How to hire your wedding florist

Hi I’m Jeremy and I do a lot of the sales at Bride Candy. I love doing it, I love talking to people and hearing about their love stories, some of them are really amazing. I also love being able to put together a perfect package for someone.

People come to me with all kinds of different approaches: some couples know exactly what they want, others are just starting out. No matter where you’re at in your process, I know I can help you.  I also know that you’re probably getting quotes from other florists too, and that’s totally understandable. But how can you be sure you’re getting the most out of your sales process while you’re reaching out for floral quotes?

Do your Homework

Before you reach out, make sure you’re at the right stage of the wedding planning process to get floral quotes. The means you should have a firm wedding date and venue. Right now our calendar for this year is pretty busy so we need to know your date to tell you if we are available or not. And your venue is important because it influences what flower designs you might select. For example, if you’re having a beach wedding you might have to consider wind. Or if you’re having a wedding at a venue with a fountain for example you might want us to decorate it. Knowing your venue allows us to create a design that’s practical, affordable, and beautiful and that fits your venue.

Find what you Like

A lot of people go on Pinterest for this, its easy to create a board of things you like and Pinterest will recommend even more inspiration as it learns from you. Or maybe you’re the kind of person that you don’t really know what you want, or you feel like your style is all over the place. That’s no problem, its still helpful for you to create a Pinterest board of what you like and send it over. We’re good at reading between the lines to help you find your wedding style and help you pin point it. Once you have a Pinterest  board or some inspiration photos saved, you’re almost ready to get floral quotes.

Think about your budget

A lot of times I’ll get sent celebrity wedding inspiration, and I get it - they’re beautiful weddings. Who wouldn’t want a wedding like Kim Kardashian? But can you imagine how much they spent on their wedding flowers? If you’re sending these photos to me and telling me that you want this, I’m always going to ask “what’s your comfortable investment?” Because when you’re looking at big celebrity weddings, the sky is the limit. But for most people money is a concern. I can help get you there, I can give you suggestions for something that is very beautiful that’s in a comfortable investment while staying true to the spirit of your vision.

If you’ve already started reaching out to florists for quotes, you already know that wedding flowers can be more expensive than you think. It’s not like going into a supermarket and getting all of these basic flowers, we don’t source from the same places. When I order something for your wedding, I’m placing a special order just in your color scheme. And you might be asking me for flowers that may or may not be in season, which of course affects the cost. We also use premium flowers that are typically not available to the pubic. All of these factors are things I consider when I’m quoting things out for you.

If budget is the most most important thing to you, make sure to tell me that when we speak. If you tell me what you’re comfortable with, I’ll prioritize that when I’m putting together a proposal for you. I can make suggestions on how you can get the most for your money while still having something very beautiful. Or if you have wiggle room, tell me that too! That way I can lean a little more into your vision and give you upgrade options that I think you’ll love.

make your decision

When we create your proposal, we’re mostly focused on making sure that we get close to your vision and that you’ll understand where pricing will be. Your vision will likely continue to evolve as your wedding date approaches, and that’s okay! We can make changes to the design even after booking and can do it in a way that won’t affect pricing too much. So when you’re reading quotes, remember that they’re just that: estimates focused on pricing, and not your final design. If you choose to work with us, we’ll have a Final Design Call one month before your wedding where we will talk about your design in detail and make final selections. So please don’t feel pressure to have all of the design finalized when you’re getting quotes.

At the end of the day, we are not a perfect fit for everyone. Maybe it comes down to budget, or perhaps you feel like our styles don’t match up. And that’s totally okay! If that happens, please let us know, I promise we’ll be cool about it. It’s even better if you tell us a little bit about why you made your decision. I am always trying to figure out how to be a better person and salesperson and learn how I can better support you. Telling me a little about your choice can help me improve our process for future clients.

If you haven’t already inquired with us, don’t wait too long! Our dates are filling up. We love making wedding dreams come true, and we’d love to talk with you.

