EPISODE 5: Floral FIASCO

Floral Fixation – Everything You Need to Know About Wedding Flowers

Flowers are one of the most photographed and emotionally impactful elements of a wedding day—but they're also one of the most misunderstood investments. In this episode of Coffee with Cose Bella, we're sitting down with an experienced wedding florist to pull back the curtain on what really goes into designing wedding florals.

We'll discuss why wedding flowers cost what they do, the difference between everyday floral arrangements and large-scale event floral design, and what couples are actually paying for when they hire a professional florist. From sourcing premium blooms and managing seasonal availability to installation, transportation, labor, and contingency planning, you'll gain a new appreciation for the artistry and logistics behind every bouquet and centerpiece.

We'll also cover:

• How to choose a florist who is the right fit for your vision and budget.
• The importance of hiring trusted, experienced wedding professionals.
• Common floral mistakes couples make during the planning process.
• What can go wrong when working with inexperienced vendors or unrealistic budgets.
• Where to prioritize your floral investment for the biggest visual impact.
• Ways to maximize your budget without sacrificing style.
• Current floral trends, timeless designs, and what will never go out of style.
• Behind-the-scenes stories from real weddings—including floral wins, last-minute challenges, and how professionals solve problems before couples ever know they happened.
• How planners and florists work together to create a seamless wedding day.

Whether you're a fellow wedding professional looking to better understand the floral process or a couple beginning your wedding planning journey, this episode is packed with practical advice, industry insight, and honest conversations that will help you make informed decisions.

Grab your coffee and join us for Floral Fixation—an educational conversation all about the beauty, business, and behind-the-scenes reality of wedding flowers.

Grab your coffee, because we're spilling the tea...

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Today we're pulling back the curtain on wedding florals, what they really cost and what goes into them. And yes, chaos no one sees sometimes. And today I have Danielle from Floral Fixations. Thank you so much for coming.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Um, so I always love to start these with getting to know you a little bit. So anything you want to share, and I would love for you to share how long you've been doing this because we were just talking about that and how you got here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:34

So I've been doing this for 18 years. Wild. I feel like it's all I know. I started in a grocery store, and then I moved my way up into a little mom and pop shop and then into weddings and events to now owning two separate businesses: floral fixation, which I've had for seven years, and I just acquired a retail shop, Studio Flowers, two years ago. And it's been a wild roller coaster of beautiful fun, a lot of hard work. I love what I do, and I don't see myself ever doing anything else but retiring, hopefully, one day.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

That's questionable when you're owning a small business.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

No, I I understand that so much. So the first thing I want to touch upon, because this is a big one, is Pinterest. And as you mentioned, AI is taking happening. Yeah. Um, and that happens with us too. Like my clients will show me a picture from AI and be like, I want this. And I'm like, that the curtain rod is not even attached to anything. Like, we can't do that. So how is Pinterest and AI and social media creating unrealistic expectations?

SPEAKER_03 1:43

Absolutely. Well, first, I think they're great tools to kind of get a direction of color palette, to get the idea of placement and and style. But when you're going through Pinterest, you're not realizing how much things cost. So I'll often get a Pinterest board, and everything on there is thousand dollar arrangements and arbor head to toe and florals.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Well, so what is there a way for people to know what that looks like?

SPEAKER_03 2:12

Not really. This is what I like, and this is the palette I like. But you have to collaborate with your vendors and chat a little bit about be very straightforward with your budget or with your expectations. What is your biggest priority? So if that huge head-to-toe arbor is your priority, okay, that's $5,000. How are we simplifying the rest of your budget, you know, to meet that number? Also, we're all trying to show off a little bit. We're trying to have these beautiful weddings. Have you seen my Instagram? I'm definitely trying to show off. So I think sometimes we really just have to reel it in, real, like be a little bit more realistic when you're seeing the stationary, the charger, the napkin, the details, the tabletop things, the candles. It's a lot on the table and it's beautiful, but it comes at a bigger dollar sign.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

And one of the common things that I see my clients not knowing is candles are through the florist.

SPEAKER_03 3:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

And they're expensive.

SPEAKER_03 3:19

They're very expensive. They're very labor intensive. A lot of venues are switching to LED, um, which I don't love, but we have a really great um brand that costs a lot of money because it's realistic, it flickers and it dings, and like when includes that waxy look, so it doesn't look like the Christmas candles in the window.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Yes. Yes. Most likely things. But when includes. But my mom still uses. Does she? No, you know what my dad does? So my dad love him. The worst taste I've ever seen in a gay man. And so I tell him. Christmas tree shop was his like and yes, no, Christmas tree shop. That's where I grew up there. That was my my second home.

SPEAKER_03 4:00

So those plugins.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

But the Christmas lamps in the window, he doesn't only have those. He puts blue light bulbs in them. Oh stop, yeah. He does. He does. And he has bells that he uses as garland with the frilly gold garland around his fake tree and only colored lights. I like, and he's like, isn't it beautiful? And I'm like, Dad, maybe in the 1980s. We'll call it that. He is rainbow. I know. And his husband is so amazing, and he knows that it's not great. It's my dad, you know, but we love it.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

That's what makes him happy.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

But anyway, I digress. So my point was Danielle's candles do not look like that.

SPEAKER_03 4:36

We use a great variety and um a great bender. And when enclosed in glass, we have hundreds and hundreds of candles in inventory. Candles are very labor-intensive. We have to package them all individually, and everything breaks. You have to bring extra.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

I've made the mistake of saying that we will do that.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Yeah, no, don't do that. No, no, they're just messy. We're putting things with gloves, like we're putting them down with gloves on because the fingerprints cleaning them is a nightmare. Just after the event, we're taking back hundreds of candles. They all have to be cleaned, Windex, and put back in inventory, and it's a lot of work. So, and you can do it on your own. You can go on like uh quick candles or yummy candles, and you can see how much they're charging just for a set. We're we're charging we're charging the same thing to rent them, and then a little bit more labor to just clean them and set them.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

So well, as you mentioned, it's labor intensive to set them up and take them down, but people aren't also understanding like that's your time. It's and your time is worth a lot of money.

