What to Ask Your Wedding Florist

Friday after work I headed to Towson to meet our florist for the first time. She was recommended to me from a handful of girls at work so I had full confidence that I didn't need to look into other florists. 

I'm one who loves to be prepared. I printed out photos of what I envisioned my bouquet as, my bridesmaids, the boutonnieres, the tall centerpieces, the short centerpieces... you get the idea. I had already filled out a form telling her more about our wedding - the location, the wedding party, the colors... but I had no idea what to ask her!

I quickly did a Google search and tweeted asking for brides advice! I quickly gathered all the questions thanks to Real Simple, Lindsay, and Heather.

I want to share with you the questions I found, because it came in handy to have during our appointment so I didn't forget anything! The answers in pink are from my florist, so you get an idea of what yours may say.

1. Will you set the flowers up at the site according to my specifications? If not, you may need to hire a wedding coordinator. If the florist will be setting up, make sure you both go over a diagram of where everything will be. 

Yes. I am giving my florist a copy of our finalized room layout and ceremony layout so she knows exactly where to put everything. It is the florist's job to set up - and since you are busy getting ready for your big day you shouldn't have to worry. I'm also giving a copy to our wedding coordinator and my bridesmaids/mom so they can go down and check.

2. Will you take away the arrangements at the end? This could incur an extra fee, but it might be worth the price if it allows you and your wedding party to depart without a backward glance. If you are renting containers or other decorative items, don’t assume the florist will retrieve them. Check the contract to make sure who’s responsible. And be sure you know the venue’s policies about cleanup. 

 Our florist does come to pick up the materials she has rented to us that night. Make sure you tell her the time the wedding ends and that your guests take home the flowers they want before she cleans up. This does include an extra fee, but our florist requires it so she doesn't lose any of her belongings. You may also want to bring extra vases so your guests have something to take the arrangements home in.

3. Who will be in charge of my wedding flowers? For quality control―and to make sure all your conversations haven’t gone to waste―get confirmation that the floral designer you’ve been dealing with will do the arranging. If you’re having a large wedding, it may be too much work for one florist, so she should be aided by a trusted associate. 

Our florist.

 

4. Do you typically limit the number of weddings you have slated on a weekend? Ideally, the answer to this is yes―the florist should have one or two, max. However, this may depend on the size of your wedding and the size of the florist. If the florist seems to have an astronomical amount of weddings on her plate, make sure she is confident that she can devote ample time to your event. 

 She limits herself to one wedding a week! This is great for us because I know our flowers will have the time needed to make sure they are perfect.

5. What would you consider suitable substitutions for the flowers we have discussed if these are unavailable? Hammer this out now so you aren’t surprised minutes before you hit the aisle. The florist should guarantee color harmony, size, look, and price. You may even want to request a picture of what the florist has in mind before approving. 

6. How will I reach you on the wedding day? The florist should give you a cell-phone or pager number. 

I have her cell programmed in my phone. Make sure you give her number to your family and bridesmaids as well just in case!

7. When will the flowers arrive, how will they be transported, and how will they be packaged when they arrive? Flowers should be delivered at the last possible moment, even if the building is air-conditioned, to prevent wilting. Bouquets should be delivered about half an hour before photography is scheduled to begin. Your florist will determine the delivery time, taking into account the time of year, the temperature, and the sun’s brightness. Florists use climate-controlled vehicles (some have refrigeration), so the blooms arrive fresh. 

My bouquet and our bridal party's flowers will be delivered at the time the photographer arrives. This ensures we have them for the photos. 

8. Can you advise me on which flowers would be best for my wedding? What is in season and what we could do to limit the price (i.e., substitutions that are cheaper)? You and your florist should discuss whether it’s an indoor or outdoor event (with sun exposure a factor), the length of the photo session, the gap between ceremony and reception, and so on. These factors will help determine if the flowers you select will be hardy enough. 

Our florist recommended not using hydrangeas in our personal flowers because they wilt quickly.

9. Are there any taxes, overtime charges, gratuities, or fees that aren’t included in the contract? You don’t want hidden fees to pop up after the wedding (there will be enough last-minute expenses as it is). Make sure the cancellation policy and associated fees are also in the contract. 

10. When will the balance be due? While there’s no hard and fast rule, florists generally request payment about two weeks before the wedding. 

Two weeks before the wedding the full payment is due. A deposit is required to hold our weekend and due at the signing of our contract.

11. Do you supply vases/votives or do we? 

Our florist can supply both. The vases/votives pricing depends on the size.

12. Have you worked at the our venue before? 

She has several times. I was thankful she actually knew the room names at our venue before we even told her. This put me at ease because knowing the venue helps her to design and envision our wedding.

