The Art of Giving Flowers



WEDNESDAY WEDDINGS: Bells



 

I love brides and last Saturday I had two bridal consultations. Whether it is their first or second marriage, it doesn’t matter; brides are always enthusiastic, optimistic and flat out excited about getting married. Since I usually speak to them prior to their arrival, I ask them to bring pictures of flowers or anything else that will help me understand their vision. There is so much to talk about. I like to find out what moves them, what inspires them and their dreams. To me, getting to know them is half the fun. Many of my constituents would tell me that I am wasting time. I would say that spending time with the bride is what makes my job enjoyable and insures that there is chemistry between us. I like to make certain that we can work together for what could be a long time.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I love to talk about the pictures that brides bring to me. Sometimes they want to recreate everything and sometimes they want to use one or two elements for the wedding. From the pictures I can usually get a sense of what they like and then begin the process of making a match. So much of my job relies on interpreting the brides ideas into floral arrangements and I am always ready for any challenge.   

I can’t decide if too many pictures or too few makes my job easier but there is usually a common thread. What I like is taking their ideas and creating a unique and individual statement that expresses what dreams they have for their special day.  And, the dreams are always special indeed because no one wants exactly what anyone has already done.

The planning process isn’t that simple and it rarely happens in one meeting although you can get a good start and continue to develop ideas as you go along. So many emotions and circumstances feed into the choices that brides make. Add to this picture the relationship the bride has with the groom, their mom, a budget and now you have an even more complicated situation – get it?

When I was getting married I didn’t put that much effort or energy into these decisions. In fact, recently, I tried to look at my wedding photos to remember what I had chosen at my ceremony and on the tables. I still don’t know what was on the tables because there are no photos to remind me. Life has gotten more complicated to say the least and that is only the beginning.