Tell me why you love weddings

[SpringCity]

So I'm up early to go to the wholesalers and hope I can get some of these stargazers replaced. They are especially unruly, not to mention kinda soft. whose idea was it to make bridesmaid bouquets out of these? Ugh.

I have 2 weddings this weekend and while I am grateful to have the work, it brings home the fact that, shhhh, don't tell anyone, I don't like doing weddings. I have really been thinking about it and it is NOT because of the brides; 99.9% are awesome.

I don't know exactly what my problem is. One thing is, I worry too much and can't eat or sleep properly in the days before the wedding, and it kind of consumes me. I also dread when people say to me "I will send my friends to you" (and they do).

I think part of it is logistics, I don't have the greatest setup right now. Bleh.

Anyway!!!!! For those of you who looooove weddings, please tell me why! I need motivation. I was looking at a Colin Cowie book this morning, it kinda helped to see all that beautiful design.

Thanks for letting me vent. :corky Hope you all have a great day!

 

[Palms]

Robin, reading how you feel about weddings, the nerves etc etc was how i used to feel when i first started. I would lose sleep the night before wondering if everything i had done in the shop had died overnight. I also worried about the shade of the ribbon that i used and panicked that it wasnt right. And, was that bouquet that i had done really reflective of what we had discussed. Geez, i could find things to worry about that no one here has probably even thought of .

From 15 weddings in my first year to a high of 75 last year and roughly 65 this year, i now can do it with my eyes shut. But i do agree that logistics has got a LOT to do with it.

If you dont have the space, the staff, the time to do what you have committed, all of those problems will seem a lot bigger. I learnt this and have adjusted the shop accordingly. I also know now what i can do way in advance and what i cant.

I am also realistic to the brides about what they expect. You know i will say that the brilliant white rose they asked for may be slightly off white. The lillies at the worse extreme may not open but have a back up. I also tell them that if i need to adjust anything at the last minute i will ahead and do it in case of problems. This covers you for just about anything.

The more thank you cards you get, the more referrals for me = the more confidence i have.

Now, funerals - dont go there. Thats when i hate delivering in case they are underwhelmed, none of them have been but i am at a stage where we do not do lots of funerals so my confidence is pretty low with them.

Keep on going, add ons to weddings are great money makers, if i did not have them, simply put, I would not be open.

Hope this waffle helps, ps, i just stopped a brides bouquet to answer this :rofl:

 

[rewolf]

Anyway!!!!! For those of you who looooove weddings, please tell me why!

Robin -
It's a total high for me when I get the Wow! factor and the brides cry when they see their bouquets. That's my goal with every wedding.

And, the bigger the wedding and the more involved it is, the more I love it. :bouncy:

 

[lori042499]

So I'm up early to go to the wholesalers and hope I can get some of these stargazers replaced. They are especially unruly, not to mention kinda soft. whose idea was it to make bridesmaid bouquets out of these? Ugh.

I have 2 weddings this weekend and while I am grateful to have the work, it brings home the fact that, shhhh, don't tell anyone, I don't like doing weddings. I have really been thinking about it and it is NOT because of the brides; 99.9% are awesome.

I don't know exactly what my problem is. One thing is, I worry too much and can't eat or sleep properly in the days before the wedding, and it kind of consumes me. I also dread when people say to me "I will send my friends to you" (and they do).

I think part of it is logistics, I don't have the greatest setup right now. Bleh.

Anyway!!!!! For those of you who looooove weddings, please tell me why! I need motivation. I was looking at a Colin Cowie book this morning, it kinda helped to see all that beautiful design.

Thanks for letting me vent. :corky Hope you all have a great day!

i understand exactly how you feel...

I love weddings because they are one of the most personal and emotion filled events you can do for a person, but this also makes them more stressful and worrisome, for fear that you just didn't get the bride and will ruin her big day...I love the detail and the lushness that goes into the work....

I hate when weddings cut serevely into my weekend off time, my sleep and my sanity...I especially hate dealing with wholesalers for wedding flowers, I am buying more than normal and pay more than normal and most of the time I am unhapy with the quality and say what the heck...this shouldn't be but it happens at all of them, I have tried and experimented...

I would rather do 1500.00 worth of funeral work than the same amount of wedding work because it is the same emotional need, it is 2 days of your life tied up instead of weeks or months...better margins, for me weddings are a love hate relationship just like silk, once I am into it i love it, but getting there is a struggle..

 

[rsef]

I like weddings because I have the time (sometimes too much time) to plan, organize, make lists, etc. I do stress them, but for me it's usually after the delivery--did I do everything as well as I could have? Should I have done this or that just a little bit differently? Did they REALLY like it? etc. etc. etc. The tighter the budget, the worse it is. With a small budget, I still want to make it over the top wonderful, but I also know that I have to make a profit. Balancing the two makes the stress worse.

