How To Choose A Wedding Florist!

Hi, there – We are Becky and Richy – a Central Florida engaged couple planning our wedding. A lot of couples, including us, don’t really know what it’s like when hunting for wedding vendors, including how to choose a wedding florist. So we’re here to share our experience of finding and hiring ours!

If you’ve been following along with our wedding planning process, you already know that so far we’ve booked our dream wedding venue, attended a wedding show, and hired a wedding DJ! Read more about our experience hiring our Wedding DJ in our recent post here.

We’re so excited to have now found our Wedding Florist, Bluegrass Chic, for some incredible decor and floral arrangements to really make our wedding day perfect!

The process to find, meet, and hire a wedding florist was pretty simple but when it came down to it we learned the hardest part was simply agreeing on all the decor choices and designs together. You’re not likely to marry someone who thinks or likes the exact things you do about always but for us, this is where our differences really shined through.

Booking a florist saved us from continuous bickering over floral decor and helped bring our vision to life for both of us, follow us along as we share our experience choosing a wedding florist!

How many did you meet with and where did you look?

Becky: We only met with two florists! But there were probably about 10+ I would have loved to work with so narrowing it down beforehand based on a couple of factors seemed best to avoid spending hours of our time and their time having consultations when I knew all of them did such great work!

We have sort of an advantage when it comes to looking for florists because we’ve both worked with many and I have three amazing wedding industry women in my life who have all the connections and recommendations possible! Ultimately I’ve met, worked with, and gotten to shadow the team at Bluegrass Chic previously and built a really good relationship with them which is how we knew we needed a consultation with them, and then we also had a consultation with another florist recommended by Shannon from Wedding Venue Map!

If we hadn’t had those places I think we might have lost our minds, but I would’ve still looked in the same places online and social media to get an idea. I would also always recommend reaching out for recommendations from local planners or your already booked planner!

Richy: To start off with for everyone else who thinks like me (probably all the grooms) flowers are EXPENSIVE… no ifs, and, or buts. We technically only met with two but Becky had a bunch of good referrals from her knowledge and experience of working alongside some florists, specifically the two we picked. I was lost in the world of florals.

How did you choose a wedding florist you were going to meet with?

Becky: Ultimately, working around so many vendors that are incredible people and amazing at what they do it can be hard to choose. The team at Bluegrass is so thorough in their knowledge and kindness that for us it was what made it an easy choice.

During the consultation, Meghan helped us understand exactly what we wanted from pictures and inspiration. All while piecing together two very different styles to help us create a floral design for our day that stuck to our budget needs but let us incorporate the things we wanted.

I think that being able to guide us so well with such kindness and hospitality is what really sets them apart!

Richy: Essentially it came down to the two florists Becky and her colleagues suggested. So we had consultations with them both and after that, we were hooked on Bluegrass Chic, we immediately sent Becky’s mom to drop off our deposit haha.

What did you do to prepare for the meeting?

Becky: To prepare for our meeting we intended to make one Pinterest board together but due to our inability to use the same shared board we ended up with our own separate boards hahaha! This was something that probably worked more in our favor than we knew, it gave us each freedom to add the things we liked individually since we couldn’t quite figure out how to agree on just one design before the meeting!

Here’s my Pinterest Inspiration Board and here’s Richy’s Pinterest Inspiration Board!

There was of course a questionnaire we did complete prior to the meeting which was helpful in addressing potential needs we maybe didn’t realize we might have. It can be super easy to forget about small things like cake flowers or decor pieces for guest book tables and welcome signs but the questionnaire helped gather all of that and let us think through if it’s something we wanted/needed or not beforehand!

Richy: As far as preparing, I think we went to the most popular places most couples would go, on social media like Instagram and Pinterest. We bickered back and forth because as normal couples we had different tastes in floral decor. But we got to a happy medium and compromise of choices and that’s what we brought to the florist to help us see what would be a good fit with each thing.

Differences in meetings, Zoom versus In-Person?

Becky: I’ve met the Bluegrass team in person many times but my fiancé had only had the chance to meet some of the team once. So for me, a Zoom meeting worked with our schedules but I would have loved to meet in person or at their shop. Zoom meetings definitely make for great flexibility with different work schedules but I do miss getting to meet every vendor in person!

Richy: Unfortunately with the crazy year we have had with Covid there have been some pros and cons when it comes to meetings so we had our meeting through Zoom.

The Pro to that was we had the meeting in my hotel room hundreds of miles away while I was at work in Miami and Becky came along with me. So the convenience of having the ability to have these one-on-one calls with vendors from anywhere is amazing and at times that can work the best for everyone.

The Cons to that were, I think we both would have liked to be there in person to view all their inventory of decorations and seeing how their flowers looked, being able to look at different types of flowers or arrangements, and feeling and touching them.

What questions did you ask?

Becky: For me, I feel like a good amount of questions were answered by my multiple wedding vendor bosses before even meeting with florists. However, we still had plenty of questions mostly regarding how to get the style we both wanted.

We did ask a few questions to help us figure out what we could repurpose and how it could be repurposed from ceremony to reception. Then we asked a ton of questions on how to best combine our tastes for the reception decor.

Ultimately, there weren’t a lot of questions we asked because the questions Meghan asked us helped to lead us through the events of the day, the decor needed, and how to best design our space. Her questions helped us think through each reason we picked certain inspiration images and then she made suggestions based upon our answers to make the vision come to life.

Richy: We kinda piggybacked on the quote from the first florist and asked Bluegrass Chic what they meant by such an item line. We talked about ways to reduce costs and still have everything we wanted and look beautiful. Small tips for all you couples out there, if you’re trying to reduce your floral cost, use the bridesmaid’s bouquets as your table’s centerpieces. YES, YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT. You’re already spending $70-100 on each of those so let’s repurpose them and save some dollars in your pocket.

