Once, a snowstorm twelve hours away from my city caused a massive shipping delay on a wedding order, and I couldn’t pick up the flowers at my wholesaler until the night before the wedding day: almost 48 hours later than originally scheduled. I got the flowers at 7:30pm, and then I spent most of the next 24 hours working nonstop to create all of the pieces and deliver them by Saturday afternoon. I’ve never been more proud of how beautifully a wedding turned out, and my client didn’t have to stress about this shipping delay for even a second.
Something like this delayed shipment is nothing out of the ordinary in the life of a florist. HOWEVER, while I was waiting at 7pm for the truck to arrive with my client’s flowers, another young woman was standing there with me in the loading dock of the wholesaler’s. I asked her if she was a florist as well, but she told me she was the maid of honor in her best friend’s wedding, and in charge of doing the flowers. Because of the delay, she was currently missing the rehearsal dinner in order to pick up the bulk flowers, and would have to, like I was, spend the whole night working on the flowers in order to finish them on time, and that several bridesmaids would help her. She had flown 3,000 miles to attend her best friend’s wedding and had no floral training or experience.
Y’all, I felt bad for this girl. As a person getting married, you do NOT want to go through this kind of situation or have your wedding party, friends, or mom go through this, the night before the wedding. Floral arranging can be fun, but it can also be tedious, stressful, laborious, and time-consuming, with unexpected hiccups. Just like a Pinterest DIY that looks deceptively simple, or learning to knit or sew, or assembling IKEA furniture, or baking an elaborate French pastry–putting together a bridal bouquet like the one you saw on Pinterest can be harder, and more time-consuming, than expected.
I set out to write this series only as a list of things to keep in mind for DIYing your wedding flowers, but upon reflection, experience, and conversations with other florists, I’ve changed my tune to say this: Yes, absolutely, you can do your own wedding flowers, but it is NOT for the faint of heart. I’m saying this because I don’t want anybody to be surprised by that.In the next posts of this series I’ll go over why this is the case, with the intent of providing education for couples planning their wedding.
There are lots of DIY tutorials online, and some of them are solid. And sure, you can save a little bit of money by doing your own wedding flowers (though bulk flowers and hard goods are expensive in their own right). But please know: it will be a time-suck, for you, for your wedding party, or for your family. And it can be exhausting, and hard, and it can take your loved ones away from the events of the wedding weekend. And the logistics might be hard. And unexpected things will arise. Florists are used to managing all of this, but it might be immensely stressful for your family and friends.
Two last thoughts. First–I completely understand the need to stick to a wedding budget. I’ve never met somebody who wasn’t worried about money when planning their wedding. However, my concern is that people underestimate the difficulty and the legitimate expense of DIY flowers–especially since many wedding magazines and blogs list it as the first way to save money on your wedding. The last thought I want to leave you with is regarding the value a florist offers you. When you book a florist, you receive their creativity, expertise, resourcefulness, professionalism, commitment, and good taste. Florists are under contract to ensure your wedding flowers are beautiful, and we take pride in the artistry and hard work that goes into what we create for you. As a florist, what I want more than anything is for my work to add to the beauty and joy of your wedding.
I wish you luck (and fun!) while making decisions about what to do for your wedding flowers! You can contact me here for more information about wedding packages through Violet Floral Designs.
Cheers!
Mallory @ Violet Floral Designs of Baltimore, LLC