SPEAKER_03 5:39

Not just the time, we're limited with time at venues. So an hour and a half, maybe if we're lucky, and that means two or three more people to bring on site to accomplish this vision in that amount of time, which costs money, which costs money, everything costs money, and it's sad because we're so excited for our couples and their vision, and we want to bring it to life and we want to make the experience really easy for them.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

But we need to make a profit to explain. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 6:09

I have a mortgage, like I'm not doing this for fun. I I have to pay my bills, I have overhead, I have staff, we have insurance, I'm paying my taxes. Yeah, there's a lot, you know. We have to price for things accordingly so that we can actually execute it and pay the people that we need to have help us get it done. Having a wedding is such a luxury, it's a production.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Yeah, I say that almost every podcast.

SPEAKER_03 6:33

On your wedding day, you don't realize it when you're talking all these menus. When you really are in the space, and then you're like, oh wow, there's over 50 staff here throughout all these vendors.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

I don't think people realize sometimes though.

SPEAKER_03 6:44

But like, think of that. There's maybe 50 people total on your wedding day. Think of they're there for a whole day. Think of a normal hourly rate. Times that by eight hours, 10 hours, 15 hours for some people. Then times that by 50 people. That's just the labor itself, not all the product, the flowers, the draping, the food, the bar. It can add up really fast. So I think when planning a wedding, and especially with florals, to have an idea of what you like, what you don't like, and then just be really true with your budget, let the professionals guide you through that and find the best options. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

No, I I I agree. I think, yeah. And how early do you suggest couples book you? Now, I know rule of thumb is a year. I say that to everybody, but in recent years, even months, I've gotten like inquiries for like two months away.

SPEAKER_03 7:40

I just got one for August, September and July. I wasn't available for the August, but sorry, not July, October. I am hopefully going to take the October one because I had the date available, but I'm finding people booking later and later. And you're going to run into problems with that. I think booking a year out, I've had couples book me like 15 months to a year out. I'm seeing people more in the nine to six months, and that's just like red zone territory for us, especially for a labor-intensive um vendor. We need to hire on extra hands and help. And typically with freelance designers, we schedule those people out for the whole year. I send them a whole list of dates and just for our planning and just to go through things and schedule a mock-up. Sometimes I go to the venue for your tasting within the year before. So I think it's safe to book a florist about a year out. And you want to book your vendors that you're always booking the venue, the photographer, you know, your key vendors. But if florals are a big priority to you and you care about who you're working with and feeling secure, the quality, definitely put that on your priority list sooner and don't save it to last minute because you're gonna run into the problem of not finding an experienced florist with the proper setup team to execute your vision.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

What do you think drives a client's overall budget for florals? Do you think it it has to do with the venue itself, the season, or the types of flowers that they like, or is it all I think a combination of all of those things?

SPEAKER_03 9:21

Um, seasonality comes into play. My May and June clients, they want peonies, and it's sad when they're booking their wedding in late July, August, and they're like, Oh, I want peonies. You're not getting $20 a stem. They're not getting, I can't guarantee it. I can maybe get them from Canada at that point because they're growing season. Actually, sorry, not Canada. I can maybe get them from Alaska at that time. It's wild.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

But how do they even ship flowers that far?

SPEAKER_03 9:49

They ship them all over the like most of our flowers come from Holland.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

I do I know that because they're beautiful. I know that actually. But I just don't get how they even like how do they stay fresh?

SPEAKER_03 9:58

Yeah, so they're cutting them before they open, growing. They look like a marshmallow, they haven't opened yet. They cut them, they package them, they cold store them, and then they ship them overnight. As we all know, the shipping costs, the fuel costs, that's okay. They cost me like nine dollars a stem with shipping.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

A stem, a stem, not a bunch, yeah, not a bunch, a stem.

SPEAKER_03 10:23

So if you want peonies in off-season, I just can't guarantee them in mass quantity. We do have quantity limits too, so we have to order a certain amount of stems when ordering from these Alaskan farms. So I have a minimum of 100 stems that cost me $900. A traditional floral markup is three times. So that peony is costing you almost $30.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

That's wild. That's wild.

SPEAKER_03 10:50

It's a lot. If flowers are a big priority when planning your wedding in the early stages before you figure out a date, think of do you have any favorites that you really want to be included? If peonies are one of them, then late April, May, early June is the time for you. Dahlia season is another beautiful one. That's one of my favorite flowers. Yeah, I have seasonal favorites, so like every season the tulips come back. Oh, the tulips, and then it's peonies, and then it's dahlia.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

That's too bad just because it would be so ideal if people knew to book their wedding based on the flower that they like. But it's not always feasible. It's not.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

But when working with a professional, I'm going to talk to you about alternatives. So you like peonies? I can't get them. Well, there's the most gorgeous, roughly garden roses and rununculous and different types of flowers are.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

Did you see my gardens outside?

SPEAKER_03 11:45

I don't guess seasonality matters if you have favorite flowers that must be included.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Are you able to work with people's budgets if they do like a certain aesthetic, but they can't necessarily get the flower that they want, or is it almost impossible?

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Yeah, I mean, we can work with any budget. We do have a minimum, but we can work with any budget, and we'll talk about, you know, what you like if it's a specific flower or color. There are some colors and flowers like the browns that are really popular. Um, the hanging amaranthus and the calolilies that are like soaring through the roof right now, with you know, those are really popular. Those things are becoming more and more pricey because the farms have to grow them in higher quantity and they're, you know, well, they're not easy things to grow. Supply and demand over here, so it's pricey. But yes, we can work with any budget and we'll bring it to life. Whether it's simplifying things somewhere, adding more of something else, and having little pops of what you're liking, we'll make it work.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Is there an element that automatically elevates your experience with florals? Like, what is that piece to it? If somebody doesn't have like a crazy budget, but they want that one like wow piece. What do you what do you suggest?

SPEAKER_03 12:58

I say focus on a statement piece than having every something on every table and every little area. The cocktail tables, screw the cocktail tables. Who cares about the cocktail tables?

SPEAKER_00 13:09

It's windy half the time. We can't even put them out.