Creating Gorgeous Save the Date Cards

One of things I was most excited to do when planning my wedding was to send out save the date cards. I couldn’t wait to officially announce my upcoming wedding to the people I love. But when I got into the process of making the save the dates, I realized that there’s a lot more to it than I thought. I won’t lie to you, planning a wedding is hard – there are lots of times when it feels a little less than fun. If you’re like me, the tasks that are the hardest to check off the wedding to-do list are the ones where there’s a ton of details to consider. But with a little bit of preparation and the right tools any wedding task can be easy. Here’s how to print custom save the dates the easy way from start to finish.

Get your details ready

In order to send out save the date cards, obviously you will need to know your wedding date! But make sure that date is completely confirmed. Remember that the purpose of the save the date card is to remind your guests to request time off of work, think about attire, and start to make travel plans. So if your details change, it could cause a lot of trouble for your guests. 

How do you make sure your date is totally confirmed? If you’ve got a signed contract and made a deposit payment on your wedding venue, you should be good to go. If you’re getting married on private property (like a relative’s house), make sure to get written permission from the owners with some general guidelines. And if you plan to tie the knot in a public setting like a beach, be sure to check out permits to ensure date availability.Doing a little bit of work up front can save a big headache down the line.

Create a guest list

Now that you know your details, you need to create a list of recipients. The big question is who should get a save the date card? That’s really a topic for a whole separate blog post. But a good guide is to make a list of close family on both sides, then add in friends that you’ve talked to in the past year and wouldn’t mind spending a couple of hours with at a dinner party. Remember that you can always invite more people later.

After you have your guest list, it’s time to get addresses. This took me a lot of time when I was doing my save the date cards because I didn’t have a lot of that info and it took a lot of phone calls to get it. Luckily there are tools that can help you with this, like Basic Invite’s free address collection service where you can request your addresses. You share a link via social media or email, collect addresses, and even get free envelope printing. Get started at the Basic Invite website: https://www.basicinvite.com

Eye on Design

Now it’s time for the fun part, designing your save the date cards. Some couples choose to DIY this or hire a calligrapher, but there are even easier options where you can print custom save the dates online. If you’re not a graphic designer or super artistic then this is definitely the way to go since you can start with a design template that you like then customize it to your wedding colors and style. I like Basic Invite’s ability to completely customize the color of any template down to the littlest detail with 180 unique colors. They also provide matching invitation suites and envelopes in 40 different colors so after you customize your design it looks cohesive with all of the other printables at your wedding.

It’s important to order a sample so you can see the colors and the quality of your save the date cards. This is the first impression your guests will have of your wedding styles so the details need to be perfect. If you choose to print custom save the dates then you should always request a custom sample (Basic Invite does this too).

Send them out

Now all the hard work is done! Once your custom save the date cards are printed the last step is to assemble them – put your card in the envelope, secure it with a sticker, and add postage. Make sure you’re using enough postage for this since save the date cards and wedding invitations tend to be heavier than standard first class mail. You can go to the post office to order the wedding stamps they have available or make your own custom ones online. 

Once you’re ready, drop off your save the date cards at your local post office then set back and wait for the compliments to roll in.

Extra credit

Congrats, you just sent out your save the date cards! To make things even easier, you can make your wedding invitations at the same time and print them out a little later on. Most couples choose to send the formal invitation 3-4 months before the wedding.

This is also a great time to get started on your wedding website. Your website will be the place where your guests will get all of the wedding-related info they need, like hotel and travel info, the list of events, maps and directions, and a link to your registry. It’s best if your website mirrors the design of your save the date cards and wedding invitations, so if your card printing company allows you to host your website with them it’s a good choice for this (Basic Invite does).

Don’t worry, it seems like getting out save the date cards and invites is a lot of work but with the right tools it can be pretty easy. And when it’s done you’ll have a major task to check off of your wedding to-do list. It’s also the start of your process for starting to look for your other vendors. If you’re wondering where to start with decor, we can help! Ask us how The Bride Candy can help you make your wedding gorgeous and romantic with flowers.