I don’t know anything about flowers.
Yeah, I know what some of them look like. I can tell a peony from a poppy. I can correctly identify Queen Anne’s Lace when I’m walking along a country road. And a rose is a rose is a rose, of course.
But I’ve only gotten maybe three or four bouquets in my life — one grocery store bouquet on the occasion of my graduation, miniature yellow roses from my parents on my 18th birthday, bright pink and white lilies for an anniversary.
So I have no idea how much flowers cost or where to buy them. I know what I like: full, open blooms like peonies, which of course, I can’t afford on our teeny tiny budget. What bride doesn’t love peonies? They’re so soft and romantic. Perfect for a wedding.
That’s OK, though. Being ignorant about flowers means that I’m not dead set on a designer flower like a peony. I just want that full — and a little bit wild — look, much like Mrs. Peacock’s bouquet.
This was actually my second bouquet inspiration. My first was lilacs, like Nole’s bouquet:
Lilacs are kind of “our” flower. You see, last spring, when we were first dating, I bought him a lilac bush! Odd present, I know.
On Valentine’s Day, I snuck into Mr. Bunny’s apartment to make him breakfast. We ate together, sitting on the couch in front of The Today Show (a real anomaly for us, since we never watch TV together, especially not in the morning!). They were doing a feature on the meanings of different flowers, so I asked him his favorite.
Lilacs, he said. His mom had a bush in her yard when he was growing up, and he loved the smell. Plus he’s not a big fan of cut flowers. His philosophy is to let them live out their lives in peace. 
It was later that afternoon that I hatched my plan. I would get him lilacs. I called local nurseries to ask how soon they would carry lilacs and waited (rather impatiently). Two months later, I surprised him on a random weekday afternoon by driving up to his apartment with a giant bush growing in my front seat!
He planted it in his yard, and within a few weeks, tiny purple buds began to appear. He said it was the best present he’d ever gotten.
So yeah. Lilacs were my first thought when it came to flowers. But we’re having a July wedding, so they’re kind of out of the question. *sigh*
I’ve called three florists so far, and I have quotes from two of them.
Florist #1 is a store that was highly recommended on The Knot. They suggested open roses, lisianthus, sweet pea, fugi mums and white wax flower.
Lisianthus? I thought I’d never heard of it until I read online it’s a prairie flower known most commonly as prairie rose or Texas bluebell. Ah yes! I believe I’ve heard tell of you, lisianthus! You’re really quite lovely.
Florist #2 suggests vendela, Anna and Katherine roses, porcelana roses, snapdragons, dianthus, hypericum berry, waxflower, jade trachelium and seeded eucalyptus.
Yikes! That’s quite a variety of things I’ve never heard of before. Seeded eucalyptus?
Oh! Those little green berry things! Right! I totally knew that.
Both quotes are well over my budget, but Florist #2 was quick to assure me that she would do whatever she could to help me bring the costs down if they were too high.
Plus Florist #2’s online gallery (though small) is totally kickin’.
I LOVE both of these bouquets.
I’m the uncertain type, so I’ve scheduled a meeting with a third florist for Saturday afternoon. I know, I’m crazy. I’m also completely incapable of making decisions.
How did you decide on your florist? By price? Or by style?
this makes me happy again for having a wedding planner. we met with one florist because the wedding planner knew she’d be in our budget and our styles matched. I don’t know anything about flowers nor do I care to learn so we discussed colors rather than specific flowers. I still don’t know the specifc flowers in my bouquet.
I interviewed two florists and the third one I wanted to interview wouldn’t do Saturday appts so they were out since Im having a semi- DW in my hometown which is two hours from where I live.
I choose the one of the two that I did because we clicked and she seemed to be more willing to work with my budget.
I plan on being my own florist, with the help of friends, of course. We ordered peonies from a farm in MI, and a friend of mine is picking them up for me. Right now all around town, peonies are everywhere! Don’t think I haven’t considered sneaking around cutting peonies from everyone’s bushes! 
@KellyP — I’ve noticed peonies everywhere this spring now that I know what they look like! Don’t think I haven’t considered swiping them from people’s yards … 
Ooh, I love Mrs. Peacock’s bouquet! I’m having such a hard time imagining and finding inspiration for flowers… I guess it’s not my top priority, but my mom’s opinions are so big that I need to find some so she doesn’t choose anything! We’re just beginning to set up florist appointments.
