Rosé or Prosecco – choosing the right wedding florist!

As we wave goodbye to winter (I really hope that was the last bout of bad weather!) and we willingly welcome Spring, so approaches our favourite time of the year at SHF – the start of the wedding season!

Over the past few months we have had lots of consultations with couples and we have loved hearing about all their wedding plans and sharing our advice on how to make their florals total showstoppers! We have some amazing weddings lined up this year which we cannot wait to share.

Weddings are our passion, every one is completely different, brings its own unique challenges, and most importantly we get to watch our couples transition into newbie Mr & Mrs’s! Although every couple is unique, we find that during our floral design consultations many of our couples have similar questions. We hope that sharing these with you will give you a little more insight into how we work here at Sarah Harper Flowers.

1. “Who will we be working with throughout the process?”  

From your initial consultation you will be greeted by our head florist Sarah. Her passion for what she does shines through and instantly puts our couples at ease as well as filling them with total excitement!

Sarah designs, orders and leads on all of our weddings and she will be with you throughout the planning stages (see our previous blog ‘So you’re getting married this year!?’). Nothing is too much trouble, no worry too daft, and there is nothing a good chat and cake can’t fix. Sarah takes great pride in being part of your special day, and will personally deliver your flowers on the morning of the wedding. We love the big hugs and happy tears when you see everything come together perfectly.

2. “Do you know our venue?” 

Being a freelance studio-based florist allows us to travel the country and we have worked at many fantastic venues. We are recommended suppliers to a number of venues in our home-county of Oxfordshire and work regularly in the iconic and prestigious Oxford Colleges. We also offer an onsite visit to your chosen venue as part of our wedding package, so even if we haven’t worked at your chosen venue we can be sure to get the right aesthetics for the decor.

3. “We have no clue about flowers!”

Firstly, don’t panic, that’s what we are here for! Part of our skills are that we use our professional experience and arts background to help you design your custom wedding florals.

A few things that are worth giving some thought to:

1. Colour – have a colour scheme or a few colours that you like in mind. This will help develop your floral colour palette. 

2. Season – We always use seasonal flowers as these will be the freshest florals available at the time of your wedding. When thinking about your wedding dates it is worth considering which flowers will be in season: Spring will bring an abundance of hellebores, ranunculus, tulips, lilac and blossom. Whereas Summer favours garden roses, peonies, stocks and sweet peas. Autumn is the go to for gorgeous foliages and show-stopper dahlias, and finally winter rocks beautiful mixes of roses, tulips and scented foliages as well as seasonal treats.

3. Favourites – “Do you have a favourite flower?” is a question we ask all our couples. Maybe you have a firm-favourite or even a fond memory from times gone by? We always try to include any favourites, especially those which hold dear sentimental value. 

4. Scent – Do you love scented florals? Often overlooked when considering wedding flowers – this is something we love to include in our designs. From the sweet perfumed aroma of a blousy peony or a delicate sweet-pea to the fresh punch of mint makes our hearts sing! In fact this is often one of the first things our couples comment on afterwards and leaves an everlasting memory from your big day. 

4. “We have so many ideas and are not sure how to tie them together”

That is what we are here for and why our face-to-face consultations are so vital. We will listen to all your plans and advise on what will work together, making the most of your budget in your chosen venue.

5. “Can we know exactly what flowers we will be having?”

We make sure you are involved in all aspects of the planning of your wedding flowers and we will have discussed what you love and what you would like us to include. We do however make the final decision as to what is going to work best and all our clients trust our judgement, skill and experience when ordering your wedding flowers.

6. “Will you work with our other chosen suppliers?” 

Absolutely! We are very happy to work with your chosen suppliers and in fact we encourage it! For example, if you would like florals on/as part of your cake design we are happy to liaise directly with your supplier so we both know the mechanics for a smoother set up on the day.

7. “Do you have recommended suppliers that you can share with us?”

Of course! Over the years we have built up a bank of suppliers who we love to work alongside and we are always happy to share these increbidlbly talented individuals with you.

8. “We are only having a small wedding do you have a minimum spend?” 

Budget is something we ask you to have taken into consideration before you book your consultation with us and it is very important for us to know what you have allocated. We understand everyone has a budget and we want to make sure that we advise you on the most effective way to make the most of it! We are a luxury florist, and although we don’t have a minimum spend we do advise you think carefully about your pennies!

We hope these questions have helped with some of those niggling questions you might have. We would love to hear from you – if you are getting married this year we still have some availability and are currently taking on 2019/2020 bookings. We shall look forward to answering more of your questions over coffee and cake soon – just remember no question is too silly and we are here to share our knowledge and make the experience a totally enjoyable one!

xx

love, sarah x