Did you go in with a clear vision or did they help you figure it out?

Becky: When we first started looking at the floral design it became pretty clear, pretty quickly that we had very different tastes and ideas of what we wanted. It was next to impossible to sit down and decide on one exact inspiration or idea together, but I do feel like we came with pretty clear visions of what we each wanted.

From there though the vision of the overall day with our combined wants and visions were ironed out during the meeting. I can’t stress enough how big that was for us! You’re never marrying an exact clone of yourself so differences of opinions are bound to happen, and that can make it hard to figure out how to mesh your opinions to get what both of you are dreaming of. 

Richy: We went in with a clear vision of what we wanted. But the florist helped us figure out our budget and get what we wanted at a price that we could say yes to! They helped put together our compromise pieces and helped picture what it could potentially look like.

Did the vision change after meeting with the florists?

Becky: The vision absolutely changed. As I’ve mentioned the overall vision came together when we were able to mesh our own thoughts. Although, I definitely do think that it changed even more after having professional suggestions or tweaks or adjustments to make everything perfect.

Richy: I don’t believe our vision changed. We kinda had a good amount of thoughts between Becky and myself and we spent a lot of time on Pinterest figuring out stuff we could both like. We had to compromise a lot on designs we liked because I would say I am more involved than most grooms would be but on the other hand, Becky loves and wants to hear my thoughts and likes that so I am a part of the whole wedding process.

What decor element are you most excited about?

Becky: For me, I would say our decor for the king’s table. I have a strong love of garland and vases with floating candles so that alone is something I’m excited about, but with the addition of our repurposed ceremony arch pieces with it as well and my bouquet I can’t wait to see it! It’s so exciting that we’ll be able to reuse pieces from the ceremony into reception to help keep costs down and stick to the budget a little better.

That and I’m extremely excited for my bouquet and the bridesmaid’s bouquets, they may not be quite a decor piece but every wedding I work or see I always check out their bouquets first to see all the different colors, textures, and style choices! 

Richy: I would say two things for me would be, the hexagon arch for our ceremony is one of the things I’m most excited about in the decor. Arches are cool unique ways to get married and are amazing props for wedding photographs especially with some floral arrangements on them. If anyone is having second thoughts on renting them out with their florist I think it’s definitely worth the extra dollars to level up your ceremony that much more. Or if you have someone in the family who has master carpentry skills, don’t be scared HIT THEM UP, HAHAHA.

The second thing I’m excited about is the way the floating candles and greenery with our arrangements are going to look. I have worked a lot of weddings these last couple of months and trust me just a couple of floating candles can make the room shift from a ‘looks good’ to luxury ‘Pinterest worthy’. Let’s just say it’s like looking at an Airbnb that’s a cozy house to seeing another listing with the indoor pool with a floating jacuzzi (if that’s even a thing lol) and twinkling marquee lights on the porch with a big TV outside for movies and a dog. Because come on everyone loves dogs in pictures.

What colors are you doing?

Becky: The colors of our wedding day are going to mainly be lavender and navy blue but for flowers, we’re sticking with lavenders or shades of light purple along with white and a lot of greenery. 

Richy: Our wedding colors are navy blue and lavender so we both decided that the flower arrangements we would like would be in that realm of color schemes. Mainly white and lavender roses with some hints of blue, I believe is the look we are going for. ALSO a lot, a lot, A LOT! Of greenery! Just makes the space look that much more dreamy by adding a couple of pieces of greenery at the tables and on the aisle when we walk.

Was there anything the florist was unable to provide that you have to get somewhere else?

Becky: Choosing Bluegrass for our wedding floral designers also meant that we’d choose a wedding florist who could provide it all. It was another reason we chose them because we were able to get the things we really wanted while staying within the budget and not having to get elements in other places. 

Something that was a huge bonus was the hexagon arch for our ceremony, it’s something Richy truly wanted and we had planned to attempt to create it ourselves with our families to save money. We were able to rent it from Bluegrass and I know that knowing that something he for sure will have in a very nice quality is something he was extremely excited about not having to get anywhere else!

Richy: No, honestly Bluegrass Chic and their team have such a vast list of items and suggestions to go through. They had every detail we asked for and provided a lot of upgrades of stuff we wanted but weren’t sure we could have because of the budget but were able to make it work with different suggestions and repurposing. We were both THRILLED when we saw the quote especially Becky I think she actually cried, hahaha. My baby is a very emotional person.

Why did you choose Bluegrass Chic?

Becky: We chose Bluegrass Chic, Michelle, Meghan, and the whole team, because of their hospitality, knowledge, and beautiful creations. Seeing a florist’s work you get a really good feel for what they can do but sometimes you definitely need an extra bit of help. Richy and I can be super stubborn when it comes to our own opinions so the knowledge and ability to help us craft something together was truly priceless.

Bluegrass Chic creates absolutely beautiful floral pieces and decor designs and takes all of the stress away from planning our floral decor. If you’re planning a wedding too, for a vendor to take all of your stress from any one category and be able to completely trust they hold your vision near to their heart, you know just how valuable that is!

Richy: We chose Bluegrass Chic because after the two consultations the team at Bluegrass Chic just attracted us more. The way they responded to all our questions, their willingness to make this about our day and painting a perfect picture, and making super helpful suggestions. Also, Meghan had such an inviting energy and spunk to her, I was immediately drawn to her and her helpful, knowledgeable way to create Becky’s vision for our wedding day.

We’re so excited to share the next experience of our wedding planning journey with you, be sure to keep an eye out for the next blog about finding our perfect wedding coordinator!

Until next time,

Becky & Richy