Do you pimp out your handles???

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shannonlovesflowers

shannonlovesflowers

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Oct 16, 2007
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I love doing bridal bouquets... LOVE IT!

And a few years ago, The most thought I gave to the back of the handle was a simple bow (cheesey!) at best.

Now, if the back or handle of a bridal bouquet isn't "finished" the whole bouquet (to me) looks cheap and not complete. To see white plastic...Oh the horror!

So my question is this (and yes I did a search):

Do you "finish" the back?

Do you charge separately for the back? Or is it just included in the total price?

Do you try to up sell with the handle treatment?

I would love to hear all handle treatment comments.

I'm not looking for advice on how to do it, I already do it. The purpose is to provoke thought and get some feed back.

Am I wrong for thinking if the back isn't finished the whole thing isn't finished??

OH, And how elaborate do you get or have gotten????
 
I agree, it's not finished if you can see the white plastic, though I recently helped someone who told me I didn't need to "waste time doing that" because no one sees the back anyway. (I disagree but when you're not the boss that's how it goes I guess)
I don't pimp them out but I do cover w/greenery. I may have to reconsider that and try something more interesting
 
Studioflora,

Oh yes, people see the back! Whoever told you that obviously never went to a wedding...

When the bride walks down the aisle, She walks past everybody! First they see the front then the back!

Why do you think there is so much detail on the back of a wedding dress.

When that bouquet gets handed off to the MOH, the back of the bouquet is shown!!

I just can't stand that "Good enough" mentality!
 
I'm with ya.
Well I looked at her like :confused: and she said she has never had a problem or complaint from anyone about it... but yeah, crazy.
 
finish

Most of my bouquets are hand tied - and if I use a holder, it is one of the metal finished ones - no white plastic!

And I always upsell the bride. I buy a great double face satin in a broad range of colors that I use a the bridemaid standard - usually ivory or the dress color of the bride. If I truss the handle (with the criss cross) in a narrow satin I charge an additional $15 ea.

For the bride - I take a cue from the dress - beaded, sparkle, lace, and encourage an upsell - my min for bride's fabulous handle is $25. If they want something really specific, I have them bring it to me - a broach or family piece - sometimes a hanky (yuk).

And here in new orleans we are way catholic, so the rosary to add in is pretty common.
 

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95% of my bouquets are hand tied, no holders. I go crazy with bouquet wraps though. A french twist (real satin ribbon with a second ribbon twisted up secured with pearl pins) is included in the price of every bouquet that I do (including bridesmaids). Most of my brides go for something more intricate and I love to be challanged. I have a collection of antique pieces, buttons, ribbons, lace, etc to add.
 
studioflora said:
I agree, it's not finished if you can see the white plastic, though I recently helped someone who told me I didn't need to "waste time doing that" because no one sees the back anyway. (I disagree but when you're not the boss that's how it goes I guess)
I don't pimp them out but I do cover w/greenery. I may have to reconsider that and try something more interesting
Click to expand...

I have a florist friend who thinks the handle does not need to be finished also. To me, this is what the bride, the star of the show, gets to hold close to her. It should be special for her. I love doing a special wrap for my handles and they are photo worthy. I include it in the price. Shannon, would love to hear what you do to the plastic handle to dress it up. Most of our bouquets are hand ties.
 
Since I stared this thread I can hijack it all I want.....:)

So do you all ever do a hand tied cascades, and I don't mean just greens hanging down, I mean a CASCADE. I love Cascades!!!

I gotta get ready for work!!! I'll come back later!!
 
If I'm using a white plastic holder I will use galax leaves and pin them to the back of the holder. I think this looks nicer than gluing them. I sometimes will even wrap the plastic handle with satin ribbon. if you put stickum on the handle then wrap with satin ribbon then you can even use pins to accent it.
 
Hi Shannon,

If I use a holder, I always cover the back. I was taught by a wonderful woman, Lois Tresham many years ago to make everything beautiful. At the time I did not appreciate her coming up behind me and reminding me "your slip is showing" her code for "cover your mechanics". Today, I look back and laugh each time I see a design with the "slip showing". Now, I am showing my age - does anyone wear a slip anymore?

We prepared a short video of bouquet backing options - enjoy!

http://floraldesigninstitute.com/movie0025.htm

Leanne
 
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plastic bouquet holders- prettied up

I do not like to see the back plastic and hate the feel of them, so here is what i do to make them pretty on the back and finished to go with the awsome flowers on the front. Lomey has two products I use, 1. a comfort touch handle (.65 wholesale) to make it more comfortable to carry. 2. I then cover it with a white satin sleeve, also by Lomey ($4.25 each wholesale) I secure the cover with glue to the top of the holder by the oasis. I was using a hot glue gun and my husbands help, however this weekend I couldn't find the glue gun (another issue) and used cold glue. Worked perfectly. I then finish with leaves or greens to hide the edges. Walla!!! a beautiful holder fit for a bride. I add these both into the cost of the bouquet. I believe that everything I do, needs to be finished. I guess that is the persnickity seamstress coming out in me.
 
I have worked with many shops that did not cover the backs with anything, most of them got cheap a$$ weddings and weren't really into doing them. The busiest wedding shop I ever worked in did the backs....


For me it depends on what the bride wants and for how much, the first price the bride gets is a wedding custom tailored to her colors, styles, etc..if she needs to pare back the price it depends on how much she needs to pare it back....I start paring back at the church, then extra doodads and arrangements at the hall, if we still need paring we take the accessories out of the bouquets and then any addons and then finally flower selection....usually the paring ends just short of finishing the backs..I hate that part of the wedding process...it seems they all come in with champagne dreams and gingerale budgets not even beer...
 
For my hand tied bouquets,
I go to Joann's Fabrics or Hobby Lobby and find a trim that matches the dress - sequined, pearls, brocade, etc. I wrap the handle in bridal satin, then finish it off with a wrapping of the trim.
A very inexpensive way to make the bouquet unique for the bride.
It's included in my price. I start bridal bouquets at $150 - usually get between $200 - $250- for regular stuff - roses, hygrangea, etc.

I do cascading hand tieds by including trailing ivy, then glueing blooms unto it.
 
I made one for the Bridal show I did in January. I used curly willow, roses,
french tulips. I hope you can see it, photography is not my strong point, so I guess I will stick with flowers.
 

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We're all hand tied here...but I do love to add little surprizes with the wrapping. I often ask brides if they have "Grandma's brooch", family roasry etc. or anything sentimental like that to add to the bouquet. It is the best selling tool when Mom is with...it gets them every time. As for the wraping, I love double face satin ribbon and a little sheer organza over it.

Regardless, it's the finishing touches that make the design. It would be like leaving the house without earrings...and who would do that (or glitter for you Shannon:tongue)?!?!
 
I've posted this before but, here's a fun little slide show of some bouquets that I did for a bridal show in the spring including a pretty cool glittered "hybrid" cascade. I'd just post photos but, with a computer crash this is the only form I've got.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=L5Q9_-nPqzI
 
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