I'm getting married in May of 2012, in Michigan. I have absolutely no clue about flowers at all, in any state at any time, so I have no idea what to look for in one.

I'm clueless. What should I know and keep in mind when hunting for a flourist very soon? My color is tiffany blue. I don't even know the names of the flowers in my front yard that I planted (hah)! I am just looking for key points and precautions I should take when securring one for our ceremony and reception.

Amanda

My florist had books upon books of flowers for me to look at, in every possible configuration and color. He took notes on what we wanted, and sort of nudged us in one direction or another. We had a couple of special requests, and he obliged that too.

If you aren't a flower girl, and I'm not, take someone who is, that way you've got someone with an eye for the details with you. My sister is a repressed interior designer, I took her. She has a mind for flowers, and enough design talent to keep in mind how it would all look together.

Knowing now what I didn't know at the time, I would have been alot more aggressive with the florist. Something happened between our consultation in January and the wedding in June, and it ended up being a bit of a mess - my colors were watermelon and coral, with lime as an accent color. I kid you not, I've got pictures of the flowers at the reception - they're baby pink, orangy pink and teal. What the heck? And he delivered the flowers to the church 10 minutes before the ceremony started. What was I going to say at that point?! "Take them back, they aren't right?!" Yeah, right! So knowing now what I didn't know then, I would have stayed on him alot tighter. Now, if you're planning a wedding out of state or out of the country, you just kind of have to trust, I get that. My guy was right up the street, heh...

Speaking of, since you said you're getting married in Michigan, if you happen to be getting married in or around South Lyon, PM so I can shoot you the guys name.

OK my parents were florists until they retired in December and they did the flowers at my wedding.

What you need to realise is that unless you dye the flowers, you aren't going to get an exact match, so your best bet is to go with something that compliments, or is close to, but won't clash with, your main colour. Give them a swatch of the material you are using so they can choose the individual flowers with something more concrete than just a memory of a colour.

Look at what is in season around the time of your wedding and choose those flowers. That will help keep costs down.

Look at the florist's portfolio for examples of their work. If anything takes you fancy, tell them. If they've made if once, they can make it again. They have books of examples as well, from which you can choose designs, but the best indication of their work and style is from their portfolio.

Because the work is generally done last minute to prevent the flowers wilting during the ceremony, it's really important to be clear with the florist with what you want and what they will provide before any work is started. You can always go in the day before the wedding to check on progress (the least important and hardiest things are started a day or two before) and double check which flowers they are using. If there are any glaring errors, you might be able to save them at this point, but by the morning of the wedding, it's too late.

Be aware that a florist will wire each individual flower to help prevent wilting and breakage. This makes the bouquets much more labour intensive and so the costs are much higher for wedding bouquets than for everyday bunches. Some people do not realise this and think that the florist is just jacking up the prices upon hearing the w-word.

Any other questions, ask me. I worked in my parents' shop for years as well, so I've seen a lot of what goes on with regard to wedding flowers. Not that they would ever let me near them - only the qualified florists were allowed to touch the weddings! I got stuck answering phones and doing bunches for the guys popping in off the street when they had a wedding job. If I was lucky, I was allowed to put ribbon on corsage boxes but no wiring or arranging for me.

Helen

I don't even think I thought about my wedding flowers now that I think about it.

I just walked into a florist 3 weeks before the wedding picked something out of a book, told the florist a few modifications, and away we went.

My mom made the bridesmaids boquets to keep costs down though, bought a bunch of roses wholesale, and they turned out great.