Last week, we talked about how to find the best wedding florist for your needs. You've developed a short list of amazing florists (and other vendors) that you think could be a good fit. So what's next? Your next step is to actually start talking to them! We florists typically do this through wedding floral consultations. But what does that mean, and what should you expect? What questions should you make sure are answered or addressed? We're going to cover all that and more!
- First things first: the unexpected survey. The first thing you'll need to do with every single vendor is reach out to them, typically online. But you won't find a way to immediately schedule a meeting. Instead, you'll probably find a survey on their website that you are forced to fill out. Why are couples bombarded with questions from vendors, even before meeting? In this week's free resource, we'll talk about the trend towards surveys, and why we use them.
- The wedding floral consultation. For you, the client, the goal of this meeting is to determine whether this florist feels like a good fit for you. That's it! On the floral design side, the goal of a wedding floral consultation is more complex. We have two main goals during this meeting:
- 1) To understand your needs and vision, so we can craft a great proposal.
- 2) To "sell" you on our services, to varying degrees. This week's full article talks more about sales tactics, and what you should look out for.
- Be transparent during your consultation. I highly encourage you to be transparent about your needs, especially your budget. We can't meet your budget if we don't know what it is. Additionally, don't be afraid of offending a florist by saying you don't like certain ideas, flowers, or designs. We won't take it personally!
- Your florist should ask questions. Every floral designer is different, and approaches consultations differently. However, there are certain topics that should be covered in every single meeting, or at least in the questionnaire. A good floral designer will make sure that all the details are covered. A great floral designer will go above and beyond to craft something that makes you want to work with us.
What do I mean by going above and beyond? This week's free PDF includes a comprehensive checklist of all of the questions your florist should ask in a wedding floral consultation. Again, some of these details might be covered in the initial survey. But a great florist will make sure to cover all of these questions in the consultation. The PDF checklist is printable, and has a section for your note-taking. You can literally print it off for your meeting and be ready to go! To get this great resource, just enter your info below so I can send it to you.
I hope this info is helpful as you start looking for a wedding florist! This checklist in particular is a really useful resource, but it's only one half of the conversation. There are also a lot of questions that you should be asking your potential florists! So next week, we'll cover all of that, and you'll be offered another free checklist for download. In the meantime, make sure to post any questions in the comments below!