13. Do you create sample centerpieces and bouquets for us to approve/review?

At a price. This is something Lindsay suggested to me and thank goodness she did! I have heard of many brides being unhappy with their flowers. We are ordering a sample tall centerpiece and my bouquet a month prior so we are using the same flowers that will be in season. Thank you Mom!

I hope these questions and answers help you during your wedding planning! It really helped me know the right questions to ask and to make sure our wedding day is nothing short of perfect! 

Bridesmaids Gift: Painted Wine Glasses

Break is over... wahhh. I have enjoyed being off work for a week and a half. Especially being able to wake up late, make a healthy and delicious breakfast and go to the gym whenever I wanted. 

I made a batch of black bean soup and premade tomorrow's salad so I have lunch covered for the week. Soup is one of those things that is so easy to make and I never get sick of.

Today's workout was 35 minutes on the AMT elliptical and a mile and a half run on the treadmill. All of which was spent watching food network and Sex and the City. Let me just say, watching SJP walk around her apartment half naked with a six pack was very motivating. 

After coming home from the gym I whipped us up the same salads as yesterday and made some wild rice for Chris to have for the week. I could eat the fuji apple salad every day and not get sick of it (fingers crossed). 

I decided to invite all of the bridesmaids (not including mine or CL's sisters) to dinner so everyone could meet and get to know each other. I wanted everyone to get a chance to hang out, especially since we all will be spending a good amount of time together over the next 10 months! I knew since the moment I became engaged that I wanted to do something special for my bridesmaids. I know being in a wedding is a big responsibility and can be expensive and I really wanted to make sure my girls knew how much I appreciate them. 

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I bought some cute wedding cake stickers and pink stationary at the craft store and wrote a special note to each of the girls. I have different memories with each of them and love them all for so many reasons! I topped the letters with the quote, "As I prepare for the day that I'm to be a bride. It means the world to have you sipping by my side!". 

To go with that quote, I painted each girl a wine glass in our wedding colors with their name and our wedding date on the base. *Note: I first used regular acrylic paint that wasn't dishwasher safe and then bought a clear varnish to paint over it and it still washed off after testing. Make sure you buy dishwasher safe acrylic paint. Martha Stewart has several at Michaels!

 

Each girl got their own designed wine glass and a mini bottle of wine to go with it!

 

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I think they all turned out so cute and will definitely be put to good use! It'll be a good photo opp for us to have matching wine glasses for wine festivals, the bridal shower and bachelorette party :)

Of course I had to make one for myself ;-) It's so exciting writing Mrs. Lucas! I added a few extra gems on mine. I love Chevron!

I wrapped the gifts up nice and pretty and I'm so glad the girls loved them! I have such a great group of girls supporting me on my big day. I can't wait!


Did you ask your bridesmaids in a special way? I know a girl who made chocolate cookie cakes for each girl asking them. It was so cute!

Cake Tastings around Baltimore

Over our holiday break we booked three cake tastings for the wedding! The goal was to get all of the tastings in before the new years when we are starting our strict wedding diet. It worked out perfectly since I was able to bring my sister with me while she was home from vet school.

First up - Caroline's Cupcakes. 

I  found this place on Fort Ave while working in the area. Vendors always brought us cupcakes at work and my co-workers used to love their cupcakes! We started off sampling their cupcakes...

Vanilla, chocolate, black bottom, peanut butter and chocolate, cookies and cream and red velvet. The cupcakes were huge, but we found them to be a tad dry. It could be because our appointment was at 4:30 in the afternoon and they had been out all day. The girl was extremely sweet, and even told us they were going to be on Cupcake Wars (obsessed with that show), but in the end we decided not to go with them.

Next stop (in the same night) was Midnite Confections Cupcakery. They were recommended by our wedding coordinator and voted #1 cupcakes by the Baltimore Magazine. They are located in Federal Hill for those of you familiar to the area.

We had the opportunity to try 4 of their cupcake flavors. We chose their sinnabon, playboy (carrot), vanilla, and lemon lime.

It was so hard to pick a favorite! They were all delicious. I was excited they invited their cake designer out to talk to me about my design and they had so many amazing flavors we didn't try! If we go with them, it will be hard to pick only 4!

Last, but not least, was Baltimore Cakery. They specialize more in cakes and are amazing at their job! They welcomed us on a rainy day with coffee, tea and lots of cake flavors to try! Chris was at work so we took his younger brother along for the ride! I had a blast trying cakes with him and I'm glad I get to share this time with all of his family!