SPEAKER_03 13:12

People want to put their drinks down. Who cares about that little arrangement there? Like, put something big on the bar then, like add up the funds for those 10 cocktail tables and do a bar arrangement or something. Um, a statement piece like this weekend, we have a fun wedding at Rosecliffe. She was like, I just want, you know, I'm excited. She just wanted something cool for her guests to walk into, and we're making it an experience with their escort cards and table numbers. Um, but once that's gone, it's this cool piece in the middle of the terrace. So it's like, wow, look at this. It's something for people to look at. You can simplify the tables. I'm seeing people do like more candlelight and LED lamps on the tables now. Yeah, we have to do that. Those are rented, and while they cost money, it's not like we're doing a whole runner of flowers down the head table. So more statement pieces, less everything. Something there, something there, something in the bathroom, something here, something for mom, something for grandma, something for auntie. Who cares about that? You know, it might matter to you, but um, if you're trying to reduce and get the most impact, I say, do something fun somewhere, a statement that guests are going to remember and work it into you know an experience. Yeah. Seating chart with flowers, or if your ceremony is important to that space, like do things that can be repurposed into the venue.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Question for you Is baby's breath acceptable?

SPEAKER_03 14:44

So I do have some clients that love incorporating it, and I think it's a texture thing.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

They like I love baby's breath, but I don't love it as my center.

SPEAKER_03 14:58

So one thing with baby's breath is people don't realize that it's expensive, like it's not cheap because it's so airy and light, and just to have a dent centerpiece of all baby's breath, like you need a lot of it. We need to, you know, cover the mechanics of the vessel. It takes a lot. So people think they're saving money with it. It's typically not the case. A little stem here and there in a bud vase, yeah. Sure, we're saving money. But these big tall arrangements and the baby's breath arbors and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

There's literally, have you ever people listening? Have you ever held a stem? Just one stem of baby's breath. It is transparent.

unknown 15:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Think about how much you actually need it. And I don't, I'm not knocking. I get sometimes it looks really beautiful, but it looks beautiful when you have the proper quantities.

SPEAKER_03 15:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

To me though, honestly, most of the time it looks like um, it looks like field flowers, like Queen and Lace. Yeah. Do you know what I'm trying? Which I love.

SPEAKER_03 16:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

In the wild.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Not for my event.

SPEAKER_03 16:04

Yeah, it's um, it's a look, and people like it.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

It's a look.

SPEAKER_03 16:07

It's a look. People like it.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

I don't like it.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

I I personally don't like it. Um, and I don't like including baby's breath. Like people are trying to be garden-y and wild, flowery, and adding it into things for a pop. It's not my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

See, I like that. I don't like that. But I'm also you're in my house and I look like an old lady. So yeah, I I'm definitely cottage grandma.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

Yeah. It's good. I'm grandma. There's no baby's breath here, though.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

There would be if I have to. No. No. I don't think you need that.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

So personally, for me, like filler flowers, I love spirea. I love including like spirea. Spirea. Like long linear flower. It's a little green. And then it it blooms, these white little buds. And then so delicate and lacy. This is very grandma, in my opinion. No, it's like like hot grandma. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 17:08

So I think you need spyrea and a like a little bit of flower. Yes, you should grow that in your garden. You can grow that here. Yeah, it's blooming right now. It's not around forever, but we do get it from out of the country too. It is a pricier thing. But if you want a little like dainty lacy movement, I say um use that. If we had to use a white filler flower, like I'd rather use wax flour or um I just rather use anything other than baby spread. But you know, it's just not my personal thing. Um, happy to make the clients happy to do it in a way that looks that's a perennial around here? No idea. No idea. Not a gardener, but just the floor.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

I'm just a I'm the opposite side. Yeah. I'm a gardener. I could not do what you do.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

You figure out the planting and the growing conditions and all come stuff. I'm the source. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

Well, that makes sense. I'm my family's farmers, so that's funny. You're like, I have no idea. I just know that I buy them and this is what they look like.

SPEAKER_03 18:18

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 18:20

The thing we didn't talk about when budgeting, we didn't get into the venue portion of it. We talked about seasonal.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Well, I was just gonna ask you, can you walk me through what goes into the cost of floral budgeting? Does the venue have to do with it?

SPEAKER_03 18:34

Some venues, yes. As you know, there's venues around Newport who give us no time because they're showing out the venues during the day to people and then they open up for weddings and events later. So it really limits our time to set up, which means we need to have more people, more hands, more talent come to the venues with us to execute setup and ceremony flip and cleanup and get everything packed in the van and out of there.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Do you automatically include cleanup in your pricing or at least ask clients if they need it? Because a lot of times I have to go through their contracts after they hire me, if they've hired people before and fine comb the contracts to confirm.

SPEAKER_03 19:18

So it's included in our service fee. The weddings that we do and take on were full service. So we're setting up, we're flipping ceremony if needed, and we are setting up reception and we come back at the evening to break down because all of our weddings have rented items candles, arbor structures, sometimes the vessels we're using. So it is included in our service. But that's important when finding a florist. Like, are they coming back for things? Are they taking care of setting this up? Are they lighting the candles? Like a lot of people will drop and go and not like the candles put it on the menu or the planners, and we don't do that. So that is thought about prior. Amazing, and it is included in our service that we charge for.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

I love that. Well, that kind of went into my next question of like what are they when you give your pricing? And of course you stand by your pricing because you know what your time is worth, what yeah, I know how much time it's gonna take and how many people I need to execute something and how much the flowers cost. So, but overall, I feel like you you really have covered like what they're actually paying for, and they're actually paying for someone that is going to come in, execute their vision, have the exact florals that you discussed. There's gonna be no wedding day surprises.

SPEAKER_03 20:32

Right. And they're gonna be able to see this you won't know about because there's you know, I know fires. That's the whole point of your job. And my job is we put out fires in there for them. And every wedding there's a fire. I'm not announcing them, but there's a fire, it's just a perishable product, or an a DJ got in an accident and we're finding a new one, like stuck in Florida because of a hurricane. Right, it happens and we do our best to we're professional. We know how to plan B, C, D, E, F, G. We know how to work together.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

It doesn't work if you don't work together.

