Are you thinking about going the DIY route for your florals? Well, I urge you to think twice before making this decision. Not because I’m delusional and think that no one can do what I do, but rather to offer you advice from an experienced professional on the true scope of what it takes to create beautiful florals. Here are some things to consider when thinking about doing it yourself.
Timing & Space:
Flowers are perishable which means that you will be working on arranging them the day before and even the day of your wedding. You can't buy them weeks in advance and have them saved for the big day like you can with a lot of other DIY projects. They also take up alot of space when processing (taking out of wrapping, stripping the foliage and thornes, fresh buckets of water, ect.) and need a temperature controlled area. They are like goldie locks in that they can’t get too hot or cold or they will die.
Design and technique:
When designing flowers, it gets really messy. Forget about the fresh manicure as it will get destroyed in the process of cleaning and arranging stems. There are also a lot of techniques used for different types of arrangements and installments which require different tools. Specific flowers also require different handling techniques and tools in order to get them to behave the way you want in your arrangement. It’s truly an art form and also requires some mechanical techniques.
Delivery mishaps:
Most likely you are going to be arranging your flowers off site, which means you will need a way to transport them to the venue safely. Vases easily tip over, break, water goes everywhere, flowers get damaged, and then you are left with figuring out how to salvage it all the morning of your wedding. Sounds like fun right? Packing arrangements for delivery is a HUGE part of the DIY floral factor.
Clean up:
The night has come to an end and it is not time to ride off into the sunset. But wait, what about the clean up? Who is going to take care of all the flowers scattered amongst the venue? Is it you, your parents or in-laws, or the wedding party? The last thing you want to worry about is who is responsible for this right? This is a service that most florists will offer so that you can leave with a piece of mind knowing it’s taken care of!