When it comes to wedding flowers, it always seems like all the floral options are the perfect option for your dream wedding. So where do you even start? How do you begin to narrow down which flowers will look best with your wedding aesthetic, color palette, and Pinterest board?? It all seems to get pretty overwhelming, I know. Weddings in general are overwhelming to most, but like always, we're here to help. I turned to real florists for help, knowing that no one would be able to help you better than them! Special thanks to Dawn Singleton at Appleblossom Flowers, Chuck and Nicole at Fleur de Lis Fresh Flowers, and Nathalie and Tony at Chez Bloom for being the perfect resources for us ladies who do have a ring on it! In this guide, you'll find everything you need to know about wedding flowers according to real florists! Plus, this guide is full of tons of wedding flower inspiration just for you! 

Everything You Need to Know about Choosing Your Wedding Flowers

There are so many questions that come up when choosing your wedding flowers. Not only do you want your wedding flowers to look beautiful, but you also you want to avoid any hassles the week of your wedding! We want to help you avoid becoming a bridezilla the week of your wedding as much as you do, so we asked several real florists everything you need to know about choosing your florist, wedding flowers, and everything in between! 

Appleblossom Flowers & Marit Williams Photography

Question 1: When are the best times to order your wedding flowers?

If you live in a colder state (like good ole' Minnesota), the local growing season is pretty short. This makes it difficult to find local blooms that you can buy at places like your nearby farmer's market. Even if you live in a warmer state (hello, California), florists still have to import flowers from all over the United States and even the world! If you choose a good florist--more on that later--they will only import their flowers from trusted locations that will guarantee quality flowers like California, Mexico, and Holland! Importing flowers enables florists to promise their customers that most flowers will be available all year long! If you're planning a spring/summer/or even fall wedding in a colder state, it's always a great idea to ask your local florist which flowers are in season as those flowers will be cheaper. Ask your florist for suggestions! It's never a bad idea to mix local flowers with imported flowers to get your perfect look! And it saves you money! 

According to our board of florists, the best time to order flowers with your florist is 9 months to 1 year before your event, regardless of what types of flowers you are ordering! 

Question 2: What are some tips you can offer to couples on selecting the best florist for their wedding?

Choosing a florist can be difficult. As I said earlier, you want to avoid hassles at all costs, and choosing the wrong florist can most certainly cause hassles! I asked Dawn the best way to find a reliable, quality florist, and she had a great answer to this important question: "The best way to select a florist is to look at reviews, ask for a referral, and look through a florist's floral portfolios." 

Chez Bloom

Chuck and Nicole had some great advice on finding the perfect florist: "You want to make sure your florist understands your style even more than your colors. A lot of small decisions have to be made and sometimes substitutions as well. A florist who understands the entire vision of your wedding will be better suited to make such decisions." Chuck and Nicole suggest that you ask your florist to come up with some "inspirational imagery" for your venue. You'll be able to tell if you and your florist are on the same creative wavelength by asking this! The best thing you need to do when finding a florist is to find someone whose look suits you. 

Red Flags

One red flag that Dawn says to watch out for is price. "If a florist is the cheapest in town, they will most likely cut corners in quality, sizes, and/or service. A great florist will listen to your ideas, convey back to you what you are looking for, and guide you to stunning results." 

Nathalie and Tony warn that florists who view their work as a hobby, not a passion, are likely to disappoint. They also warn couples to watch out for hidden fees! Florists should be transparent from the beginning as well as provide several pricing options to choose from. 

Question 3: What's the best way to communicate your vision to your florist?

Sometimes it can be difficult describing exactly what you're looking for to your florist. There are so many different wedding flower combinations and styles that misunderstandings can easily occur. That is something you most definitely want to avoid! I can only imagine how stressful it would be to discover that the wedding flowers your florist ordered aren't at all what you were looking for!

Dawn's solution?

"Look through floral designs on Pinterest, magazines, and websites to see what catches your eye and which styles you are loving. Bring all of those examples to your florist and trust that their experience and expertise will fulfill your vision." Now that you know how to find the best florist, you can trust that your florist will know what to do! Be thorough, but avoid micromanaging! Florists with experience are experts in the floral industry and will know exactly what you're looking for if you supply the right examples. 

Fleur de Lis Fresh Flowers

Nathalie and Tony recommend that you tell your florist where your ceremony and reception will take place when ordering so that they will be able to envision what they can do with the space. Ask for inspirational photos from your florist as well to see if they've done something that you're looking for in the past!

Question 4: What kind of wedding flowers are best for a classic wedding? 

