Behind The Scenes of Wedding Flower Prep
I don’t know about you but I have always enjoyed the behind the scenes of some activity like how the ballet prepares for the Nutcracker or Christian Dior seamstresses. I guess that’s why I am writing a little bit about the work that goes into prepping for wedding flowers to share with you. It all starts with deciding which flowers. This is the hardest part as there are so many choices of flowers but I do work with the ones that I enjoy working with so that narrows it down:)
Once the order is places, I spend 48 hours fretting about the delivery of the boxes. I’m a Type A personality and wedding flowers are so important that I worry about the what if’s. Like what if they’re the wrong flowers, what if they’re not in good condition, what if the delivery doesn’t happen, and it is France…sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned when it comes to others, so, what if… You see the point. Once the boxes of flowers arrive, I sigh a huge relief!
Out come the buckets filled with water to get these poor babies something to drink. Note, these flowers don’t just arrive from a store or warehouse. They have probably traveled thousands of miles like with roses grown in Kenya or Equador. They arrive strangled in rubberbands for the huge flower market in the Netherlands, divided up into orders and then into shipping boxes. So, they could use a little TLC.
Many of the flowers are closed and I want open blooms so it is critical to decide how many hours in advance to put them somewhere to mature or put them in the cold to prevent going open too fast. Peonies often come closed up inside as a ball. Put them someplace warmer and they begin to open sometimes too fast so you put them in cold storage again to slow the process down until it’s time for making the bouquet. All a little bit of a dance with these lovelies.
Next step is to strip the leaves off as these are superfluous in bouquets and often spoil the drinking water for them if leaves stay immersed in the buckets. Thorns on roses need to come off not only for the bride but for my hands too! I divide the flowers up into manageable bunches, remove the rubberbands and group together to see what I have to work with. Needless to say I have a lot of rubberbands now!
I’ve probably prepared the mechanics with which to create the bouquets and arrangements like frames and ribbons. I’ve checked my tape supply, made sure to have the boutonniere pinbacks, and maybe set the wire cages in the vases (no floral foam…sustainable florist here). Each wedding is different and requires a checklist to make sure everything goes in the best way possible.
Once the processing of flowers is finished, it’s time to make the bouquets, boutonnieres or arrangements which is determined by the timing of the event. And sometimes, the flowers stay in the buckets, ready to be transported to the venue and set up there on site. Keeping the flowers cool and fresh also is critical and sometimes the conditions are difficult. I tell them to “hang in there, please!” I need the flowers to open but stay fresh and not wilt or break.
Flowers aren’t the only thing for a wedding. There are vases, cylinders, candles, ribbons, extra vases (just in case), tools, aprons, zipties, etc. All this goes along to make sure setting up the wedding flowers has everything to make the arrangements a success.
I love what I do and despite the worry that goes with being a wedding vendor, it doesn’t seem like work; I get to play with one of my favorite things for a happy event that is so significant and important! How cool is this?