SPEAKER_03 21:13

Yeah, it's so important to hire professionals that know what they're doing and have the teams ready to get it done because you're not gonna know about the fires. I'm never gonna tell you that once I had this hydrangea for this bride, she wanted the specific hydrangea, and I had to get it from Holland, and it comes in beautiful blue every single week. Well, of course, the week of her wedding, it came in purple, and purple, her wedding was on a Friday. So the flowers typically come in Tuesday and Wednesday for me because you can't get them in too early, like they're perishable. We have to, it's there's this whole week. They came in this purple tone and so small. So I'm like calling around the whole world trying to find these hydrangea. I cannot fill them. I can't get that specific variety. So I've I found someone in Holland to send me a different variety that I typically don't get. Overnight them, it cost me like $1,200. And I had to eat it because I really wanted this client to have the flowers. And I got credit on the stuff that came in bad. So it kind of just washed out. But these things happen, and you have to be confident and comfortable and knowing that you can fix the problems. And if I couldn't find that hydrangea, I would have got a basic blue hydrangea from South America. I would have sprayed it a little bit. I would have made it work.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

But we've all got to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 22:41

We don't guarantee specific flowers. We guarantee, we guarantee the design. It's going to look a specific way. It's going to be a few.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

But you can't guarantee that that this is going to be exactly it can't.

SPEAKER_03 22:53

Yeah. I'm not saying you can have all these blue hydrangea from Holland because of situations like this that do happen. And it is a perishable product. It could come in moldy and damage, which that happens for us every week in every forest. You just need to know. You have to anticipate changes and and have backups. Have backup plans. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

Alright. So I'm gonna ask you a few questions on whether it's worth or skip.

SPEAKER_03 23:22

Okay, like pass or yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

I want to know what you think.

SPEAKER_03 23:27

Not this, not what like the majority thinks yes. I want to know Well, I'm very direct, so give it to me.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Ceremony arch.

SPEAKER_03 23:39

That's a tough one. Are these like a one-word answer? Or can I like you can elaborate? Okay. Yes, I love a ceremony arch. I think it's such a statement piece. It's something that works uh installation work's one of my favorite things to do. So I love an arch, a good arch. But but oftentimes people want to repurpose their ceremony florals to make their reception space more elevated and impactful. And we just can't repurpose the ceremony arch. So I say do like layered columns, do like five or six, you know, staggered arrangements to create this lovely layered backdrop and transfer that into the reception space on the staircase or at the entrance of the room.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Clarify on what kind of ceremony arch you're okay with.

SPEAKER_03 24:31

I love a rounded top arch, I love um a deconstructed art.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

I've had a couple that are like Amazon.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

Oh no. Your face collaborately. Okay, first of all, we are a coastal state, all of our weddings are on the water. Let's talk about the wind, which I have a nightmare story about that. Let's talk about the wind for a second. You cannot have an Amazon arch, you know, you just can't do it. It's gonna fall and hit someone in the head. It can't hold the weight of the flowers. They look cheap. It has happened, and even my like really great structures have were like holding on for a dear.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Yeah, well, we have to secure them to the I had one wedding that was out Providence on the cobblestone.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

With an Amazon arch. Okay. I thought it was gonna go into the water fires.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

Even like columns and like arrangements on top, like you really have to weigh those suckers down because they're gonna blow over. So don't DIY this, people. Don't do it, don't Amazon it because it could look pretty in the photo. I guarantee you it's an AI like stock image they have on Amazon, or they're meant for balloon arches. Mmm, they're not meant for like heavy flowers, flowers and the mechanics that go on an arch. It costs a but not cost it, it weighs a lot.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

Aisle markers.

SPEAKER_03 25:58

Yes, Keith.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

I I agree. I love them and I think they're underrated.

SPEAKER_03 26:01

And if you don't like it down the aisle, you can do like a layered look in the back row, the the last row of chairs. Again, repurposing. It's like the best thing to repurpose. Put it at signage, seating chart. I even like wrapping the handing.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

Not like the mason jar hangings, but I like the chair, the chair flower. I do like those.

SPEAKER_03 26:21

I think they're that could be cocktail table after.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

No, I don't want them in jars. I don't like that. Not like jars.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

I like just like your little bundle.

SPEAKER_01 26:28

Yeah, they're cute, like a corsage for the chair.

SPEAKER_03 26:32

That's cute. I would say skip that personally. You know what? But I would do something like we have a lot of fun, like ribbons that were hanging on the end of the chairs, and they're like blowing in the wind and pretty. But if you like it, Rachel.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

Um grandma.

SPEAKER_03 26:48

Yeah, it's okay. Do you see my wedding cake, French? I did see that. I was like, what is that? That's my wedding cake. That's your wedding cake. That's incredible. Where did you cut from?

SPEAKER_01 27:00

Um, we don't have a me and my mom made that. It's styrofoam and real frosting.

SPEAKER_03 27:05

Oh my god. It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

It's seven feet tall and it was inspired by the 80s. That's literally I do love it.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

But that's me.

SPEAKER_03 27:14

I thought that was for a client for an upcoming wedding. I'm like, these planners have everything.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

No, that's mine. I might use it in a styled shoot because it's really cool, but it's not everybody's vibe. It could.

SPEAKER_03 27:27

Okay. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

Um, okay. Charger plates with florals. Have you seen that?

SPEAKER_03 27:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

Skip. I think skip. Hanging installations.

SPEAKER_03 27:43

Do you have money or do you have that's the question every time? Um I mean, I'm going to say keep because I love an installation.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Realistically, what does that start at?

SPEAKER_03 28:00

Startistically, like several thousand dollars, depending. Like a hanging installation in the middle of your dance floor, like five grand.

SPEAKER_01 28:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:10

Um a little like doing some some like florals and greenery on like chandeliers or like lanterns or something, a little less, but you still have to go up there. I'm getting there at six in the morning.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

I was gonna say you have to get there super early before everybody else.

SPEAKER_03 28:27

Before the tables are down. So it just qu it's again labor. Like and yeah, so sweetheart table statement, and that could be something that's repurposed from ceremony, those staggered arrangements we talked about, wrapping the sweetheart table with the eye the aisle markers, yeah, you know, or you're not going big at ceremony and we just invest in this sweetheart table. So but I prefer a head table over a sweetheart table.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

Really? How come?

SPEAKER_03 29:01

I think it's a nice intimate moment to have a sweetheart table, but come on, how long are you really sitting there? Are you even eating your food?

SPEAKER_01 29:08

I like a sweetheart table. You do? Yes, because I make my clients eat and I tell them this is the only time that you have.

SPEAKER_03 29:16

Thank you because you're like, Thank you, guys, go enjoy your 10 minutes alone and go eat something before.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

I've had one client actually request that they eat in a different room, and I thought it was no two. And I thought that was the best idea in the whole world.

