Sunday, October 31, 2010

Figuring the Flowers

Oy…flowers.  The one downside of planning a wedding in a different city is trying to figure out where to go for flowers.  There are so many florists in Vancouver that it is so daunting to try and narrow things down.  I really wanted to set up consultations while we were in Vancouver in the fall so I tried two plans of attack for finding a florist.wil-W090815_023

Image by Next Exit Photography/Amber Events/via Style Me Pretty

Posting a question on online forums:

A few different florists were recommended to me via a query I posed on a few Vancouver specific online wedding forums.  I then scoped out their websites, however the florist with the most number of glowing reviews didn’t have much of a website to speak of.  No portfolio online at all.  I did e-mail her to ask about setting up a consultation but then I didn’t hear back.  Finally two weeks later I got a bounce back e-mail from her Blackberry saying that the message hadn’t been delivered.  Given the lack of pictures and the difficulty in getting a hold of her I didn’t attempt to contact her again about a consultation.

The Google Map:

Yup, I plotted up different florists in Vancouver on a Google Map and then started scoping out their websites.  I nixed anyone who mostly had standard Teleflora bouquets and arrangements posted on their site as I was looking for something a little different.  I then contacted two different florists.  One asked me right away what my budget was and could I please send him my inspiration photos so he could be prepared for the consultation.  Two days later he e-mailed me back a full quote on bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, arrangements for the church (?), and more things that I hadn’t actually asked for.  Then he told me that if I paid in cash he’d save me money and not charge me tax.  Sounded pretty sketchy to me so I declined to meet with him in person.10450.purple-bouqet-flowers-atlanta-bouquet-.jpg.resize

Image by East Main Photography via weddingbee

Despite these two not so great experiences I did wind up having two really great consultations though, so stay tuned for the results of that!

Did you have any interesting experiences while trying to arrange consultations with vendors?

1 comment:

Nicole @ Haute Runner said...

That does sound a little sketchy!!

Luckily for me my best friend's mom is a florist so it was as easy decision. I still had a hard time deciding on what I wanted though! I was very impressed with the end result.

I don't recall any horrible vendor experiences other than a not-so-nice seamstress for my dress. Worked out in the end though!