First Florist Meeting Advice

I wish I had asked for a mock up on the spot to confirm we were on the same page. A few of my friends were telling me mock ups are normal but we didn't get one. When I contacted our florist after she said she doesn't do mock ups on the spot she only does them 3 months out from the wedding. I'm a bit worried now

Make sure you ask to see a portfolio of that florist's ACTUAL work from previous weddings, not just stock floral photos. And if they don't do weddings regularly, I would go with a different one - just because they are a florist, does not mean they can create a wedding-worthy ambiance.

RE the on-the-spot mockup, that actually isn't a super reasonable request...I don't always have flowers in stock (I am a wedding-only florist and don't do any retail, so any flowers I do have are always dedicated for a specific order). You can definitely request a mockup, but give a week or two of notice so that they can ensure they even have the proper flowers for your style available to use.

I would probably ask where they get their flowers, and if there is a hurricane before your wedding will they still be able to get the flowers.

Make sure you go in with pictures of what you like and what you don't like. Keep in mind, flowers are expensive.

Thank you @Talia! The two places we're looking at are definitely wedding florists, one of them actually did the flowers for two of my second cousins .

@MFB - FH and I have our first appointment at Arcadia, if I remember correctly, that's where you went?

@MFB - Not sure who yet, my mom's cousin is friendly with the owner, Sammy, so she's tryiing to get us in with him.

And thanks @Annie, that's a great question!

I forgot to ask, how long were your initial appointments for the florist? I'm trying to see if I can fit in another one this weekend...

My meeting was about 1 hour, but I also signed the contract that day lol. She had another couple looking for that weekend, and she only does 1 bigger wedding per weekend. My florist is also a preferred vendor for my reception venue which was important to me (like all of my other vendors), so they are all familiar with each other.

I went in not knowing anything about flowers, but I knew what I wanted to spend. I told her the budget, and she provided options.

Hi Kristina, we met with Sammy, who was really nice. A few items to note, we told him our budget before hand, and he helped us to choose flowers that fit that budget. Some of the things we did were that I went with a smaller bouquet for the bridesmaids and for myself which brought the cost down. We chose to do four hightop tables (out of 9) for flowers, and made our own non floral centerpieces for the other five. The most expensive thing we did was our arch, which was entirely orchids that they moved into the reception after our ceremony. Honestly, it was the best decision we made because it was a gorgeous backdrop for our table, and didn't require any additional funds.

To answer your question, they were about as costly as any other florist in the area - but we asked to pay in cash. This may not be an option anymore, but it helped us to save a bit. While I'd love to say I got a full orchid bouquet like I dreamed about, I went with a more cost effective rose teardrop with a handful of orchids peppered in - gave me the look I wanted, but cost about 1/3 of what it could have been.

Another option if you're open to it, head over to Stew Leonards (the Norwalk location) - a friend of mine got married a few years back, and used them and had a really great experience. We would have gone with them because they were cheaper, but they couldn't do the arch we had our hearts set on.

Good luck to you!