SPEAKER_03 29:29

That's you know what? People listening, I think your wedding is about you, both the both of you. And you should have a moment to like take in the room alone, like do a you know, a room reveal. You should have a moment in the bridal suite just to decompress. Yeah, I usually do that after the ceremony together and like celebrate that you're married and talk about what you're excited about for the rest of the night. I'm so excited our family and friends are here, and look at what we pulled off with the help of us amazing friends.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

I had one couple, they had two days of events. They just they were the sweetest couple in the world, and they actually just had them in April, but they had two weddings. And I I remember them like the the priority was definitely cocktail hour, but I had encouraged that they take that time after the ceremony and after they're receiving wine to go just be with each other. Right, they didn't even end up going to cocktail hour because they were like, you know what?

SPEAKER_03 30:29

It's so nice, it's such a long day full of family and friends, and like don't let's not even get started on the family dynamics and the friends and like all the things that come up, and you're just like entertaining, it's just endless. Like, hi, how are you? Oh my god, it's just endless.

SPEAKER_01 30:46

And I'm not saying this to be a beep, but yeah, bridesmaids, I'm there to help, but I am not your concierge, right? I am not working for you.

SPEAKER_03 30:57

Sorry, let's talk about like the history of bridesmaids. Like, oh my god, no girl! Like, get on the floor and tie those shoes.

SPEAKER_01 31:04

Do you know why they had bridesmaids and maid of honors? Like the real history.

SPEAKER_03 31:09

I mean, I'm assuming it was to be the maids of the bride and help them.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

It's dark. Oh no. Do you want to hear it?

SPEAKER_03 31:19

I do.

SPEAKER_01 31:20

I don't even know if this is I feel like this is in another episode, but anybody just listening. So, you know, back in the day, men would have to have an offering or a dowry. Yes. Okay. And then the father of the bride would choose the acceptable gift, yes, and husband. But they would have to travel to get to these weddings. So the women would all dress up like the bride, and the one that looked the most like the bride was the maid of honor, because they would often get robbed on the way and killed.

SPEAKER_03 31:53

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

So the maid of honor was usually the one that died. So she was a sacrifice if they got robbed.

SPEAKER_03 32:00

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 32:01

But that's what that's actually what the tradition was. So all the girls that are like dreading being a bridesmaid, I feel like it's kind of like instinctual. Just getting you're not gonna die. You're just gonna have to like pay a couple thousand dollars to go to Tennessee. Yeah, yeah. No, but that is the true history of bridesmaids and maid of honor.

SPEAKER_03 32:26

Wow, I did not know that. I thought they really just you know they were maids, they were serving the bride, like your friends.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

They are with their lives.

SPEAKER_03 32:35

Yeah. No, that is a true um sacrifice. So no one was excited to be a bad bridesmaid back in the day because they knew they were gone. If they got robbed, if they got robbed and they got them. Okay. Wow. You learn something new every day.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

Especially here. Okay, so we talked a little bit about vendors needing staffing and all of the work that goes behind the scenes and how you have to have a team. But I would love to know what skills someone actually needs to be a wedding florist specifically, because as you know, a lot of times people will hire their friends or hire a florist that's not a wedding florist. So, what do you look for in your staff and what do you need personally for skills?

SPEAKER_03 33:21

So, personally, just starting off to be legit, you need insurance. That's a huge thing. A lot of like aunties are not coming to the some venues, don't even allow it.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

It's not even and it's not even like you're saying this because like you need insurance to be a business, like they will not let you in the door.

SPEAKER_03 33:41

Auntie Sue is not doing your flowers that are gonna look awful and die on the table in in mid-August, and she's gonna be no offense, Auntie Sue. So you need liability insurance. We're working at million-dollar properties, anything can go wrong, you could fall from a ladder, like you need insurance. Um, you need the knowledge of flowers, and you need the knowledge of different temperatures and storing flowers. Um when I'm looking for a freelance designer, I do require my freelance designers to also cover, also to have liability insurance. I'm looking for people who are confident and who have the skill to do the scope of work that we're doing. So they have the experience with putting up an arbor, the mechanics that are used to design that installation that we're doing, and they're not complainers, they show up and they get the job done. So team players. There's a lot of people who are designers now and they did this for fun and they're charging top dollar and they don't even know how to do half of the work.

SPEAKER_01 34:53

How does it work for destination weddings? Would you go out of the country? Is it even worth it for you? How do you source flowers?

SPEAKER_03 34:59

I someone please send me to Italy. Someone send me to Italy. Yes, we will do that. And I have the experience with destination weddings, not out of the country yet, but I've done weddings in Denver.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

Well, it sounds like you get your flowers from out of the country anyway. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 35:15

So and we have contacts, and I would work with my current suppliers now to connect me with their reps, and I would find a florist in the country that would let me rent their design space, and I would just create connections and make sure I have the proper credentials and insurance and whatever is required of this destination to execute my work. So a lot of researchers involved in that. I'm down to do it because how exciting. I would love to do a wedding out of the country.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

No, but I was just curious. I was just curious because obviously the travel.

SPEAKER_03 35:50

The travel, like and especially when it's not so out of reach, I think.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

Then people I think people think, oh, it's gonna cost so much because you're gonna have to bring all your equipment and all of the stuff.

SPEAKER_03 36:00

No, I'm not bringing any equipment. I'm printing space. I'm bringing my team or I'm finding freelance designers in another country, which you know we could find by talking to different venues and sources out of the country. But yes, I would not bring all my stuff. That doesn't make sense, right? Shipping containers across the world. Some I'm sourcing from the country.

SPEAKER_01 36:24

Well, inexperienced vendors like will not know that. Yes, and they will they will bill for that.

SPEAKER_03 36:29

No, no, no. That doesn't make sense.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

I agree.

SPEAKER_03 36:32

My suitcase will have maybe my favorite pair of scissors, like I thought you were gonna say shorts. It will, it will. I will have a suitcase of little twigs that I like. But I'm not bringing all the candles with me. I'm buying them out of the country, and then I'm selling them to someone else where you know.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

Or you're sourcing them.