I booked the florist before any other vendor. We may not have had a church, or food, but we were going to have flowers! Haha.
I just gave a basic idea of what I was looking for, and what I wanted to spend. Within a week, I received a written up description of all the flowers (which I also googled!) with all the prices. After taxes, they came in at $43 over budget. I booked them.
Oh, and lilacs are my dream bouquet. Damn October wedding.
I was lazy and only interviewed one florist AND I haven’t even met her yet, so I’m sure I’ve broken every cardinal rule in the book. However, she has a good base of work on her site and was very willing to work within my budget and seems to share my vision for what I want, so I went with her!
I saw go with your gut
I also broke all the rules and chose our florist based on the name. “Pistil Packin’ Posies” is just too clever to pass up.
She also came across as very professional and met my budget so I didn’t throw all caution to the wind (just most of it!).
I love the last bouquet! It’s got the resemblance of the lilacs because of the color! It’s really too bad you can’t get lilacs because that would just be perfect!
I’m allergic to flowers so we’re going the silk route. We basically went by color scheme and what would look good together, I know there are black and white jasmine and some small lilies but not sure of everything else. Its nice to be able to get whatever you want whether its in season or not and the cost can’t be beat!!
@Bridebella: I would so choose someone with a name like that too!
I love those pictures! The Lisanthus is such a lovely flower that most people don’t think of…
I love Lisanthus! My bouquet will be nothing but deep purple Lisanthus! They are such beautiful flowers and really do look a lot like roses.
I chose my florist based on two things- her price and her demeanor (sp?). She sat with us for over two hours- as the free consultation. We met with another florist who rushed us through in about thirty minutes- and then charged us $50 for wa write-up. The florist we went with is easy to talk to, detail-oriented, and has a great reputation. And, she was half of the price of the other florist! Even better!
costco.com (or sam’s club). I love love love the wild/natural bouquets, but on our shoe string budget I turned to costco. I was able to do hydrangea bouquets for myself and bridesmaids within our budget. I am going to buy whatever purple flower the local grocery store or whole foods store is selling that day to add the the hydrangeas for the bridesmaids.
PS: I love the smell of lilac
I too looove poofy flowers like Peonies and Garden Roses, but I have fallen in love with Dahlias! They have such vibrant colors! I interviewed only one florist, but she is awesome and a friend of a friend, so I feel pretty confident.
After getting quotes from a few local florists I decided to hire a friend’s gardener to arrange flowers that we will buy in bulk from fiftyflowers.com. We’ll be able to do twice as many flowers & arrangements more for 1/2 the price.
The gardener has arranged flowers before and will charge us her usual hourly rate for gardening (which is crazy low). I gave her photos and we discussed exactly what I want. She told me what to order.
I’m choosing to order from fifty-flowers.com after seeing how great their flowers were at a friend’s wedding last summer. Her rose bouquet kept for over two weeks!! She and her bridesmen used YouTube for to find a few how-to videos before tackling the project (I really should give 99% of the credit to the bridesmen since I think she was off getting a manicure while they worked their magic!)
I met with 6 florists before picking one! None of them stood out to me – they were basically all the same, and no one was a good fit. I picked #6 in the end because she also does rental linens (1 less vendor to meet with!), and because she will do free mockups for me prior to the wedding until I am happy. She also assured me that she could stay within my budget should it get smaller (which would happen if we get more guests attending than expected.) So far the florist was the hardest part for me. I say if #2 fits your style and will work with your budget, and if #3 doesn’t really wow you, go with #2. Good luck!
Mrs. Bunny, Columbus Age and Occupation: 24, Associate Editor/Reporter Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Reporter Engagement Date: September 23, 2008 Wedding Date: July 2009 Venue: Everal Barn, Westerville About Me: Organized, but messy. I love art (all kinds). I don't have any secrets. I talk a lot and listen even more. I show love by baking. I'm timid by nature, but brave when it counts. Mr. Bunny and I work at competing weekly newspapers, which makes it a little interesting trying to describe our work joys and frustrations without giving away too much before the paper comes out. In spite of that little hurdle, we've managed to build a pretty solid relationship in the short one-and-a-half years we will have been together when we tie the knot. I can't wait!
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