Austin Wedding Florals Guide | All the Info for Booking Your Blooms

You’ve got the ring, a venue booked, a photographer picked out, a planner hired, checking big things off the list – it’s time to start thinking about your Austin wedding florals! We’ve got the 411 on booking your blooms: everything you’ll need to know about when to book, where to look, and important things you’ll want to consider when thinking about flowers for your wedding. Let’s get started!

Florals: Verbena Floral Design | Photo: Carhart Photography 

When to book your florist

In the past, it was more common for florists to work on more than one wedding per day, but today, with florals being a huge part of a wedding’s design and blooms being so integral and time-intensive, many florists only book one wedding per day, which means you don’t want to wait! You’ll need to have a date set and ideally a venue (having your planner booked is also helpful), but 9-10 months out from your date is ideal, especially considering your florist will likely need to order your flowers wholesale and needs ample time to place those orders. If you’re planning on getting married during “busy season” (June-October), you’ll want to book your florist even further in advance (12-15 months). Don’t wait!

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Who to book for your wedding florals

This all depends on your vision. Take a look at several local florists’ work and decide which styles you’re drawn to most. Do you like tall, formal arrangements? Loose, organic and freeform bouquets featuring unique blooms? Monochromatic? Colorful? Whimsical? Nailing down your personal style and knowing which florists specialize in that style can help you know who to reach out to. From there, inquire on their website and be prepared to tell them your floral budget. As a rule of thumb, devoting 10% of your overall wedding budget to florals is common, but if you want to go all out with florals, go for it! Or if minimal blooms is more your thing, that’s ok, too – it’s just important to be up front with your florist about your desires.

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Florals: Bouquets of Austin | Photo: Mackenzie Smith Photo

Communicating your vision to your florist

Speaking of your desires, how do you communicate your vision to your florist? A mood board can help! Before your initial meeting with your florist, use Pinterest or gather photos of elements that FEEL like your ideal wedding. These photos don’t have to be just of blooms! Let fashion (wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses) inspire you, let color swatches inspire you, let photos of gorgeous venues inspire you. Photos can help communicate your vision well when you don’t necessarily have the words to describe precisely what you’re wanting.

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That said, if you don’t have a specific vision for your Austin wedding florals, it’s important to have an open mind and let your florist take the creative reigns! That’s why you’re hiring this person: for their talent, expertise and creativity! Give them a starting point plus the freedom to create something uniquely beautiful and you’ll be amazed.

Remember, certain flowers are only in season during certain times of year, so if you had a certain bloom in mind, it may not work for your wedding date. Let your florist make suggestions for alternatives and trust their expertise!

Hiring a planner-florist versus florist only

It’s common these days for wedding planners to also double as florists and vice versa. Floral design and overall wedding design go hand-in-hand, and many of these vendors have incredible expertise in not only designing and planning the blooms, but the whole bash, too! Because floral design is such a large part of the event design, you’ll want to make sure your planner (who should be one of your very first, if not the first, hires you make) and florist are comfortable working together if you do book two separate vendors for these tasks.

Hint: Many times, companies that specialize in both floral design and wedding planning will have “events”, “event planning” and/or “design” in their company name. That’s often a clue as to who can do both!

Florals: Wild Bunches Floral | Photo: Megan Kay Photography

Where to spend and where to save on wedding florals

Before hiring a florist for your wedding, you’ll want to ask a few helpful questions. Do they have a minimum spend you’ll need to meet? Do they have a separate delivery charge? What’s the latest you’ll be able to make changes to your order? After these questions have been answered, you and your florist should be able to have a much clearer picture of the total amount you’ll be spending.

At the very minimum, you’ll want to invest in bouquets for you and your bridesmaids, boutonnieres, corsages and perhaps an accent piece for the altar. Beyond that, you’ll be looking at table centerpieces, a large floral install for your altar area, accent pieces for various parts of the venue, blooms for the cake and cake table, floral walls, hanging florals and more! The options are truly endless when it comes to the ways florals can make a visual impact.

If florals are top-priority for your wedding, be prepared to spend upwards of 10% of your overall budget on blooms. Remember that larger installs also require more labor – often a team, not just one person – and will affect the price you pay. If you’re looking to save money when it comes to florals, you’ll need to scale down on size and intricacy. You can also save by using blooms that are in-season and more commonly grown/easy to order.

Curious about using fake flowers to cut down on costs? This is certainly an option, but keep in mind the high quality faux flowers that will make someone look twice to figure out if they’re real, are often more expensive than the real flowers themselves!

Floral trends to watch

Floating florals – coming down from the ceiling, seem to float above your tables in mid-air, hanging floral installs are guaranteed to make jaws drop!

Dried florals – becoming more and more popular, especially for brides with a boho style, dried florals make a unique statement and can be used in tons of different ways.

Immersive installations + photo backdrops – think full-size tunnel walkthroughs, arches and walls, immersive installations allow your guests to experience the flowers, rather than just look at them!

Bold, joyful colors – with everything going on this year, brides are looking to express joyful, exuberant, bold and colorful vibes to share an optimistic vibe for their long-awaited celebrations.

Urns and pots – the classic and traditional urn is getting a makeover, being used with statement florals but in less stuffy ways, and potted plants allow for reusable decor pieces once the day has come and gone.

Sustainable florals – it’s not just a buzzword. Sustainable practices in the wedding industry are becoming standard, and even more so within florals! Foam-free floral design, locally harvested blooms and recycling efforts are just a few ways wedding florists are making sure their practices are more eco-friendly.

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