SPEAKER_03 36:57

I'm renting them from a rental company and they're setting it up, and then I'm charging you what they're charging me, and we would handle all of that work. And we have some experience in that, not out of the country, but I I feel very confident I could handle the Italian wedding that you just looked.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

The girl is so awesome too. If you're listening, we love you. Very awesome. No, I'm glad that because I do think just on the topic of destination weddings, one of the biggest things that can be an issue just from experience is of course the language barrier. Right. But it goes beyond the just a small misunderstanding. It goes to culturally what is expected, because American weddings are way different than European weddings, and there were so many different hiccups because the client didn't want to pay for the American vendors to go there, which I understand it was a little bit of an added cost, but it would have been so much worth more worth it because when we used the local vendors in that country, they didn't understand what they were looking for, and like because it was a completely different cultural experience, and there's a language barrier, right? And luckily, like with our company, Rosie is trilingual, so she can speak Italian, Spanish, and English. She can do it all she can make coffee. No, she can make coffee. Good job. I hope she's listening. She will. Um, she battered. Just kidding. You're fired, just kidding. Yeah, no, I I think that's a good thing to touch on. Um, so if somebody wanted to become a florist for weddings, what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_03 38:30

Start realistically. Florists are always looking for freelance help, and we are looking for experienced designers, but we're also looking for jobs to get done that that suck, honestly. Cleaning those candles. Like I would, yeah, I would start with just getting through the door of a florist and helping in any way, just be a team player, see the whole production, you're cleaning that candle and you're watching the designers.

SPEAKER_01 38:53

Younger generations, you start from the bottom. I know it stinks. We all get it. You need to do it. Start from the bottom. Yeah. And then you work your way up.

SPEAKER_03 39:03

Then you work your way up. And that's what I did.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

That's a good point for those DIYers that are buying candles. Yes, it can be more cost effective sometimes. However, think about the mess afterwards, because I'm not cleaning them.

SPEAKER_03 39:15

And you're also paying someone to collect all of them, pack all of them, sell all of them.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

Like it's a lot of yeah, and they're gross. I mean, they're not going to clean them.

SPEAKER_03 39:25

They're gonna collect them and then so if you're trying to get in the floral industry, specifically in weddings, start helping a florist, and there's plenty of jobs, processing the flowers, prepping the containers, start learning the names of the flowers, start learning the names of the vessels, the candles. You're you're doing a lot of inventory control and pulling and prepping and packing, loading the vans, showing up to the weddings and unloading and setting up just be a sponge. Like try to absorb it all, and then have the confidence to say, I've watched you do this a few times. Can I try that? So I'll often like bud bases. Okay, I'll make a sample, snip, snip, snip, you know, stick, stick, stick. Like you make these, and I'm going to start you off slowly with something like that. But it does take time and confidence and skill to become a designer, and you can do it. Just gotta be realistic.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Okay. What's your worst floral disaster you've experienced? I want to know right now. Um, okay. I'll tell you mine if you tell you.

SPEAKER_03 40:35

I will tell you mine first. So 4th of July, uh, five years ago.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Fourth of July. You took a wedding on the do you do that still?

SPEAKER_03 40:46

If it is worth it, yeah. And I yeah, I know. So well, we do charge like we charge more holidays.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

I know, but I'm from Bristol, Rhode Island. That's like blasphemy. Yeah, that's right. I don't work on the fourth.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

Yeah, so that's okay. I took this, I took this, and um clients are really sweet. They had a beautiful wedding. It was so windy. All if every sailboat could have been out in Newport that day, every sailboat was out. So the wind was already windy, then all the sailboats are blown around. We had a good arbor structure. It fell over two times. Yeah, it fell over twice. And I'm talking about like we had sandbags, we had tension line, we had everything that we so it wasn't even like this was like a flimsy. No, this was not Amazon. Yeah, okay. This was not Amazon balloon arch. This was like a good arch, um, which I've invested in a new structure after this wedding that is like steel and weighs a thousand pounds, and that's why these arches cannot be moved after from ceremony. That sucks too, though, because you have to move it, like you have to build it, it's heavy, it's very heavy, but I will never have the anxiety and heart attack I had on July 4th, 2020. We all have those.

SPEAKER_01 42:03

We all have those.

SPEAKER_03 42:04

So it gets funnier though. So this arch falls over once. We're like an hour till like guest arrival. So I'm like panicking. Me and my designer. No, it didn't fall on anyone, but I'll tell you why it didn't fall on anyone in a minute. So we're setting up, boom, falls over. I'm like, shit. So we pick it up, and I'm just like tying strings and like strapping them. It's still been there, yes. And every florist has had this, you know, unexperience, experience or not, like every florist has had a disaster like this. So don't judge.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

Um not judging at all.

SPEAKER_03 42:38

The client didn't know. So we picked it up. Yes, some of the flowers got crushed. That's why I bring extra product. We shoved the extra product in, everything's looking stable, boom, big gust of wind falls over again. And at this point, I'm like, you're my adrenaline was probably like I know exactly squirting through my fucking blood vessels at this point. And I'm just like, okay, so guest arrival's coming. So we fixed it again, and I told the menu coordinator, I'm like, you need to tell the bride that we have to stand behind the arbor and hold the arbor during ceremony because the wind is so crazy today. She's like, okay. So she tells the bride the bride's okay. So me and my employee are like literally standing behind the arch, like this, and like holding the arbor. Luckily, the flowers are fluffy enough where we really were hidden, like, unless you were on the side. We stood there the whole time and we held it. So did the bride know? She didn't know because I had the venue coordinator, like, if you were there, which this will never happen to us because I have a $3,000 architect. No, but like but I was like, you know, it's such a windy day. I need you to like really play up the wind here and tell her it's never been this windy. And we need to we need to stand and hold this arch because then if that didn't happen, if I wasn't Holding it, I can't risk this falling on people and having a lawsuit and snapping it someone's neck.

SPEAKER_01 44:06

And that would be awful for the bride. Yeah, like you didn't know.

SPEAKER_03 44:09

She had her arch we hid behind it. Like no one from at the back of the aisle could have seen us. But you know, I'm standing next to the fishing, like hiding in the freaking flowers. Night, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 44:23

So you definitely bought a camouflage suit app.

