Flowers: where on earth to start?

Let your florist take the lead!! My mum's a florist and despite this I have very little idea of what I want...she is perfect in suggesting what shapes and colours will go with what I'm doing. My BMs will be in dusky pink so a bit more obvious to match flowers to, but your florist will have done weddings with navy colour schemes and should be able to help.

A word of warning is that flowers do tend to be more expensive than people expect, so have a budget and be prepared to talk about alternatives. You don't HAVE to have all roses and orchids...

Also, I assume you're getting married in February? Red roses will be expensive is you're around Valentines, and a lot of flowers won't have come into bloom yet.

These are all things that your florist will talk you through. I know my mum has an order pad with every conceivable arrangement down one side. And you won't look silly asking questions - honestly, no-one knows this stuff!

So basically, I'd go in and see a florist, have an initial chat with them, then do some more research good luck xx

I would suggest pinterest to gather ideas of what flowers you like and from there go to a few florists to get quotes.

I also think Pinterest is a great place to start. I got so many ideas from there for everything!

x

Welcome aboard! The next 16 months will fly by, so I don't think you're too early in getting things booked up. We had 14 months between proposal and when we get married and I am very glad I got the big things at least semi-planned early on, even if the finer detail comes nearer the time.

At this stage I would say start looking on Pinterest, or on the inspiration pages on Hitched - this will give you a load of ideas for styles and colours that will go with your dresses.

Then, start looking around at florists - visit a wedding fayre or two, get recommendations from the venue, etc, and go and have a couple of chats. You will soon get a feel for their own style, and whether you like what they do. You can also get an idea of prices from this. If you see a florist you like, then book her, and pay any holding deposit to get the date in the diary.

Then, if you are having a winter wedding, I would suggest going to see the florist again when it is about 12 months to go until your date - you will then be able to see what is in season, what prices are (as mentioned above, Valentines will have an impact etc) and you can start to actually put stems together with the florist to see if they "work" for you. This is what I did, and it was really helpful, as you could see the real thing rather than just pictures, and could really get an idea of what flowers work well together and what was going to be affordable due to it being in season.

Keep an open mind. Although wise to get a provisional booking in now, you don't have to actually commit to your designs just yet. Perhaps let the wedding evolve a bit and then you will have a real feel for what you fancy.

Call florists before you go to see if they will be free- I thought you could just walk in and chat to them but most insisted I make an appointment.

Thanks for al of the replies!

I can't believe it didn't occur to me to obsessively scour have a quick peek at Pinterest! That'll give us a job for tonight (and tomorrow night, and the night after...)

I'll take all of your advice and go to see a couple of florists with the very rough ideas we have. We're quite happy to be guided and it makes sense to get someone booked and then worry about the finer details later. I think it's the actual booking of suppliers that my fiancée is so keen to get cracking with. She's determined we won't be running around like headless chickens trying to find someone who's available.

Thanks again!

Pauline