Wedding Blog
We have had the worst time finding a florist. No, seriously, the WORST.
OK, OK, I’m being a tad over dramatic, but finding a good florist in Western Michigan was definitely a struggle. There were a few main problems we encountered:
1. There aren’t many florists, period.
2. The ones we visited were waaaaaay overpriced for what we were requesting.
3. There was a major lack of creativity and passion for what they do.
I was mainly frustrated by this last one. I am not a flower person, I’m not good with flowers, and I was looking for a little input. Here’s what we brought in as inspiration to jump-start a conversation with the florists:
Photos by the fantastic Tec Petaja
I also brought this image from Mrs. Pomegranate’s gorgeous wedding. I LOVE the greenery on her arch!
The general feel we would like is garden-y, rustic, and natural. Yet, despite our pictures and the description of what we were looking for, all of the florists pushed a book full of floral arrangements that all looked the same to me, and gave us absolutely no input…
… until the glorious day when I discovered Lori from Essential Designs. *
Lori works out of her home and has a passion for what she does, and it shows! We met the other day and had a fantastic conversation about what we wanted, and the look we were going for. She gave great input, and totally got us and our floral vision. She LOVED the baby’s breath centerpieces idea, and seems genuinely excited to design our wedding day flowers. Plus, she quoted us about $500 less than what the other florists in town were going to charge us. Cha-ching!
I’m so thrilled and relieved to have found a fantastic florist. Now I’m all the more confident about how our wedding day is going to look! I can’t wait to see what Lori comes up with.
Did anyone else have a hard time finding a florist?
*Side note: For anyone who is getting married in the Western Michigan area and looking for an absolutely fabulous florist, Lori can be contacted at essentialdesigns@earthlink.net
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I absolutely love her dress. I noticed it on Tec’s website too. I wish somebody would say who the designer was.
I also had a hard time deciding on a florist. Not only do I have Mother’s day weekend to contend with, I realized that flowers were more important to me than I originally thought. After meeting with five florists—I finally found ‘the one’ And her name is Lori and works out of her house too!!! how funny…. but it’s not your florist, I’m in Buffalo, NY. I feel really good knowing that I don’t have to worry about the flowers, all of the others florists I met with left me wondering if they really ‘got’ what I wanted. But I’m confident with the one I found! phew..what a relief!
So glad you found a florist you love 
It is so important to find vendor that you get along w/ and love what they do.
awww, my hubbie’s pictures! and actually, those photos of the bouquet were exactly what i showed our florist, too! i mean, i walked away with a bundle of beautiful peonies, but the original inspiration came from that bouquet. 
yes , so we are doing everything ourselves! I’m using vintage paper lily of the valley for bouts (pre-making them) and doing very simple centerpieces and bouquets. Everyone was very overprices and kept telling me what I wanted was not in season or insisting i would regret not using roses. One of the girls i work with use to own a flower shop with her dad and is helping me , I’m very happy for the help! I’m glad you found some one though!!
I’m not going to get married but I’m interested in flower. I come from Vietnam where this season i remember has alot of beautifull flowers specilly for wedding. I wishes I could help all of you to have the best one on your wedding.
A lot of what you are saying is why I am opting not to use a florist directly. I plan to purchase flowers either in bulk, from a farmer via farmers market, and/or in bouquets from supermarkets etc. and then rearrange them myself with the help of my wedding party.
I found a wonderful florist in ann arbor who was used to working with our venue, was super nice, and was very passionate. I was *this close* to putting the deposit down, when I met with a florist who was a friend of my parents. It felt like he was giving us a really good deal, and sent me home with some flowers for my mom, which was very sweet. I got sucked in! I think he will do a lovely job, but I feel kind of bad that I didn’t go with the other florist.
I don’t know where in West Michigan you’re getting married, but we are getting married in Muskegon and are using Chalet Floral. They seem great so far! I had NO idea what I wanted (and I’m pretty flexible too, I didn’t have very high expectations), but he brought out a ton of flowers and came up with a beautiful bouquet that was under what I budgeted!
I am so glad you are happy with the florist you have! That’s so important. I know it’ll be just beautiful!
I did have a hard search, but weddingwire really helped me narrow down who I ‘d spend my time in appts with!
i’m glad you found someone you’re happy with!
I’m not a flower person either. Therefore *ahem* no florist.
[...] (who gets excited over a bill?!), let me explain. As you may remember, I wrote recently about our fabulous florist. One of the things that quantifies her fabulosity is the fact the she quoted me loosely $500 less [...]
I’m in New York but I know a good florist can be hard to find that’s why I was so happy when I finally found Madison Florist. The website at weddingsbymadison.com first gave me an idea of what I wanted and they were so creative and paid attention to every detail. They gave us many priceless memories and we sing their praise everywhere.
Greetings Miss Powder Puff!
First of all I wanted to congratulate you on your upcoming wedding. Second of all, if you’re still looking for an excellent florist, you should check out Rachel Cho at http://www.rachelchoinc.com
Rachel owns a small floral shop and has been working as a florist since she was a baby.
Good luck!
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Mrs. Powder Puff, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 25, Preschool Teacher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Career Services
Engagement Date: May, 2008
Wedding Date: July, 2009
Blogging Since: November 12, 2008
Venue: Outdoor ceremony, banquet hall reception
About Me: I am your typical Midwestern girl attempting to plan a sane, budget-friendly, fun wedding to the man of my dreams. I love shoes, laughing at “Platinum Weddings”, crafts, inspiration boards, candy, and basically anything I can DIY. While weddings can certainly be all-consuming, I honestly can’t wait until the ceremony is over and I can finally call Mr. Powder Puff my husband!
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