposal is very specific for each piece and the mood board helps to translate the proposal visually. I find that this collaboration method helps a lot of couples center their vision and easily make adjustments where needed.

Chloe Rose Floral Design | Caitlin Alohilani Photography

Myth 5: Being a florist is easy. Anyone can do it!

Oh boy if only it was so! Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. While I believe that everyone has an artistic side, being a florist is not quite as easy as sticking a bunch of flowers into a vase. And although it’s true that one doesn’t need a degree to become a florist, most florists don’t just wake up one day and instantly become successful. Often, it’s a labor of love that takes years of practice, patience, and even failures.

Being a florist might seem glamorous at first. But there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that doesn’t get talked about or showcased nearly enough. There are the early mornings to procure flowers, sleepless nights designing, skipped meals, and even stacks-on-stacks of buckets to clean.

Being a florist is also challenging as the art we work with has a very short lifespan. Our working hours are typically condensed into a couple of days prior to the event to ensure fresh products the day of.

Another behind-the-scenes challenge is working with mother nature. The flower industry recently took a hard hit with the pandemic, as well as the latest storm in South America. One of the locations hardest hit is where a lot of roses are imported from. This resulted in farm production being pushed back. Flights for flower cargos were difficult to find and millions of flowers had to be thrown away. Florists have had to be creative during the pandemic with no contact deliveries and smaller intimate weddings. We also had to be flexible with products as they cannot be guaranteed.

How you can help your wedding florist

The best way for couples to navigate wedding planning with a floral partner during this time is to trust your florist! Be ready to send in your flower orders early and most importantly, be flexible with last-minute changes. Despite the stress of the pandemic, unpredictable weather, and product availabilities, the flower industry has been working extremely hard to get the products in for all of the special events and celebrations. The stress behind the scenes is real! But everything is worth it knowing how happy our couples and clients are after receiving their beautiful flowers.

Like other professions, being a successful florist requires a lot of work and passion. We do what we do simply because we love it. I urge anyone who feels passionate about flowers and weddings to definitely give this career path a try. It’s such a rewarding job being able to work with couples on one of their most important days celebrating their love.

Lily Tapia Photography | Sweet Songbird Bakery

Hello! My name is Kimberly and I am the founder and face behind Chloe Rose. My first experience in the wedding and events industry was back in 2013. I was hired to be an assistant at a wedding venue that was all-inclusive with rentals, catering, and flowers provided in-house. I got an all-around experience from coordinating to catering managing and floral designing. Out of everything, floral design was what stuck with me the most. I would always get excited every time I talked about flowers or was surrounded by flowers.

So, with barely any experience in floral design initially, I worked my way up from prepping flowers to actually designing full weddings. It was very organic the way I found my passion in floral design. After about three years, I wanted to take my passion for flowers and weddings to the next level. So, in 2017 I decided to start my own business and Chloe Rose was born. It’s been such an amazing experience since and loved every moment of it!