Watching the Wired YouTube videos of celebrities answering the web’s most searched questions is cheap entertainment at its best! While I am the farthest thing from a celebrity, I thought it would be fun to put a florist’s spin on it. Please enjoy the following Array Design’s Most Searched Wedding Floral Questions Answered (and you don’t even have to watch a thirty second ad first!).

-When should you book a florist for your wedding?

As soon as you have a date and venue, you can start looking for a florist that can help bring your wedding day design ideas to life. It is useful to have the specific venue chosen before chatting with your florist. The designs you decide on with your florist will be very specific to the space you and your guests will experience.

-When should I order flowers for my wedding?

You don’t have to worry about this detail. Once you book your florist, they’ll get to work on the specifics of planning for your big day. That is why you are hiring a professional! Once you finalize the list of elements you’ll need from them for your wedding, they’ll take care of the ordering process.

-What wedding flowers do I need?

There are no requirements for what you have as wedding flowers. It is standard practice to have a bridal bouquet and some floral element for your bridesmaids. This could be a bouquet, a floral hoop, or another unique floral element to wear or hold. Boutonnieres are common for the groom, groomsmen, dads, grandpas, and important male attendees. Corsages or posy bouquets are common for mothers, grandmothers, and other important female attendees you may choose to include.

Outside of the bridal party, some other arrangements to consider are ceremony decor and reception floral. Do you picture any accents for your aisle on each row, at the back of the rows or flower girls petals? Some brides choose a ceremony arch with a floral installation.

For the reception, some couples choose a welcome sign with floral garland. Guest tables can have centerpieces and a possible a sweet heart or head table can feature specific arrangements. Cake flowers, toss bouquets, cocktail hour arrangements and ceiling installations are also sometimes considered.

This is not a complete list of the wedding floral options you have. You just have to remember, it is your wedding and you have to make it unique to you!

-How many stems do you need for a bridal bouquet?

I don’t work on stem count for bridal bouquets. I work on ideal size of bouquet such as a petite and dainty bouquet for a romantic event, or an oversized wild bouquet for a boho celebration. If there is an ideal flower that the bride has, then I’ll do my best to try to include it. Since flowers are part of nature, not every stem is fresh year round. Sometimes a specific crop is not at its prime come your wedding day, too. I want the arrangements I make for my clients to look amazing, and therefore order flowers that will look the best for the big day.

-Who gets boutonnieres and corsages at a wedding? / Do the mothers need corsages at a wedding?

It’s your wedding, you can make whatever choice you’d like! You can choose to include all of the important moms and dads in your life with corsages or boutonnieres. But if you aren’t feeling that style, make your design choices personal to you and your family.

-What do wedding flowers symbolize?

The way I see it, flowers should reflect you two and your love story. Do you want the flowers to reflect Arizona and the lovely scenery here? Maybe have the color palette highlight the Arizona sunset with peach, pink, and maybe a touch of gold. I love dreaming up beautiful designs with couples. If I am told of an inspiration, such as the Arizona sunset, I will show you how we can have each person in attendance experience just that through your floral designs.

-What is the average cost of flowers for a wedding?

The general industry standard is 8% to 10% of a total wedding budget is set aside for floral design. But remember, this is your wedding, so don’t get caught up in following a percent instead of what your floral design wishes are.

When you hire a florist, you have to remember it is more than just the cost of flowers you are paying for. It includes all of the aspects of the project from hard-goods like vases, to the fabric tied around the bouquets that match your color palette. Design, planning, ordering, processing flowers, styling, delivery, installation and maybe pick-up are the big picture steps in the process a florist takes. The more elements and floral you have, the higher the price will be not only for the extra stems, but the steps to present them as you dream at your wedding.

If you have a question you want answered, comment below! If you want more information about Array Design’s services, connect with us here.

Photography | Chelsea Baldwin Photography