Our favorites were their vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, a mocha coffee cake, a spice cake with canoli cream they named little italy, and the raven - chocolate with chocolate ganache.I really want to know if they could possibly do a vanilla with strawberry icing or a lemon cake with raspberry filling. If so, this may be our place! Especially since they offered to make white chocolate "L" monograms and scrolls to place on top of each cupcake. How cute! Plus, I'll know our sweetheart cake will look amazing!

I'm having a blast planning the wedding and feel like I am crossing so much off our to-do list early on. I hope to keep it up! We found the bridesmaid dresses today and I absolutely love them! The girls did an amazing job picking them out. I can't reveal what they look like, but they are Watters. I love their line of bridesmaid dresses! We are holding off on buying them until I try on dresses and find the perfect one. I'm so glad we went so I could see my little sister try on dresses before she headed back to school in Ohio :)

What is your favorite cake flavor? I really love a good lemon cake!

A Bride's Best Friend: Google Docs

After I first became an engaged lady I immediately wanted to jet to the store and pick up a wedding planning book. Something that I could take with me to all of my venue and vendor meetings and physically make check marks in and scribble down notes. I researched online the best ones and CL even bought my pick for me (he's such a doll).

Weeks went by and I still hadn't used it with the exception of putting two business cards into the plastic holder. Now that I am older and wiser (by nearly 2 months), I regret to tell all of you pre-engaged ladies that you should save your pennies.

My secret planning tool: Google Documents

Google Docs has made me feel so organized and happy that all of my wedding lists and planning tools are in one place. Sure it's not on a piece of pretty pastel paper, but there are so many pros to using this!

For example...

Chris and I created our guest list within excel - listing out the name of the attendants, are they bringing a guest, total in party, are they on the bride/groom's side, are they family or friend, what is their address, and RSVP Yes/No. Once we were done I uploaded the excel spreadsheet into Google Docs and BAM! There was my excel spreadsheet ready for me to update it at any time.

But the best part... I can "Share" this document with anyone I want by sending it to their email. Once you share the document, they can view and edit it anytime within Google Docs. When you are within the document you can see who else is in it (everyone has their own color) and see their updates in real time.

Why is this so awesome? This allows me and Chris to update our list at any time and neither of us are out of the loop. It saves a ton of time combining both of our edits and we can view it on any device. Sometimes we even pull it up on our phones!

Another reason this is so awesome? Send it to your parents! Make them feel involved. This way they can update the list with addresses and add people they want to invite. Just a word of advice: you and your groom should decide ahead of time how many people you would like to invite and that realistically fits within your budget. Add a separate section to the spread sheet for people you would like to invite. That way if someone RSVP's No, you have a back up guest. Sure, it would be great to send out invites to everyone you know ahead of time, but make sure your budget allows you to go up. You never know, I'm sure there have been instances where everyone says yes!

Chris and I have multiple tabs within our document:

1. Guest List
2. Wedding Budget - Make sure you add columns for Item, Price, Taxes, Gratuity, Delivery charge, Total and Notes! A column that tells you how much has been paid so far is extremely useful too!
3. Music List - Song name, Artist, Ceremony/Cocktail/Reception, and Notes!
4. Wedding Registry - Gift Name, Store, Price, Registered, Amount are a few good columns to include.

I'm sure I will be adding more.. Tables (decorations and flowers), Bridal Party (who has placed their clothing orders and who has received), and maybe even Flowers (so my mom and I can discuss which flowers we like).

I know it isn't fancy, but for the modern organized bride who likes all her info in one place I highly recommend this tool!

We set a date!

This past weekend we made the most important wedding decision. We picked a date and venue!

Next November we will be saying "I do" at the Belvedere in Baltimore! It was once a hotel that Sarah Jessica Parker, John F. Kennedy and Woodrow Wilson stayed at. I absolutely adore the venue and it's architecture!

Crossing that off my wedding to-do list was a huge relief! The moment I walked into the Belvedere my heart skipped a beat. It is so elegant and I could instantly picture myself marrying CL there.

I originally dreamed of getting married at a vineyard, with a cream, taupe, and eggplant color scheme. I practically had it all planned on Pinterest. But the more I thought about it, I started second guessing my decision. We had found the perfect venue in Bluemont, VA at a gorgeous vineyard, I found photographers I loved in the area and had even talked to the caterers about possible menus. Something just wasn't right. I wasn't as excited as I had hoped. It was almost like I was planning someone else's wedding.

I'm so happy with our decision and can't wait for next November! We are doing a pink and gold theme. It goes with the venue perfectly and has the romantic feel I've always wanted! 

Next on our list is choosing a wedding photographer and videographer. I also want to start collecting centerpiece ideas to show our florist!

Question: Did you have a videographer? I have gotten mixed feedback!