How to Choose a Wedding Florist (and Work With One)

Wedding flowers are one of the few parts of the day that are made entirely for you, by hand, in the forty-eight hours before you see them. That makes the florist more of a collaborator than a supplier. The best ones will tell you which flowers will wilt by the first dance, which will be at their peak that week, and how to spend half as much on the ceremony and still fill the room.

When to book

Choose the venue first: the space, the light and the number of tables decide most of what a florist will propose. Then book the florist, ideally nine to twelve months ahead for a popular month, and no later than about six months for most dates. Many florists take only one or two weddings a weekend.

Start with recommendations from your venue, your planner and your photographer, who see florists’ work up close. Look at full weddings on each florist’s website or social accounts, not just close-ups of bouquets: you want to see how they fill a room and whether the flowers look the same at ten at night as they did at four.

What to bring to the first meeting

• The basics. Date, venue, ceremony and reception locations, guest count, number and shape of tables, and the size of the wedding party.
• Your colors and the clothes. An image or swatch of the dress or outfit and the attendants’ clothing. Our guide to choosing your wedding colors helps if you’re still deciding.
• Images you love, and some you don’t. A dozen pictures tell a florist more than any description. A few you dislike are just as useful.
• A budget. A real number, even a range. It lets the florist design to it rather than guess. See our wedding budget guide for how flowers usually compare with other costs.
• A rough list. How many bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces you think you need. The checklist at the end of this page is a starting point.

Questions to ask

• Do you have my date open, and how many other weddings will you do that day or weekend?
• Have you worked at my venue? What are its rules on setup times, open flames, petals and hanging installations?
• Who will be on site on the day, and for how long?
• What will be in season for my date, and what would you suggest instead of the flowers I’ve shown you?
• Do you work without floral foam?
• What rentals do you provide, such as vases, arches, stands and candles, and when are they collected?
• Do you handle teardown at the end of the night, and is there a fee for late collection?
• What is your minimum for a wedding, and what does the deposit secure?

Proposals and contracts

A good proposal is itemized: each bouquet, each boutonniere, each centerpiece with its flowers, its quantity and its price, plus delivery, setup, teardown, rentals and tax. Many include photographs or a mood board. If you get a single figure with a vague description, ask for the breakdown before you sign.

The contract should spell out:

• The date, addresses and the times for delivery, setup and teardown
• Every item and its quantity
• A substitution clause, explaining what happens if a flower is unavailable or poor that week, and that substitutes will match in color, style and value
• The rental items, their replacement cost if broken and when they’ll be collected
• The deposit, the payment schedule and the date the final count is due
• Cancellation and postponement terms

Read it before you sign, and ask about anything you don’t understand. A final count is usually due a few weeks before the wedding; you can add or subtract centerpieces until then.

Where the money goes, and how to spend less

Labor and design time are a large part of the cost, which is why a small boutonniere can cost more than the flowers in it. These choices make the biggest difference:

• Choose what’s in season. Flowers in season locally are fresher and cost less than the same flower flown in out of season. Our guide to flowers by season lists what’s at its best each month.
• Move the ceremony flowers. Aisle arrangements become the head table; the arch or altar pieces frame the sweetheart table or the bar. Ask the florist to plan and price the move.
• Go bigger and fewer. One generous installation where everyone looks has more impact than forty small pieces nobody notices.
• Use greenery and texture. Eucalyptus, olive, ferns and grasses fill space at a fraction of the cost of roses and peonies.
• Mix the tables. Alternate full centerpieces with clusters of bud vases and candles.
• Trim the personal flowers. Smaller bouquets for attendants, or a single stem each, save more than you’d think.

Seasonal flowers

Ask your florist what will be at its peak, and be flexible about the exact variety. Spring brings ranunculus, tulips, sweet peas and lilac; summer brings garden roses, dahlias and hydrangeas; autumn has dahlias, chrysanthemums and foliage in rust and gold; winter brings amaryllis, anemones and evergreens. Some flowers, such as roses, orchids and carnations, are available year-round. If you’d like the flowers to carry a message, our guide to the meanings of flowers is a good place to start.

Foam-free mechanics

The green floral foam long used in arrangements is a plastic made from phenol-formaldehyde resin. It isn’t biodegradable, it crumbles into microplastic dust, and it ends up in landfill after a single use. Many florists now work without it, using:

• Chicken wire, balled up inside a vase or shaped over a frame for arches and installations
• Flower frogs, pin or cage supports that sit in the bottom of a container
• Water tubes, small vials that keep individual stems fresh in hanging or freestanding designs
• Moss and branches, to build structure in large pieces
• Tape grids across the mouth of a vase

Foam-free designs often look looser and more natural, and the flowers drink more water. More ideas are in our guide to sustainable weddings.

Wedding-day flowers checklist

Use this to count what you need before your first meeting. Few weddings need everything here.

Personal flowers

• Bouquet for each partner carrying one
• Toss bouquet, if you’re doing a bouquet toss
• Bouquets for attendants and the maid or man of honor
• Flowers for flower girls or boys: petals, a pomander, a small posy or a crown
• Boutonnieres for each partner, attendants, ushers and the ring bearer
• Boutonnieres or corsages for parents, stepparents, grandparents and godparents
• Boutonnieres or corsages for the officiant, readers, musicians and anyone else you wish to honor

Ask before ordering corsages: many people prefer a wrist corsage or a small posy to one pinned on a dress.

Ceremony

• Altar, arch or chuppah flowers
• Aisle markers or pew ends
• Entrance arrangements
• Flowers for a unity table or welcome sign
• Petals for the aisle, if the venue allows them

Reception

• Head table or sweetheart table
• Guest table centerpieces
• Escort card or seating plan table
• Guest book and gift tables
• Cake table, and flowers for the cake itself, agreed with the baker, since not every flower is safe near food
• Bar, buffet and dessert tables
• Restrooms and lounges
• Petals or a send-off, if allowed

Extras

• Flower crowns or single stems for hair
• Flowers for a pet’s collar
• Arrangements for the rehearsal dinner or the morning-after brunch
• A small arrangement for the getting-ready room, which shows up in photographs

For more inspiration, browse our bouquet gallery.