SPEAKER_03 44:26

No, I bought a $3,000 steel arch that costs, not cost, that weighs like a elephant. Yeah, and it's it's very stable, and I'll never have to experience that again. Um, but I'm glad that happened to me because I come more prepared to my events. But me and um the designer that was helping me, we still like joke about it, and sometimes we hide behind like a pole, and I'm like, hey, and I'm like, where am I? And she's like, oh my god, we laugh about it every time we see each other. So um the bride, you know, she was happy with the flowers and everything, and no one noticed that it felt like I know, but as the professional, you're always it really crazy. Like, I went home and I was like, I should have never took this 4th of July wedding because one, it was the 4th of July, two, like everything bad happened that could but you learned so much from it, and she was still happy. Yeah, she was happy.

SPEAKER_01 45:34

Um, I mean, that's really all that matters.

SPEAKER_03 45:40

I'm like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

It there's nothing you can do.

SPEAKER_03 45:44

There was nothing I could do, but at least you thought of doing killing anyone.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

At least you thought of not killing anyone, and you stood behind there. Sometimes we have to do what we need to do. Like there's nothing else.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

Yeah, so we took the arch down after this.

SPEAKER_01 45:56

Of course, yeah, because it's gonna blow away.

SPEAKER_03 45:58

And we repurposed which was not in the contract. We repurposed all of the like individual, they're called cages, but I like to call them puzzle pieces because you know, so we took them all down and we like went extra around the menu and wrapped the cake table. Like we did what we could to like, you know, make up for our crap there. But I know, yeah, that was my horror story.

SPEAKER_01 46:20

I had I had a horror story uh last year, nine months pregnant on the floor. So I was at the Rose Buff. Oh my goodness, and I should have known better, but the florist I I I reviewed everything we're supposed to have, and she was like, Oh no, they're not doing a head table garland, they are doing bud vases, they confirmed with me, and I'm like, Okay, I should have asked. The client I trusted the florist, stupid, because the day of the mom comes in and goes, Where's the garland? And I just my stomach drops, and I'm like, She told me you chose bud vases, and she's like, I literally left her showroom with a garland, and I'm like, I I know, but is it on the contract, like written description?

SPEAKER_03 47:15

Yeah, that's on the forest.

SPEAKER_01 47:19

Right, but what am I gonna do?

SPEAKER_03 47:21

Day of nothing.

SPEAKER_01 47:22

No, I did, girl. I did. Oh I took her ceremony aisle pieces, I made squished them down. I I made I put it on the bottom where the head table is, like a waterfall effect. I made that woman come back and said, You need to build a garland now. And she's like, I'm not a magician. And I'm like, Well, you better learn magic because we need a garland. She comes back, puts a garland, just throws a couple of leaves in there, and then and is like, that's all I can do. Leaves, doesn't even apologize, sneaks out before she can even talk to the client.

SPEAKER_03 47:57

I hope they got refunded.

SPEAKER_01 47:59

They didn't, and then she deleted the contract online so we couldn't see it after.

SPEAKER_03 48:05

Well, now that's another lesson. I love when clients are like, I printed this out for me to look at it.

SPEAKER_01 48:11

Now I I download everything.

SPEAKER_03 48:13

I'm glad you printed it out. I have every version on there, but she has copies of it. You could we did, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:20

She said she didn't have it. So so she fills it in with sleeves and said there's nothing else she can do. So I'm literally going around, shoving flowers in it. Yeah, I'm taking all the aisle pieces, all the ceremony flowers, everything. There, no, not gonna do that to the client. That wasn't the client. No, not the client. Oh, the forest who who doesn't answer me for a contract is gonna pay me money. Okay, and I would never do that because I'm the person that pays for the vendor meals. I know to cover my client's butt.

SPEAKER_03 48:49

We're doing better in 2026, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:52

Client, did you see the email they sent me? I am I'm so upset. I know I cried. They don't understand, they don't understand. I cried for weeks. Yeah, I did so much.

SPEAKER_03 49:01

I know you did, and that was when I saw that I called you. You didn't answer, but I called you because you posted it, and I wants wanted to give you a hug, and I was like, they have no idea. But I think also the venue was like gaslighting them and telling them things too, and they just yeah, so I think they just were like, This didn't go well, but didn't realize all the hoops and challenges that you went through to make their day so special because we don't communicate the fires that we have to put. Of course not, that's why you hired it.

SPEAKER_01 49:31

Of course not, yeah. My team felt so bad after. So this, so I I literally reconstructed and created uh a waterfall garland, and it is it looked honestly the photographer, the video editor, everyone they thought it looked beautiful, and the client was happy was over the moon. The mom was like, I can't believe that you did you did it.

SPEAKER_03 49:52

How long was that head table? Like three three tables. Wow, and you were nine months pregnant on the floor, Rachel. Like, I hope you had a spa day after that.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

No, I wasn't allowed to go to the spa after you recovered from your pregnant. I just did a girls' trip with that woman behind you in the frame. She paid for an all-inclusive weekend off season at Chatham Bar's, and I'd never been, and it was fabulous.

SPEAKER_03 50:22

That is the nicest thing.

SPEAKER_01 50:23

Like, she's my best friend in the whole world.

SPEAKER_03 50:26

I love that. That is so thoughtful, and like she those are the clients you appreciate most because they realized how much went into the day and they want to treat you to just like going above and beyond.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

They they were like extremely kind.

SPEAKER_03 50:42

Petty's calling. Hetty! Hey girl, it's okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:47

You tell I said hi. They were extremely grateful. They still talk to me, they tell me when they're coming to Newport. Of course, we don't have time to meet ever, but that's so cute.

SPEAKER_03 50:56

I've had some really nice clients that have like shown they said happy Mother's Day to me. Like, come on.

SPEAKER_01 51:02

Like, good people, good people who you want to be. But that that's my best friend in the whole world. And she worked for me for one season and quit after a Rose Cliff night because she cried.

SPEAKER_03 51:11

And yeah, she was like, Weddings? No, wedding planning, wedding wedding industry, it's not for the weak. Like you really have to have tough skin.

SPEAKER_01 51:18

You're not weak breeze, but she knows weddings aren't her thing.

SPEAKER_03 51:23

It's sorry, girl. Uh, you're not weak. Just you know, she's laughing. You have if you're if she's laughing. You have a sensitive like stomach, and if you deal with we all have it.

SPEAKER_01 51:34

It was just that they were screaming at her at one at night, and she was do trying, she had so much pressure on her because she was trying to do everything for me, and that because she's such a good friend.