The set-up of the workspace and shop does matter, too. If you can get that comfortable, it will help.

The thing that helps me go back to sleep is telling myself that I'm the only one who noticed xyz; the bride is focused on other things; and that overall, everything looked great. The rose that, to me looks looks like it only has hours of life left, looks 'lush' and 'perfect' to the customer.

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

Katy, spoken like a true flower/love junkie! And i totally am there.

It's the HIGH of getting the sale - the more challenging the bride, the better the high for me (working on one tough little B right now, who has dumped three vendors in her search for the perfect wedding. //wringing my hands devilishly// I'll tell how we pulled it off if it actually comes to fruition)

the HIGH of helping someone get their shiiiit together, when they didn't even think it ever would happen.

the HIGH of seeing their faces when we talk flowers, and they can see that I "get" the ideas they have, that I can be right there with them, seeing it.

the HIGH of seeing their faces day-of, and seeing it all come together. and we were part of that! How cool is that!

the HIGH of the rush that day to get everything packed labeled wrapped delivered on-time.

the HIGH of the pics we take & showing them off, the oohs & aahs.
It's one big HIGH after another!

***********************
I also had a MOB who is making her own c/p's exclaim to me how she realizes that designing is very much like an engineering project. Count the stems, count the supplies, meter them all out, think about height, width, how it will fit on the table, where the candles will affect the flowers, storage, think about transport & set up, decide how much time it will take to make, transport, assemble ..... it's all one big MATH problem. .....................It was like a lightbulb went off for me, becuase I love logic & MATH things, maybe even more than 'creativity'. Though I recognize that math & equations are also creative.

that's why I love weddings! Join me!

 

[cherrie]

I love weddings too, and funerals.
I love that I have been such an important part of so many different people's special days. That I have brought them joy at a high point of their lives and consoled them at their lowest times.
I love the personal interaction involved with my job.
With weddings, I try hard to listen to the bride and pick up all the little details they have been thinking about. sometimes, they aren't even aware of what they are saying.
With funerals, I try to find out what kind of person the deceased was, if something was really special to them, to incorporate in my interpretation of what their flowers should look like.

I consider understanding and conveying the clients feelings as rewarding as the artistic creation of the flowers.
It's all part of this wonderful job.

As far as being neurotic about the work I am about to deliver.
I always am. I am always afraid that maybe I haven't done it "just right". I constantly ask my crew and any customer who might walk in the shop, how they think it looks. When the results are positive, I don't worry so much. I have been known to take apart something many times until I get it right.

 

[artistry in bloom]

I love weddings too inspite of the stress involved. I like the challenge of making sure the bride has the flowers of her dreams for her special day.Sometimes I might say I hate weddings but really when I get to see the look on the bride's face when she sees her bouquet it's worth it. I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic.I usually listen to romantic songs while I'm doing the bride's bouquet.
This wedding bouquet was one for the records. The couple called me at the ferry terminal in Vancouver which is a 90 minute ferry ride away and wanted to pick up the bouquet on their way up island. This was in July and just before noon Friday which is the time the wholesaler's close on Friday and don't open again until Monday.Her dream bouquet was white and red and I only had a few white flowers and nothing red. The wholesaler said they had one bunch of white roses and a small red kalanchoe plant so I had it couriered out which took almost 40 minutes. I worked on the handle while I waited for the flowers. Then when the flowers arrived most of the roses were crap even though the wholesaler had promised they were beautiful.I called around to other florists and grocery stores and finally found the last bunch of white roses at a grocery store nearby and ran down there to discover only half of them were good.Anyway I managed to get it done with using a bit of my own red geranium and even had time to take a quick picture before they arrived.
What a rush but they loved the bouquet and drove off happily with it not knowing the drama that had gone on while they enjoyed their scenic ferry ride through the islands.
Dianne

 

[rsef]

Here's why I love weddings: Last week I did a large wedding on-site. One employee said she'd worked 87 hrs in 7 days. I haven't had enough down time to figure out my hours, but it was more than hers. Wedding was Sunday and everything was flawless! That's part one. Part 2 begins on Tuesday (day 2 of tear-down). I receive a call from a woman asking if I was working with a local planner on a wedding this weekend (Sept. 12). I wasn't but I could tell she was super stressed, so I started talking & trying to find out what was up. The planner had a seizure on Monday & died. The woman on the phone was the MOB. She was understanably stressed; almost in tears. I'd quoted the wedding earlier this year, but never met the bride or her mother. I didn't get the contract because of price. Anyway, the planner was an 'all in the head' type of organizer & nobody really knew what was going on with any of the vendors, plans, etc. The ones closest to the planner and his business, were family members--not the most focused right now. AND he was working on 2 weddings for this weekend. I gave the MOB some other florists' names and told her that if she couldn't locate the florist, to call me and I'd help out. (This planner is known for doing stuff himself, so I figured there was a good chance he hadn't hired anyone.)

