When searching for a wedding florist that understands your vision and, also your wedding budget, it’s necessary to ask these important questions. Here is a guideline to covering the essentials before signing the contract.
Background Check & Logistics
- Are you available for my wedding date?
- How long have you been in business? Do you specialize in weddings? How many weddings have you done last year?
- Do you have liability insurance?
- Can I see your portfolio of recent weddings that you have worked on?
- How many other weddings or events will you have on my wedding day?
- Do you have prior experience working at my chosen ceremony and reception venues? If not, are you familiar with the venues?
- How many planning meetings should we expect to have with you?
- Will you do a venue walk-through before the wedding date? Do you charge an additional fee for it?
- Will you be present on the wedding day to help with arrangements and setup, or will someone else be on hand?
- If another person is on hand arranging and setting up, can I meet with the person beforehand and view his/her work samples?
- How far in advance will you create the floral bouquets and arrangements for the wedding? How will they be stored until the wedding date?
Floral Budget, Packages, and Payment
- Is there a minimum floral budget that you require? Can you work with the budget I have in mind?
- Can you provide flowers for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception? What about the rehearsal dinner and other pre/post wedding events?
- Do you offer specific packages or is everything customized?
- How do you price your floral arrangements?
- Do you charge a fee for delivery services?
- Do you charge additional fees for setup and breakdown of all the floral decorations?
- Is there an additional fee if I need you to stay throughout the ceremony to move arrangements to the reception site?
- Are there other additional costs that have not been covered in the floral package ?
- How much is the deposit and when is the remaining balance due?
- When should I confirm and finalize my order?
- Would you need to do a walk-through of the venue before creating a proposal?
- What is your policy on refunds and cancellation?
Floral Design, Delivery, Setup and Breakdown
- What is your design style? More modern, rustic, or traditional?
- Based on my wedding budget and style, what set of floral arrangements would I need?
- Based on the time of year that I plan to have my wedding, along with my budget and color preference, which flowers would you recommend?
- Which flowers can be substituted to better fit my wedding budget?
- What type of vases would you recommend? Do you provide them or can I rent them from you?
- Do you provide other décor items, such as mirrors, votives, aisle runner, candelabras, tees, chuppah, etc.? Do you offer these items for rent, and if so, what are the rates?
- Before I sign the contract, can you create sample arrangements for me to see? Is there an additional charge for this?
- If I decide to add flowers to my wedding cake, will you be able to work with my cake designer? Is there an additional fee for this?
- Are you familiar with the safety issues regarding edible flowers and the need of using pesticide-free flowers?
- Will it be possible for you to transform floral arrangements from the ceremony into centerpieces for the reception to help ease our budget?
- Do you offer bouquet preservation? If not, can you recommend someone?
- What time will you arrive on site to deliver personal flowers, set up the ceremony and reception arrangements? What about breakdown? How much time will you need?
- Will you contact my venue and find out about any possible restrictions, regarding décor and installation?
Featured Cover Image: Jana Williams Photography
