Weddingbee Blog

I was clueless about reputable florists in our area, so I started with the venue’s preferred vendors. I sent a few inquiries with guidelines as to how many guests and arrangements we’d need and described the look I was going for. I also stipulated I wanted to have ivory garden roses and mentioned peonies would be nice, even though I knew they’re pretty much out of season by September.

Dinosaur flowers AKA ranunculus via The Knot / Photo by Donna Newman Photography / Bouquet by 50Fifty Creative Services

Several of the florists said they weren’t able to get garden roses, so they were immediately ruled out. The rest estimated a lot more than I was comfortable spending. I thought we had a decent budget set aside, but all these vendors were starting to make me believe we had champagne tastes on a beer budget.

So I turned to Weddingbee’s very own Mrs. Buttons for help.

Mrs. Buttons had wonderful things to say about her initial consultation with The Bride’s Bouquet and she thought Debbie was reasonable, so I set up a consultation.

My MOH, AKA Sassypants, joined me for moral support bright and early on a Saturday morning. We were armed with printouts of our inspiration board and the following examples:

The lovely Mrs. Pug’s centerpieces / Photo by CK Hwang/39 East Photography / Flowers by Ornamento

Image via Amazon

Image via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Jasmine Star

Image via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Public Image Photography / Invitations by Paper Moss

I love the look of purple anemones, but they’re out of season in September. Right away Debbie suggested lavender scabiosa and pulled out what I’d like to refer to as the bible of flowers so I’d be able to see what she was talking about. She also made a note in my file that I love peonies and, if she can scrounge some up at a reasonable price, they’ll be making an appearance in my bouquet as well.

As it stands I’ll carry a bouquet of lavender scabiosa, open lavender roses, open ivory garden roses, lavender freesia, and fresh lavender. My matron of honor and bridesmaids will carry purple eustoma, ivory garden roses, open bluebird roses, and seeded eucalyptus berries.

The guys’ bouts will all be different with lots of little details. The moms will either have corsages or wristlets.

Ceremony Decor:

The aisle will be lined with rose petals and shepherd’s hooks, which will double as cocktail-table arrangements after the ceremony. We’ll also have a natural arch decorated with coordinating flowers that will then be transferred to our sweetheart table.

Reception:

Our centerpieces will be in silver or mercury-glass urns and will consist of lavender hydrangea, purple eustoma, lavender scabiosa, open garden roses, and open lavender roses. Our escort-card table will have a taller urn with the same flowers as our centerpieces.

After the ceremony, the hanging vases will be moved to the cocktail tables.

Debbie’s making a toss bouquet for free, and I’ll get to preview my flowers a few days in advance in case I need to make any last-minute changes.

After all that came the moment of truth, our detailed quote. Every other vendor was $1,000 over our budget. Debbie, on the other hand, was $500 under. SCORE!

And with that, we had our florist. One of the other great things about Debbie is nothing is set in stone, so we can add/remove/make changes up until a month before, when our final payment is due. Why this is awesome: About a month ago I wrote Debbie to see if I could have dusty miller in my bouquet and centerpieces, and this is how she responded:

I will have to buy dusty miller plants and grow them to be able to use them in the centerpieces. It is something we have done before and like you I love the color and the texture of it. However, it does not always thrive late summer because of our Florida heat. So no promises but I will try my best.

She could have just said it wasn’t possible, but she’s going to give it a shot. How awesome is that? Do you have a vendor that seems to be going above and beyond what you expected?