Weddingbee Blog

Hive, I wasn’t going to write this post because I was afraid it was a wee bit too personal for blog land. But, you know what? Wedding planning isn’t always a happy sunshine land that rains candy canes and I think it’s an important thing to realize. I had always heard there would be one big family fight during wedding planning, but I always thought I would escape it. And until we were six weeks out, I managed to stroll along without conflict. But then it happened: The Biscuit Flower Event.

You may remember way back when, I had an initial meeting with my florist who was friends with my grandmother. We wrote up a makeshift quote, and she was pretty rude and less-than-helpful. She definitely put me off, and I was told to come back when I actually knew what I wanted flower-wise. That was easier said than done, as I know next to nothing about flowers. Remember my brown thumb?

So, I eventually found proper inspiration—at about six weeks out—and came back to the florist with my grandmother.

The first thing the florist said as we walked in the door was, “Oh, I didn’t realize you were still getting married since I never heard back from you.” Uh, you told me not to come back until I actually knew what I wanted. We had a quote written up, and since she didn’t have a contract, I (incorrectly) assumed that was enough. She then said that she was on vacation that week, but maybe the girls downstairs could handle it. My mood began to drop.

And the meeting went downhill from there. From name dropping other brides who “didn’t get married” (or who found a nicer florist) while looking for my initial quote to insinuating that I had found a new groom (”are you still marrying Mr. Biscuit?”) to making me feel stupid for having seven bridesmaids (”my niece has a lot of friends too, but she only had four bridesmaids”) the meeting started to leave a very bad taste in my mouth.

When I showed her a picture of the flowers I wanted she asked what they were. Isn’t that her job? To know what flowers look like? She then claimed that the bouquet for bridesmaids would be $200 a pop and didn’t offer any alternative flowers that would give me a similar look. By the end of the meeting, I was fuming and could barely speak a word. I was told to write down the flowers I wanted and to give her a call.

After telling my mother about the issue, she decided enough was enough and it was time to find a new florist. Instead of my grandmother defending me, she claimed the florist was “being realistic” and was not happy with my decision to find someone knew. And you know what? Maybe the florist was being realistic about my options, but she darn well sure could have been more helpful.

So there I was. Six weeks out, with no florist. I had no idea what to do. Until I realized that my venue was having a bridal show the next day. It was serendipity. While at the show, I met with a florist who works with my event rental company and my photographer. And he was free July 30th. Score.

After meeting with him, I realized that I should have gone with my gut a long time ago. I showed him my inspiration, and he actually knew what flowers were on the page. He also knew what he could substitute in order to make my *gasp* seven bridesmaids’ bouquets affordable. So far, I am extremely impressed with him. Seriously, best florist ever.

In the end, it seems to have all worked out, but for a couple of days, all was not well in the House of Biscuit. Luckily, my grandmother is not mad that I’m not using her friend anymore (and really, how could I? She’s on vacation that week), but I do still feel a little guilty because I know I disappointed her. However, at the same time, I knew from the initial meeting that our personalities did not mesh, and I had been worrying about my flowers ever since. I feel extremely lucky that I wasn’t locked into a contract and could switch florists midstream.

Did anyone else let a vendor go close to their day? Anyone follow their gut from the start?