Top Secrets of a Wedding Florist

My florist profession started when I was 19 years old. I became a florist shop owner in my small home town. I loved the creativity of working with flowers. One of my favorite things was making the floral pieces for a wedding. It was also nerve wracking as I wanted everything to be perfect.

I went whenever possible to hand-pick the flowers for any wedding that I was hired to do. It was important to make sure the bunches were fresh and the blossoms were as flawless as possible. When ordering and purchasing wholesale flowers such as roses and carnations I learned that they must be ordered in bunches of 25. I had to calculate how many bunches of flowers and greenery I would need, along with supplies.

It was a common thing for me to work all night long leading into the day of the wedding to maintain the freshest flowers possible. I started the habit with my very first wedding job. I put finishing touches on the hand-held bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres with just enough time to spare to dress for the wedding and head out for the delivery. My family were guests at the wedding so after I visited with the bride and showed her how to carry her white rose and blue tinted carnation bouquet I went downstairs to the church entry. An usher took my arm and began to lead me to a pew. He suddenly stepped away and just left me standing without direction as to where to sit which was odd. I sat with my family and the wedding proceeded. Later I went outside to ride with my family to the reception site. I looked down at my feet and saw for the first time that I was wearing one of my work shoes that I'd worn all night and a shiny dress shoe.

Over the years I have had some interesting characters involved with the wedding projects I have done. One heart touching moment was when my elderly first grade teacher stopped in to see her granddaughter's wedding flowers that were set all across my counter. She stood with tears in her eyes as she took in the sight.

On another occasion, a family friend and her daughter came one afternoon to order flowers for the girl's upcoming wedding. The future mother-in-law joined the duo, a new experience for me. The bride and her mom were discussing carnations and complimentary flowers in shades of pink and yellow while the mother-in-law to-be was demanding a red rose corsage. She had ordered a purple dress and she knew the red roses would be perfect. This was a situation where I was losing control to be sure. We got through a good hour and a half of discussion with the other mother insinuating herself into the lead purchasing position and the three of us just getting through it all while I wrote up the instructions. When the three left I was quite upset for the bride. A short time later the mother and daughter came back and walked in. The mother smiled at me and said, "Now, we are going to order the wedding flowers." The mother in law still got her red roses to clash with the purple dress.

I've had the opportunity to make some incredible pieces for many brides. I was even challenged by my sister to hand make her unique wedding bouquet. She got sick of fresh and silk flowers as she had seen them in a way most children don't get to since the age of 8. I designed hand-made satin roses and hand painted lilies for her wedding. The life of a wedding florist is an interesting one with many challenges.