So we have some
brand spanking new fun blog posts coming - we've implemented a
"Monday Coffee" segment where we offer real,
down-to-earth wedding planning tips from our point of view. Free tips! What better way to start your week!
Stay tuned to Wednesdays where Nick will be lending his amazing, manly ideas to grooms in
"Nick's Picks!"Of course, we'll be consistent with our
lifestyle, planning, and
entertaining tips, recipes, and photos.
Thanks for reading!
Monday Coffee: Warning for the DIY Brides and Grooms - FloralWhile we are
all about helping our clients with
DIY projects and ideas and
money saving tips, it's really important to know that tackling certain DIY projects can be incredibly difficult, time consuming, and even expensive.
We recently had a bride and her mother create all of the centerpieces for their 200 guest wedding. That's 20 + arrangements!
We strongly recommended they order bouquets and boutonnieres from a
professional florist (unless you, a friend, or family member is a florist, these are not simple to make). The flowers were ordered from a local floral wholesaler and were to be picked up the Thursday before the wedding weekend.
The problem came when half of the flowers didn't arrive early in the morning as requested. The bride and her mom had enough going on with prepping themselves for the big day and visiting with out of town guests. They had to come back later in the afternoon to get the rest of the flowers.
In the end a few bunches of special order flowers didn't make the shipment from South America. We stepped in and called around to locate replacements, but they made do with what was there.
The end result: while the arrangements looked good the bride's mother was stressing before the wedding. Not something we like. Unfortunately it's out of our control when clients take on DIY projects like that; there's no florist to call and get a back-up through or no recourse (though we were able to locate a secondary replacement flower). Floral wholesalers order and get what's available; even if you pre-order sometimes things don't make it. When our clients use professional florists we don't have this problem as they are prepared should something not come. It's their job to make sure each flower arrives, is
fresh, and looks
gorgeous.
Another important duty to consider when going the DIY centerpiece route - who will be dealing with the delivery and take-home of the flowers? Will it be your family? Your bridesmaids? Remember that while they are all there to help and make sure you enjoy the day, you don't want to stick them with something that's a burden.
The bottom line: Talk to a florist first to see what they can do and how they can work with your budget. When it comes down to it, is your time, dealing with a wholesaler, the cost of flowers, and purchase of vases really worth doing it yourself? Your florist will deliver, set up, and take away all of the flowers so you're left with nothing but
fun (and stress-free) memories!
Happy Planning!
Aleah + Nick
Frank Ross Photography
Amore Studios
Festive champagne glasses from Red Envelope are the perfect gift to bring to a gift exchange
Rosemary + lavender sea salt $11.50 from bella cucina
Happy Holidays!
