Hi everybody!
Today I wanted to talk a little bit about Pinterest–everybody’s favorite place for wedding inspiration pictures! As a florist, I LOVE the beautiful wedding inspiration I see on Pinterest, and when I planned my own wedding, Pinterest was a great help to me in planning out the style I wanted for my big day. When my clients share their Pinterest boards with me, it really helps me get a sense of their vision for their wedding. However, when it comes to Pinterest, I have a ground rule: I won’t duplicate another florist’s work, for a few reasons. In short:
A florist CAN:
Look at your inspiration photos to better understand the look and colors you’re going for.
A florist CAN’T:
Recreate every detail of an inspiration photo, down to the last stem.
As a floral designer, my job is to mesh my design aesthetic with your preferences. Pinterest is a great tool for communicating about your taste and preferences to your florist. However, though Pinterest is a great jumping off point for floral inspiration, remember a florist can’t carbon-copy a look. This is because…
1) Flowers shift in availability–a lot. For example, peonies are a gorgeous late spring flower, and very popular for weddings, but they go out of season for several months of the year. Dahlias are a beautiful late summer and fall flower, but because they are so delicate, it’s hard to import them at other times of year. I might be able to purchase spray roses in a perfect shade of peach at my supplier one week, and then it’s not available the next. Fortunately, for every flower that goes out of season, there’s another flower that can add just as much beauty to your wedding flowers.
2) Because florists are artists at heart: we don’t want to plagiarize each other. No two florists will design a bouquet exactly the same, and while we can look to each other for inspiration, most floral designers will not want to cross the line of copying or duplicating a photo of another florist’s work.
It’s always great to see my clients’ inspiration photos, because it tells me a little more about their style and wedding vision. But the way I see it, it’s better to design with the client in mind; not just a photo.
All told, using Pinterest as an inspiration is a great way to communicate with your florist about the flowers, styles, and color palettes you love. Then it’s our job to create your dream bouquet: something entirely original, customized and personalized for YOU.
