It finally happened… the guy of your dreams popped the question, and you said “if I have too.”  ?

Just kidding, you screamed in excitement when he asked and now you are barreling full speed down the road to planning your dream wedding.

Besides the obvious of investing in a wedding coordinator (and yes, a coordinator is an absolute must have) and a great photographer (I might be your girl. ?), as well as plenty of other great vendors to consider, do not underestimate the importance of your wedding floral!

Me being a photographer you are probably wondering why I care so much about your wedding floral.

Well… floral is one of the most important decisions you will make for your wedding.

Choosing the right floral and the right amount of floral will be what ties your whole wedding day together. Don’t believe me? Have a look at some of your favorite wedding images, and you will notice that floral creeps into every corner and crevice of your big day. With that being said, I wanted to point you in a general direction for where to start with planning your wedding day floral, because it makes my job of getting those epic photos so much easier, and your images so much more alluring. ?

Without further ado, here are my top 10 DO’s for choosing your wedding day floral.  ?

 

1. Hire a professional.

This one seems like a no brainer, but hiring a professional florist to bring your vision to life will make all the difference. The investment is one you will thank yourself for.

Being the bride that attempted to grow, yes grow ??‍♀️, her own wedding flowers, I can speak for the lot of us. It is a whole lot of work and your time is more valuable. I should also mention that I had to hire a florist last minute (which is a huge no no), so not only did I put a good bit of work into it, but I also forked out cash. Not really a good investment of my time.

If by chance you are already a gardener, and love to grow flowers, then do yourself this favor. Incorporate the plants you have grown, but let the florist use his/her set of skills to design your perfect wedding day floral. It takes stress off of you and you get to use something you grew by hand in your wedding.

 

2. Build an overall design for your wedding. 

This one is super important, because it keeps everything flowing together. You should have a color palette, as well as an overall theme for your big day to help you coordinate your design elements. Picking these will keep the whole event coordinating and make the inspiration come to life.

Having an overall inspiration for your big day will also help keep other vendors on board and therefore, keep your wedding on the right tracks to being a masterpiece.

 

3. Pick your flowers out once you have your design planned.

Not saying you have to jump right on to hiring a florist. What I am saying is that you should stick with the plan. Pick the flowers according to the plan. Don’t go with blue flowers if that color is not in your design palette.

 

4. Have a healthy budget for your wedding floral.

Let’s be realistic for a minute. Wedding floral is one of the most important things you do for your wedding day, so plan on a healthy budget. Many experts suggest around 10% of your wedding budget be spent on floral.

Think of it this way. There is a bare minimum to every wedding.

Rather you are going to a courthouse (not that anyone reading this is), or eloping on an overlook, there are FOUR main things you will need to make it happen.

one.. The people (Bride, Groom, Preacher, etc.)

two.. The wedding attire

three.. The bouquet, because what bride doesn’t have a bouquet (yep, like I said, floral is a core part of any wedding)

and four.. The photographer (because if there ain’t a photo, it didn’t happen)

With that being said, give your wedding floral the attention and budget it deserves.

 

5. Coordinate your wedding floral with your venue.

What?! Yep. I said it. The main thing here is to keep in mind that certain flowers and arrangements do not coordinate well with certain venues.

Wildflowers are beautiful for an elopement in a field, whereas they wouldn’t really work in a ballroom.

When in doubt, ask your florist!

 

6. Build an inspiration board for your florist.

Pinterest is a great way to pull ideas in for your florist to use to create your wedding day look.

However, be sure that you aren’t pinning things out of your color palette and theme. Take the time to tell your florist what is it you like about the things you have pinned.

 

7. Stick with real floral arrangements.

Few exceptions exist where the fake outshines the real, and no surprise wedding floral is rarely one of the exceptions. When asked, most brides who want to use fake floral will say they are trying to save money. In reality, fake floral isn’t cheap, and then after you purchase it, you still have to put your valuable time into designing and creating the arrangements. When I say valuable time, I mean it. Time is precious. It can’t be got back once it has passed, so spend it well!

 

8. Choose in-season floral.

If you are worried about the budget, this is a good way to minimize the expense of floral.

 

9. Use lots of greenery.

Okay… so… this one is a personal preference, but greenery adds soooooooooooooooo (was that enough o’s) much to overall look of a wedding.

 

10. Go for it. 

There are many times when a bride tells me she stayed conservative in her floral choices because she was worried of the outcome.

My advice is GO FOR IT! Be bold and brave. If you have a florist who sees your vision and holds a talent like many wonderful florist I know do, then trust their experience and go for it.

 

There you have it! I hope this has made all the difference for your planning journey. Believe in your vision and go for it. ?

 

Dress: Meagan Kelly Designs

Bouquet: Sweet T Flowers

Do you love the images in this post? You can view more of our work here.