What does a wedding florist actually do?
Oh, you play with flowers all day - that must be amazing! Yes, it is, however, being a wedding florist is a much more in depth job than you imagine and the prep starts months before your big day. Read on to find out what it really involves!
From the consultation to your wedding day – what's involved?
Once you’ve paid your booking fee and your date is safe, there’s often a period of quiet until approximately 3 months before your wedding day. Then things start happening – for example, as I write this in April 2023, I’ve been in touch with my local flower farmer to see what varieties will be available for three of my summer weddings. I’ve also made a list of what other items I might need for each one – things like button hole pins, vessels, silk ribbons and researching the price of van hire for one large wedding in August. I also check to see how many freelancers I might need and book them in months in advance as once we hit wedding season everything gets a bit manic!
Around the 2 month mark I usually check in with my brides to see how they’re doing and if there are any changes to their floral plans. Often a bridesmaid bouquet may be added to the list or an extra button hole or two. I will also visit the venue if it’s one I haven’t been to before or the couple want a particular installation that we need to see the fixture points for/or to take measurements of doorways/consider table sizes etc.
A month before and things start getting busy, the final payment is due and I start working out recipes for each element, I liase with my suppliers and send them my flower order lists. Vases may be bought if I don’t have enough in stock (brides can hire from me or supply their own for the tables) and I am constantly available for my brides. Two weeks in and the flowers are ordered.
The week of the wedding is when it all comes together. If the wedding is on a Saturday then the flowers get delivered on the Wednesday. They are prepped and separated into squeaky clean buckets ready for the design part. Thursday and Friday are creative design days and depending on how big the wedding is I might have a freelance florist helping out.
On the actual wedding day the magic happens! It’s an early start to check every single element is looking 100% perfect and then we pack up and set off to deliver the bridal party flowers first. I always hand the bridal bouquet over myself and check that the bride is happy. Then it’s off to the venue to deliver the rest - this could be the church or wherever the ceremony is taking place. Often we need to move the ceremony pieces to the reception so we stay out of sight during the ceremony so we can move these to the reception whilst your photos are being taken. Then it’s time to set up the reception and this could be a large installation that has to be done in a short time span or placing table arrrangements.
And it doesn’t always end there - more often than not, I’m back the next day to breakdown the reception flowers, this could be taking down an arch or picking up vases. Every wedding is different and that’s why I love this job so much!