SPEAKER_03 51:45

And fires happen, so like unexpected fires out of your scope of work happened.

SPEAKER_01 51:51

I mean, it's a high maintenance clientele sometimes. It is, yeah. Yeah, but no, she is she is my rock, and she is the person that's always like, You are doing amazing. She comes here every Friday to help watch my kiddos and to visit, but to help watch my kiddos just to know them. And so that I can get she is Auntie Breezy, and just so I can get rest if I need it, or I can go to a rehearsal and not worry. Like, and I felt so bad because I missed her birthday last week.

SPEAKER_03 52:21

Oh we suck. We suck! People are so good to us, and we're like, but you know what? Mom brain, business owner brain.

SPEAKER_01 52:30

I have it on my calendar though, and I like don't know why it wasn't there. Like, I must have deleted it on accident. I got something cooking for her though. Yeah, she was she rightfully so. She was upset. Yeah, I'm gonna make it up to her. She keeps telling me it's not forget about it, it's fine. And I'm like, no, it's not okay. I don't care what you say.

SPEAKER_03 52:49

I'm glad you have that mindset there because it's not okay.

SPEAKER_01 52:52

Yeah, no, she's literally my angel. Again, if you're listening, love you. Um, no, but anywho, so to close it out, what is one piece of advice you want to give every couple before booking a florist?

SPEAKER_03 53:09

Be open about what your true priorities are for your wedding day, whether it's the design, the experience, whether we're really budget conscious, like be really open about what you're looking for and what you have to work with. A lot of people hold back the budget because it's an uncomfortable conversation for people. But the more information we know, the better to really execute what you're looking for and help guide you through the process. We can have a more honest conversation and meet your expectations and educate you about things if we're just open from the beginning. Don't wait too long. And hire Rachel. Have Rachel help you. Thank you. Because truly working with a planner, they're going to connect you with all of the vendors that fit your goals and fit the restrictions you may have. And they're gonna set you up with professionals that are just gonna you want to walk into your wedding day, drinking your mimosa, so excited, being able to celebrate and spend the time with your family and friends. You don't want to worry about your vendors executing is this gonna look like how I want it? Are they gonna show up?

SPEAKER_01 54:32

Oh, that's the worst. Like that, that that is literally the lowest bar.

SPEAKER_03 54:38

Sometimes people try to DIY things to save money, it ends up costing you double.

SPEAKER_01 54:44

It does because and then you have to buy it.

SPEAKER_03 54:46

Yeah, you have to buy it, you have to have someone break it down and resell it. It ends up costing you double.

SPEAKER_01 54:52

And honestly, it's maybe a hundred dollars more sometimes. Right.

SPEAKER_03 54:57

Like when you really look at the big things. Like, do we really need this big piece here? Do we need this installation there? Do we need these 10 cocktail tables? Don't look at okay, her quote was fifty dollars less, we're gonna go with her.

SPEAKER_01 55:10

Start even though I had a gut feeling that we weren't gonna she missed my consultation call.

SPEAKER_03 55:15

She's not responsive on emails. I didn't feel the connection on the console. That's another piece of advice. You have to connect with you have to connect with your vendors, you have to feel comfortable, you have to feel like you're getting the information from them that you need. You have to feel like they care about your event, you're not just another number.

SPEAKER_01 55:36

Yep. And I know everyone's different, and some venues, some planners, some vendors have their own referral list where they just send out the same list every time. Right. For me, and I tell this in almost every consultation I do, I'm not a one-size-fits-all. I am not going to send the same florist five times because after talking with my client, you know it might not be a fit not just for them, yeah, but for you. Yeah, you don't know sometimes you don't want to work with them.

SPEAKER_03 56:03

These people want babies breath only. Like, I am not sending this.

SPEAKER_01 56:07

I don't think I have any florists for that. Don't come here. Just kidding, just kidding.

SPEAKER_02 56:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:12

Um, but no, but really, it's just never a one size fits all. Budget-wise, like you have a minimum. I already know that walking in there. So if they're telling me that they only want to spend five grand, I know not to send them to you. I know that, but it is it is it it also comes down to priority. A lot of people will say, like, well, realistically, what do you think I'll spend all together if I have a wedding here? And I'm like, I can tell you a number, but it's gonna depend on your priorities. Right. If you are looking at Pinterest flowers and telling me that that's what you want, that could be a $50,000 day just for flowers. Or if you're telling me that you want to do buffet style, which is totally fine, and you're gonna do backyard wedding, um, which isn't always cheaper, it's usually more expensive. Yeah, because you need a 10, you need all the you're making a venue from nothing. You're building from the ground up. You need bathrooms, water, electricity, generators, somebody to run the generators, because guess what? I'm not doing that. Like all these things that people don't realize. Right. Yeah, I I just think that I think that's very that's a very underrated thing. There is no one size fits all, and there are specific vendors for specific clients.

SPEAKER_03 57:28

Yeah, I agree. Yeah, yeah, but you just have to feel secure with the vendor and honestly review the contracts. Are these vendors that are even able to do your wedding? But sometimes a vague contract or no contract at all, that is the biggest red flag. The contract's there literally to protect you too. It's like it's not just to protect the vendor, it's to protect the client too. Like we're talking about our scope of work, we're talking about every line item that we're executing. If something goes wrong, like that head table that you had to make the whole waterfall for, that should have been it should have been a refund from the forest. It should have been so making sure that your contract asks your questions, it's really important.

SPEAKER_01 58:13

It bothers me so much. She even said it was the client's fault because they didn't um review the final details of the contract and they signed it.

SPEAKER_03 58:20

And I'm like, And then she deleted the contract.

SPEAKER_01 58:22

So you can find Danielle at Floral Fixation on Instagram.

SPEAKER_03 58:30

Everywhere. Everywhere you're getting married soon, I'd love to chat about your vision and how we can bring it to life.

SPEAKER_01 58:36

Fantastic. Thank you, Danielle.

SPEAKER_03 58:39

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 58:40

We're out of tea to spill today, but don't worry. A fresh pot's always brewing. Follow, subscribe, and share. And if you've got a topic or want to be a guest, slide into our DMs. Thanks for listening to Coffee with Cosabella. Until next time, stay caffeinated and a little bit extra.