5 Reasons to Hire a Floral Designer for Your Wedding
I’ve got a TRUE confession to make: it’s been over a month since Khloe K’s baby shower, but I still can’t stop obsessing over her flowers. Seriously, tiny girl Thompson has been in the world for almost a week, and I’m crushing on those GORGEOUS baby shower blooms as much today as I was when KoKo first shared photos of the event in early March. They were that stunning. We’d argue that the event wouldn’t have been ¾ as magical if it weren’t for Jeff Leatham and his brilliant beyond brilliant team of flower artistes (and Mindy Weiss, of course, for tapping this genius and guru). From the hanging arrangements to the ombre rose arches, to the manicured zoo animal topiaries, everything was on-point.
Now, why is this all relevant, you ask? Aside from True news and kisses for Khloe taking over everything for the time being… the flower situation was just 👌. And you certainly don’t need a Four Seasons Hotel Creative Director on deck to make your own event sparkle, but it couldn’t hurt. Especially for one of the biggest days of your life: we’re talking ‘I Do’ now, the baby boo bashes can come later.
If you’re a florist fan like I am, and follow 150+ floral designers on Insta on a good day, or even just mildly entertained by eucalyptus, peonies, ranunculus, tulips and anemones, then you should have some clue about the importance of hiring a floral designer for your wedding. But if you’re still not convinced, we’ve put together some reasons why you might want to make a buddy on your road to the altar.
Once you’re sold, we have a few friends who can help you out, too - check out all of our flower vendors here. They’re the brains behind some of the most beautiful bouquets we’ve seen in a while. And their work is always blossoming in our inspiration pages. Just sayin’!
A good floral designer has ALL the skills and experience.
Flower artistry isn’t a walk in the park. In fact, it’s anything but. If you’ve never put together an arrangement or bouquet together before, or even attempted a DIY centerpiece, chances are you’ll struggle when it comes to creating them for your big day. That, and thorn pricks aren’t exactly a great look for the bride… There are so many nuances to floral styling and design, what floral varieties vibe together, what’s available seasonally, what types hold up well in certain climates/conditions, and knowing the difference between peonies and garden roses gets you bonus points, but doesn’t mean you’ll be rivaling Philippa Craddock anytime soon. If you don’t know who she is, that further illustrates our point (LOL, no, we’re kidding. She’s just doing the flowers for a royal wedding next month… NBD). True, floral artistry isn’t a popular degree in college, but the ones who slay, have knowledge and talent that are unmatched.
A good floral designer can match your budget like a boss.
Flowers are one area where you can really shop around - especially if you’re realistic and not too picky about the types of flowers you want filling up your ceremony and reception spaces. I priced out close to 5 or 6 florists before finding our girl, and I was happy to do all the digging and logging the man hours (even if it killed my hubby) to ensure I got the right look for the right price. I was able to go into my meeting with the last vendor we met with and say ‘here is our palette, here are some types of flowers I like,’ let me know what you can do with that! And she was able to pull out her flower glossary and show me the blooms that fit my colorscapes and overall aesthetic (I was going for whimsy, feminine and romantic). She was able to tell me how many calla lilies I could weave into the centerpieces, boutonnieres, and bouquets without totally blowing my budget - and what kinds of pretty filler flowers we could work with to keep things reasonable and still look stunning. Floral designers are mavens at knowing their merch and tailoring their designs to fit your finances.
One of our own favorites, Mimosa Floral Design Studio offers specific package brackets to hit all budgets, and often drops ‘Top Tips’ in their Instagram captions to let curious brides know what types of bespoke artistry will fall under which brackets.
A good floral designer has her hookups.
Even the craftiest and most determined DIY brides often don’t have the connections that a professional florist or floral designer does. The pros have been in the game for years, and know all the best places to source your flowers, at the best prices. From a variety of sources, too: local farms, wholesalers, flower auctions, their own gardens, or abroad (yes, imports from overseas). Sure, anyone can go out and buy beautiful blooms, but a good florist will also know what kinds of vessels they’ll look their best in and where to go about finding those treasures. When you book a florist or floral designer (and they’re not always one in the same - designers do more and can cost more, too), you’re not only getting their goods, you’re getting access to their ‘people.’ And that’s worth its weight in gold (yellow, white or rose gold, respectively) or silver… or chrome… or platinum…
A good floral designer handles all the thorns.
And we mean this in EVERY sense of the word. Not unlike a good wedding planner, who steps in to wade through all the s****y parts of the planning process and the less-than-helpful company, a floral designer plucks through all the unpretty parts of flower magic. As we mentioned before, anyone get buy a whole bunch of expensive, decadent blooms, but it’s what makes it to the wedding and stuns the guests that matters. A floral designer will know exactly how to prune and prep your arrangements, groom your bouquets and your guys’ boutonnieres, style and curate your centerpieces, dress your wedding cake with loose petals and statement flower heads. He or she will be meticulous about how the flowers are cared for, refrigerated, hydrated, etc., and get the flowers to the venue in pristine condition. Some will also check back in throughout the day, or stay through your getting ready to make sure everything maintains its pretty. Consider them your greenhouse glam squad, because they’ve got your wedding BTS looking flawless.
A good floral designer will make your dreams come true
(oh, and eliminate ALL the stress).
Look, you’re trusting in a lot of people to make your wedding wishes a reality, and hiring a floral designer is no different. They will literally take your ideas and overall vision and expound upon it. And do so in the most stress-free way possible. One of our flower friendlies, Mr. Shean Strong said it best “Give your floral designer free rein. Obviously. If you NEED peonies or ranunculus… tell them - but trust your designer. Your wedding is a reflection of their work as well as a reflection of you. We crave to create beautiful things for our clients.” And they will, if you just give them the green light. Here are my hopes and dreams, here’s my money, please deliver my happily ever after. Thanks! Mic drop.
Of course, as with any vendor onboarding, you’ll want to communicate effectively with your florist. But making the decision to hire one of these “I Do” creative celebrities is one that you just won’t forget. PROMISE!
Just take a peek at our floral BFFs, they’re seriously our sweet peas!