24 Apr 2024

A Guide to Choosing Your Wedding Flowers

Congratulations, You're Engaged!

Congratulations on getting engaged! You get to spend the rest of your life with the person you love, but before that you get to do the fun bit…planning your wedding!

I’m a firm believer that the marriage is more important than the wedding, but that’s no reason you shouldn’t get to plan the perfect day that shows off your style as a couple. Moreover, this process should be enjoyable and not stressful!

Some people get engaged and immediately have a vision for their day, they know every detail from the bridesmaids dresses to the venue to the flowers, and that’s great! But most people can find the sheer amount of choice a little overwhelming. Instagram & Pinterest can be great for inspiration, but before you know it you’ve spent  2 hours down a Pinterest rabbit hole,  everything is starting to look the same and you have absolutely no clue what it will all cost.

If that sounds familiar then keep reading, in this blog we have tried to give you a handy step by step guide to choosing your wedding flowers, that will take out the stress and let you enjoy the process!

Step 1: Book Your Venue & Date

This is the absolute first step- without knowing your venue and your date there is very little else you can book. Your venue is the absolute most important part- no venue, no wedding! And so much will be dictated by this major supplier.

Your venue and date will be the deciding factors for a lot of other decisions, some key things to consider here:

What season am I getting married in?

What style is my venue?

The style of your venue could be a rustic barn style, super modern, a castle/ manor house vibe, a country garden. Your flowers need to be cohesive with the style of your venue and the season of your date. We have worked with most of the Kent Venues and are able to advise on what works best for them. If we aren't familiar with your venue we are always happy to do a site visit. 

Step 2: What's Your Style?

Although colour can play a major factor in some key decisions I often tell my couples who are at the beginning of their planning to focus more on their style and let the colours fall into place afterwards.

It’s a generic word I sometimes throw around and often hear my couples ask “what do you mean by style?” In a similar way that your venue will have a style, floristry will as well. It can often be determined by one or several of these categories:

Rustic:

A rustic style will usually give the effect of being ‘just picked’. The shapes of arrangements will not always be uniform and usually foliage will play heavily in providing texture to the designs. Other words often used to describe rustic include; wildflower, meadowy, loose, wild, vintage.

Compact:

Compact designs will usually have very little or no greenery. The shapes will be full of flowers and will usually be very neat looking. Other words often used to describe compact could be; Glamorous, full, lush, traditional.

Modern:

Modern is one of those tricky words that can mean different things to different people. Generally speaking in floristry modern will be synonymous with bold flowers, clean lines, monochromatic or bright colour schemes and structure. Modern can also be used to mean on trend.

Boho:

Typically boho arrangements will be filled with predominantly earthtones such as dusty pink, terracotta, cream, sage etc. Boho takes its origin from the 70’s so think pampas, foliage and lots of texture.

Whimsical:

One of my favorite styles, I would describe whimsical to be a cross between rustic and modern. Lots of bounce and texture, using levels and flowers of different shapes to create movement instead of too much greenery.

These are some useful terms to think about, but no florist will ever expect you to be a style expert! If any of my couples are a bit confused with what their style is I will usually ask them to find me 3-4 photo's which they love (not worrying about the colours), and from that I can usually see what their vibe is.

Step 3: What Are Your Must Have's?

All florists will be different, however at Colonnade Florist I like to quote in a very relaxed ‘pick and mix’ style. We have a minimum spend of £850, but past this you are free to ask for as much information as you need to find the best floral fit for your budget and style.

It is for that reason that I wont typically ask a couple what their budget is in the first meeting. Afterall, if you haven’t planned a wedding before- how would you know what to budget? Instead, I prefer to ask a couple what their must have’s are for their wedding.

Typically the non-negotiables are the personal flowers, which might be bridal bouquet, bridesmaids and buttonholes. Past that some couples will express that centerpieces are their priority, others may think that decorating the ceremony space is the focus.

In an ideal world everything you want to make your dream wedding will be well within budget. However, if this does become restricting, I can happily advise on the best way to get the most out of your budget so long as I know what your priorities are and where we might be able to make cut backs.

Outside of the numbers of arrangements, you may have specific flower must have’s which is an important factor to think about. Are your favorite flowers in season, and if not I will be able to advise on possible substitutions. It is almost more important to consider the flowers you dislike, and I will never take offense to you telling me you don’t like something.

Step 4: Making Decisions

After you have your venue, season, style and must have’s you are in a really great place to start making some final decisions. You will have had a quote for your wedding flowers which will give you a wide range of the possible options available to you. We would have discussed colour schemes that would work for your season, style and venue and I would have talked with you about how best to re-use any of your flowers to get the most out of them. You will have been able to look over your different venue flower options and prices to determine what budget you can allow; and other factors such as your bridesmaids dress colour will have been decided so we can begin to finalize your colours. 

It is at this stage that we will have another meeting to discuss how all these elements will come together to form your final proposal! 

I am a little biased, but I really do think that planning your wedding flowers is a lot of fun! I will do everything I can to make sure that coming up with ideas is an easy, stress free process and will undoubtedly be just as excited about your wedding as you are. 

To enquire about booking in your free initial consultation, fill out our enquiry form here: https://www.flowersatcolonnade.co.uk/wedding-enquiry/ 

We look forward to hearing from you!