Next day (Wednesday): receive a call from MOB who wants to set up a consultation. Then receive a call back within the hour saying they'd figured out that Sam's club was doing the flowers and didn't need to meet after all.

Next day (Thursday): receive a call from planner's friends asking me to meet with them. Couldn't meet until after 6:30pm (well after all suppliers were closed). Met with them, found out what notes had been found; found out budget (tiny). Made suggestions and told them that realistically, there was no way we were getting 200 orange gerbera's tomorrow, even if the budget allowed for it (it didn't). Had a conference call with bride, MOB and planner's friends. Within 2 hours we'd set a game plan, reassured the bride & MOB we could handle it; found out what was most important to bride; found out a firm budget; and made plans to meet with bride and MOB Friday morning to get paid.

Friday (today): ordered flowers at 7:30--only 20 orange/yellow-orange gerberas available, no orange roses available, did get some beautiful orange zenias and some really cool 'coffee break' roses. Met with MOB and bride at 9:30; reviewed game plan; told them what flowers I'd been able to find and offered to donate additional flowers left over from last weekend (still pretty, but not really sellable; colors were right). MOB hugged me, bride almost cried. Got paid. Spent the next 9 hrs completing the OTHER wedding we had scheduled AND this one.

Tomorrow we see if I did good.

 

[Mocha Rose]

My business is probably 80-90% wedding work. I have a love hate relationship with them, but in the end it is mostly love. This is because my business is dedicated to events which makes it easier. We are on a schedule: flowers start coming in on Tues, Mon/ Wed is paperwork and meetings, design on Thurs/ Fri, set up Sat, tear down Sun...then start all over again- 7 days a week.

What keeps me going:

We have an off season (winter). All of my friends and family know that during those three months out of the year, I will make it up to them and I get 3 whole months of "me and them" time. It is my light at the end of the tunnel that makes the looooong good weather months bearable.

I love nothing more than seeing a bride's face as she sees her bouquet.

Lately, I've also made it a rule that for larger events, I also schedule a room reveal with the bride. Before any guests enter the room, the bride and groom get to see the whole room with the candles lit and without anyone in the way. I HAVE to personally be there for this. There is nothing more rewarding than to see a bride so excited that she is running around the room, jumping up and down and crying/ hugging me. I also can rest soundly because I know that the client really was happy. In the past, I'd just set up and go and would always be left wondering- did they really like it??? I have actually cried myself a few times during room reveals because it is so rewarding. After all, I did just spend over a year with this client. Relationships are formed.

I love that I have brides that are constantly challenging me. It keeps me on my toes. Last week, I had to track down a local blackberry farm and went out and picked berries for the bridesmaids bouquets (in high heels).

I love that every single week/ wedding is different. I would get so bored making the same arrangements over and over again.

I love being there to adjust the bride's train as she walks down the aisle to send her off. (Something my grandmother always did and I'm forever grateful that she encouraged me to start my business with the firm policy that we will always be full service when it comes to weddings.)

I love thank you cards. Emails. Great reviews. Brides that email me a year after the wedding to give me an update of their lives. Running into them as they are bridesmaids in a wedding they referred to me. Seeing their children.

I love the romanticism of weddings. I love watching the family dynamics...and sometimes the drama.

I love when a father of a bride introduces himself to me and thanks me for taking extra special care of his daughter.

I love posting pics in the Wedding Pictures thread and getting feedback from other top industry professionals.

Oh and I love more than anything when a bride gives me freedom to order whatever flowers I like. I hit up the dutch markets and it's like Christmas when I open up those flower boxes! You bet I'm going to order gloriosa, peonies, nerines, heleborus and any flower I have never seen on a supplier list before.

Wow, that was long! I'm sure I'll think of more too. (Btw, I could also start a list of why I hate weddings, but in the end the list would be half the size of this one.)

 

[Johan]

Sorry Robin, I feel like you. For me it isn't stress its that they take me away from every other aspect of my business and or normally a logistical nightmare. I can't really stand any part of the process. From the first meeting to the final handing over of the bouquets and the crying, hugging brides. I have done hundreds of weddings over the years and to me they don't get any easier. Infact I think they are getting harder. Expectationsare much higher than they used to be and budgets much smaller in comparision. We are down on weddings this year by quite a large percentage so far and when they come in they are really last minute. (Talking to quite afew others around here it seem to be the same for so many florists). But next year looks like its going to be a big one for weddings. Oh well, I'll get over it.
I love funerals though. I whole process is just much more important to me. It's the last thing many people do for a loved one that is a real show of they sentiments for the deceased. They are also much more profitable aswell.

