hints and tips

Hints and Tips

Choosing your Florist:	A good florist: Will not try to get you to have what she wants to make her life easier but will listen to you knowing that what you choose will reflect your personality.	She will not try to get you to spend more than you can afford so be upfront from the start.	Will confirm your booking in writing with a full description of all your requirements explaining payment timings and methods. You will receive a detailed quote with all it includes so you won't get any nasty shocks later.
Will always be happy to meet you at your marriage and reception venues to discuss your ideas for their decoration.	Will contact all venues to arrange access and delivery times.	She will work hard to assure you that she is on your wavelength and knows the look you want to create.	Hopes that you will consider any sugggestions she may make. Sometime things just won't work!
Will keep in regular contact with you meeting up again approximately 1 month before your big day to go over everything again and to confirm delivery addresses and times etc.	Will instruct you on how to care for your flowers once they have been delivered, how to hold them and how to display them at the reception.	Never minds how many times you phone, texts or emails with little extras.	Will happily suggest ways of multi-using flowers.
Will leave you totally confident that all the flowers you have ordered will be delivered on time and in perfect condition.
Your Budget: Complicated designs WILL mean more money - please consider this.	Try to stick to seasonal flowers if you can, they will be in abundance and a bit cheaper	Choose the date of your wedding with care. The cost of flowers will shoot up around Mothering Sunday, Valentines Day amd Christmas. Prices will also increase during the traditional 'wedding' season, ie June, July and August.	Have what YOU want - it's your day - an alternative can always be found if your style is bigger than your purse.
Find out if there is another wedding taking place on the same day as yours. If so, you may be able to share the cost of your church flowers. Stay with neutral colours, cream, white, green and you can't go wrong.	Some of your flowers can be used twice. Pew-ends can be used to decorate light fittings or door handles as well as doubling up as table centres.	If you have got you heart set on a particular flower but it is quite expensive, use it sparingly, just in your bouquet.	Be honest about your budget. To achieve an impact have lots of vases with masses of greenery and grasses with less flowers.
Choosing your flowers: For a 'vintage' look use flowers in muted shades. Find teapots, jugs and tins rather than ceramic or glass containers to put them in. Go to car boot sales and charity shops, they will not only look great on the table but will keep the cost down and you'll have a lot of fun.	For the biggest impact two large displays will create more of a WOW than lots of little ones.	Use greenery from family and friends gardens to attain a truly sentimental feel.	Archways, although they look gorgeous, have a very short life and can be very expensive. Decorate the window sills, displays will look beautiful in the sunlight and can be taken to the reception after the service.
When setting the date for your wedding think about the flowers that will be in profusion. ie, springtime - Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths. Late spring for Peonies, Lilac, Rhododendrons. Huge impact and availability.	Snowdrops will also be out in late February-March so if this when you are planning to get married think about planting some bulbs in pots. Also Muscari (Grape Hyacinths) and Narsicci. Anenomes and Ranunculas are available too.	Summer tables look and smell beautiful with pots of Herbs as centre pieces. A mixture of Thyme, Mint, Lavender and Rosemary set in Terracotta pots can be given away afterwards and used all summer through.	Also in profusion are: Cornflowers, Nigella, Lavender, Dahlias, delphiniums, Foxgloves, Gladioli, phlox, Scabious, Snapdragons, Calla lilies, Sunflowers and Hypericum. To name but a few.
Autumn produces absolutely glorious flowers and colours including Hydrangea, Chrysanthemums sprays and blooms, Gladioili and Agapanthus. Use the bronzes and reds to achieve a really sumptuous autumnal feel.	A lot of the summer flowers go on quite late but by the end of September into October when the leaves are starting to turn it seems right to incorporate these wonderful colours.	For a winter wedding you will have the pick of the seasons foliage including Holly and Ivy as well as stems of twisted Hazel.	Amaryllis and Skimmia, Tulips, Alstromeria and Lilies are all available in luscious reds. Heather is in the garden, Helebores is on sale and you can see dry Thistle heads on the road side which would look lovely as they are or sprayed.
To return to FLC Flowers home page please click here	You and your guests will spend most of your time at the reception. To take their breath away make the flowers there different. Rather than structured designs fill containers of all shapes and sizes with cut flowers of all varieties, lots of Gypsophlia and gorgeous greenery. You will get loads more for your money and you can give armfuls away at the end of the evening.