Ant believed that the budget for wedding flowers should be $150. Yes, you read that right...$150. His basic thought was that flowers die, and aren't something we should spend a lot of money on...he also told me that he definitely did not want the groomsmen wearing boutonnieres. Case closed! Easy enough.
I understood where he was coming from, but also knew that $150 was obviously not a reasonable budget....so I respectfully left him out of any further discussions about flowers! Communication is super important for Ant and I - and this is why. For all of the things he did participate in when it came to wedding planning he was beyond amazing.....but he also did a good job of communicating to me the things he felt less strongly about, and I spared him the details :)
As it turns out, Ant's mother was very interested in the details of the flowers for the ceremony and reception - so she ended up being my partner in crime for that vendor search! I legitimately have no experience when it comes to florists...as far as cost and types, etc. etc. I did not know what would be considered "reasonable" and in general, it's not a vendor you can google and get quotes for. They don't have "packages", so there was no real starting point, other than going to meet with one! So that's where to begin. I looked online, but again even on wedding wire or the knot, it's hard to know how to differentiate....so I opted for word of mouth! I initially set up meetings with two florists.
The first one we met with, Fleur de Lys I heard of through TWD - they had made my bouquet for my White Carpet Appointment. The bouquet they had made me was stunning - but not exactly the style I was looking for. When we met with the woman in their shop in downtown New Haven, she was wonderful. She chatted with us about various options, and talked us through their process. There are so many things you don't think about when it comes to flowers and weddings! There are the obvious questions, like how many bridesmaids/groomsmen - in our case nothing for the groomsmen. Do you want flowers for parents and grandparents? Do you want flowers for the ceremony? Cocktail hour? Place card table? and the list goes on.....luckily, my mother in law did a wonderful job of helping me talk through everything - and the woman was extremely kind and patient and gave us suggestions as we went!
One thing I found very interesting about Fleur de Lys was that they actually have you come back and "mock up" one of your centerpieces, so you can actually visualize what it is going to look like. For someone who had only vert general ideas, like "blush and white and simple" - that sounded pretty valuable! It also sounded like a fun way to get my mom involved later on in the planning process. We left there feeling pretty good about the information we had gotten, but again - with nothing to compare it to, we decided to make an appointment with one other florist.
One thing I found very interesting about Fleur de Lys was that they actually have you come back and "mock up" one of your centerpieces, so you can actually visualize what it is going to look like. For someone who had only vert general ideas, like "blush and white and simple" - that sounded pretty valuable! It also sounded like a fun way to get my mom involved later on in the planning process. We left there feeling pretty good about the information we had gotten, but again - with nothing to compare it to, we decided to make an appointment with one other florist.
The next florist we met with, Noreen from Earth Blossoms, was also someone we had heard about through word of mouth - she was actually the florist my photographer recommended, and had used for her wedding. When we met with her I think I was more comfortable, having gotten the first meeting out of the way...so I knew what to expect.
There were two specific things I wanted to get her insight or opinion on. The first was the ceremony space...we were getting married on the front lawn of the Branford House, with the beautiful backdrop of Long Island Sound. I knew we should have *something* floral, but wasn't sure what the right answer was. Her response? Don't do anything too fancy that will take away from what's already there - maybe simple low urns of babies breath just to define the space?
The other point of concern was the GIANT fireplace in the main room, where our dance floor was going to be. Again - I felt like we should do something to dress it up.....but hadn't found ANYTHING (yes, anything) in all of the Branford House weddings I'd looked at online that I really loved. She immediately said she didn't think big floral arrangements made sense because of the height of the fireplace - but her eyes lit up and she said one thing she'd always wanted to try there was string lights - maybe surrounded by a babies breath garland? At that point I knew Noreen was speaking my language. She just understood what I was going for - simple and blush and white :) The Branford House is a fancy enough space that the flowers don't need to be more than that!
We also talked in more detail about the general flowers I wanted to use. Even though it was November and wayyyy past the normal season for them, she was able to pull flowers out of the coolers that she had saved from previous weddings to give us an idea of the suggestions she was making. She took my horribly vague opinions, and brought them to life. Probably my favorite part of our meeting was that she made me feel okay about the fact that I didn't know exactly what I wanted! Our initial meeting with her was long - we talked through lots and lots of ideas and options, which was a little overwhelming at the time. BUT, when we got home and had an email waiting from her with an itemized list of everything we had talked about - including specific pricing - it felt really, really good. I could comfortably discuss the details with my mom and mother in law and know exactly what we were talking about.
Below are the pictures she sent along with the quote - the four pictures that most closely related to the types of designs we had talked about in our meeting.
Andddd, I think I've talked more than my fair share about flowers for one day. But I'll be back! With more details and more photos. Promise!
xoxo
There were two specific things I wanted to get her insight or opinion on. The first was the ceremony space...we were getting married on the front lawn of the Branford House, with the beautiful backdrop of Long Island Sound. I knew we should have *something* floral, but wasn't sure what the right answer was. Her response? Don't do anything too fancy that will take away from what's already there - maybe simple low urns of babies breath just to define the space?
{Roughly} our ceremony backdrop
My adorable husband, and the giant fireplace in question.
We also talked in more detail about the general flowers I wanted to use. Even though it was November and wayyyy past the normal season for them, she was able to pull flowers out of the coolers that she had saved from previous weddings to give us an idea of the suggestions she was making. She took my horribly vague opinions, and brought them to life. Probably my favorite part of our meeting was that she made me feel okay about the fact that I didn't know exactly what I wanted! Our initial meeting with her was long - we talked through lots and lots of ideas and options, which was a little overwhelming at the time. BUT, when we got home and had an email waiting from her with an itemized list of everything we had talked about - including specific pricing - it felt really, really good. I could comfortably discuss the details with my mom and mother in law and know exactly what we were talking about.
Below are the pictures she sent along with the quote - the four pictures that most closely related to the types of designs we had talked about in our meeting.
Andddd, I think I've talked more than my fair share about flowers for one day. But I'll be back! With more details and more photos. Promise!
xoxo