 

[Palms]

First of all regarding funerals and my thoughts on them, not that i particularly dont like doing funerals but if i was a funeral only shop if you know what i mean, then i dont think my emotions could take it. The few funerals that i do entail people crying at my counter, i totally feel for them which is why i want to cry with them but i could not take it day in day out.

Secondly, i make a tremendous amount of money on weddings which i am sure people do on funerals too. I would not presume to say that i make more money on weddings than others do on funerals.

Each business model is different and i do take exception that others claim to make more money than i on their business model. It can read as a little braggy, if not presumtious and a little defensive.



Sorry but thats mho xx

 

[TGDragonfly]

Aside from all the flower stuff for weddings, I think the part I love the best is that I get to know the family on a personal level. I have met some wonderful family dynamics over the years and just adore the passion people have for the wedding. It is truly an honor to be a florist, because what we do is personal, like icing, well suited for all tastes.

What I get to see and become if I remain passionate, personal, sensitive, and open to, is the sparkle of the daughter in the fathers eye, something beyond cost. The grandeur of the perfect vision of a perfect day, a gift from Mother to Daughter. These are the things that I love the best. I think maybe this is why I we seem to attract larger budgets from clients referred by former clients.

Some of our closest friends are former clients, or their parents.

 

[SpringCity]

You guys all make great arguments for weddings. It helped me think positive. The people aspect of it can be great.

Like I said I think it was more logistics; I have a tiny space so I do a lot of the work at my wholesaler which is GREAT. But then I have a storage space where I had to go get large vases and stuff and then some of the smaller items were at home... I felt like I was all over the place (literally).

Then I had help but maybe I should have had more help. I was not as proactive or organized as I usually am and I really paid the price! There was a ton of stuff I could have done ahead of time, and I knew better. Lesson (re)learned.

They turned out fine and swell btw. I am really confident of the rose one, the stargazer one less so, just because it was not a look I liked to start out with and, I did not see the bride (it was picked up). Makes me nervous; I like to see the bride and make sure she's happy.

So anyway thanks!

I have twittered some pics and put the rose bridal bouq on fb. I hope to get some pro pics, I know both the families.

 

[villageflowerlady]

Tell me why you love weddings ....

Because I am a junkie.... I hear about a wedding and I dream about that wedding...can"t help it. I have found over the years that weddings are less stressful when the bride(and her Mother) have complete confidence in you. Use your knowledge of product, technique, and color sense to gain complete trust... The internet gives a bride almost too many options. pictures don't come with a date that these specific flowers will be at the peak to give the exact look of the photo. use your knowledge to give them a realistic view of flowers. You know that in september you can get lilacs if she is willing to pay. you also know that they will look like crap and you won't be happy so you will add more to the bouquet to meet your standards and you lose money. With trust you can have a plan but if there is something better you have the option to go with it. Be firm on the size and color scheme but specific blooms can cause trouble. there is always the exception where there is no substitute but a bit of flexiblity will make for much happier brides. A priest once told me, "these people will wake up married in the morning even if nothing goes right. decorations, family and friends are just the large icing rose on the cake" 95% of the time the bride doesn't notice that the white roses are not quite as white as the ones you showed them but they would notice if they were brown and gross. I end my consults and letters to brides with the statement... trust me to make it beautiful. it's my job!
boy, guess I really am a babbling wedding junkie good thing I get my fix in 2 weeks

 

[SpringCity]

PS the stargazer bride just called and she LOOOOVED her flowers. I need to stop being so neurotic, I did a great job! lol

 

[makescents]

Robin - You know I love the weddings...

I love that look on the brides face... you know the one! I had a bride just last night.. (yes a Sunday wedding) That cried when I handed her bouquet to her - - She said "I think I am the happiest bride ever! You did such a wonderful job!"

That is what I love - I also like to take a step back, look at my work and be proud of it! (I too like to WOW myself... )

I pray over the flowers - I pray about the flowers - I pray and praise God with Chris Tomlin and Mercy Me and other upbeat Praise songs - Thanking Him for my talent... and helping me place the flowers just where they need to be so that my BRIDE is so happy she cries... I think this has A LOT to do with why I don't worry -

Don't WORRY! Be happy in what your doing! You know your work is great! And the brides trust you! TRUST in yourself and believe in your TALENT GIRL!

Mocha ROSE! I love the "room reveal idea" Gonna start doing that!