Classic weddings exude elegance and sophistication. According to our board of florists, if you're looking for elegance and sophistication, look no further than roses, hydrangeas, peonies, ranunculus, and tulips. Chuck and Nicole recommend soft-textured florals with lots of layers if you're looking for that classic look. Nathalie and Tony emphasize that you should consider large blooms with greenery as an accent. and height is always welcome with the classic look! These flowers are easy to incorporate in beautiful wedding centerpieces, and who doesn't love those classic rose bouquets? These types of flowers are perfect for classic weddings that will take place in ballrooms, country clubs, and industrial-styled venues. 

Fleur de Lis Fresh Flowers

Appleblossom Flowers & Cassidy Kottke Photography

Question 5: What kind of wedding flowers are best for a boho-style wedding?

The boho wedding is a trend that has taken the wedding industry by storm. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't eating up this trend, too! I mean, who doesn't love a good flower crown wedding? Boho wedding flowers can be as wild as you want them to be, but which flowers are best for these types of weddings? 

Fox and Fern Photography & Fleur de Lis Fresh Flowers

The answer is wildflower-styled flowers and greenery that have texture to them! Boho-styled bouquets should be "loose and organic with cascading greens" according to Dawn while Chuck and Nicole recommend eucalyptus, cuscus, grasses, and ferns. Pops of color are more than welcome, and Chuck and Nicole suggest local flowers to create the best boho-styled look for your wedding. Nathalie and Tony recommend creating hand-tied bouquets, the bigger the better! They recommend that you use local blooms for this look, ultimately saving you money! 

Appleblossom Flowers & Karen Feder Photography

Question 6: What kind of wedding flowers are best for an industrial wedding?

Industrial weddings are a very recent and upcoming trend taking on the wedding industry. The look is industrial-chic, and we are eating it up! Venues with steal beams decorating the ceiling, exposed brick walls, and beautiful hardwood floors are perfect for industrial weddings! These types of venues are often converted factories, train stations, wheat mills, and more! Nathalie and Tony from Chez bloom recommend using dark, glossy, tropical foliage to create that elegant and sophisticated look you're going for. Garland is also recommended and is an inexpensive way to decorate your wedding! 

Fleur de Lis Fresh Flowers

Chez Bloom

Chuck and Nicole from Fleur de Lis Fresh Flowers recommend using vine-y greenery to contrast with the strong lines of the venue. Use flowers like anthurium, monstera leaves, double tulips, and frittalaria to contrast your venue with organic, romantic movement! 

Question 7: How do you best coordinate your flowers with your wedding palette?

Choosing your wedding palette can be a daunting task. Once you get that figured out, you have to find wedding flowers to coordinate! We recommend picking 2-3 primary colors and 2-3 complementary colors to help add the perfect amount of variety to your wedding palette. Coordinating all of those colors can seem like a daunting task, but we've got plenty of resources to help you find your perfect wedding palette! 

Dawn suggests that you choose your wedding flowers based on the shades and tones of your wedding palette. Make sure you know exactly which shades and tones you want your palette to be so that your wedding flowers won't clash! It's always a good idea to give your florist a physical copy of your exact wedding palette to help him/her select the best flowers to complement. Use color swatches, various fabrics, or even paper paint samples to nab your wedding palette and give your florist the best idea of what you're looking for.  

Chez Bloom

Chuck and Nicole recommend that you view the colors of your wedding as a story. "Colors blend and reflect off one another. Some are supportive while others are stars of the show. These variations will allow the colors of your wedding to develop beyond color into mood, style, and atmosphere." What a romantic way to explain it! It is important not to be too perfectionist-y about the colors of your flowers for your wedding. If you find a great florist, they will know which hues and variations will complement your overall wedding aesthetic best. 

Question 8: Is there any general advice you can offer couples that are getting married on choosing their wedding flowers?

Chuck and Nicole advise each couple not to get hung up on very specific flowers. Why? Because if you trust your florist, you should allow them some creative freedom! "The more restrictive you are, the most likely you are to be disappointed. A great florist will take your inspiration and make your wedding the Pinterest picture that others want to copy." Great advice! 

Nathalie and Tony from Chez Bloom recommend that you're not too firm on the specific flowers that are debuted on your big day! Rest assured, there are tons of options for any budget! Chez Bloom makes an effort to create the aesthetic that you're looking for, no matter the budget! 

Fleur de Lis Fresh Flowers

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Choosing wedding flowers can be an overwhelming task, but it doesn't have to be! Insider tips and tricks from a real florist definitely help, and you know every bride needs as much as help as she can get! 

What type of flowers do you want in your dream wedding? Any good florist recommendations for us engaged ladies?