Your Mom is Not A Florist: unless of course she is!

Your Mom Is Not A Florist…

I originally wrote this post for the famed blog of Sasha Souza last year...we will be posting blogs from this series all week as we explain the ins and outs of "your friends, your mom and your wedding". I hope you get a bit of insight into why hiring professionals can only help your wedding experience...not hinder it. 

Image Courtesy of Scott Hayne Photography

Coming from the East Coast I am always curious if planners and wedding vendors across the nation have the same trials and tribulations while dealing with clients and the wedding planning process as I do...and through the magic of Social Networking I am able to talk to vendors all over the U.S. that answer this query easily..YES! We all deal with similar situations and of course we come across some issues that are region specific but for the most part, we all have the same ups and downs. With that said…I’ll give you a little background into the series I call “Your Mom Is Not A…” Most recently, we posted your “Mom is not a Wedding Planner” on our own business blog but after speaking with Sasha I thought a great topic no matter where you lived would be “Your Mom is not a Florist.” Unless of course, she is.

We find that many clients hire a Wedding Planner for three main reasons. One, they don’t know where to begin…they don’t know how to make those little girl dreams come to fruition and they need the help of a wedding professional. Two, because they feel as though they can handle the wedding planning process but need our help orchestrating the biggest production of their lives thus far. OR Three, because while they love their parents, they would like a mediator to help make sure their dream day is what the bride and groom wants not Mom and dad…well, Mostly Mom. Knowing those three main reasons the sad but true issue is that we are hired very often for the latter of the three reasons.

I bring up these three trends for one reason…why, if we are hired to keep peace amongst mother/daughter would you “hire your mom” to make one of the most important items on your wedding day… Your Bridal Bouquet? Why would you hire her to make your floral centerpieces? I could ask a million questions, but instead, I’d like to give a little insight. First, imagine your mom on your wedding day or the days leading up to the big day? She will be stressed enough about the million and one duties and emotions that are overwhelming her with having only one job…being your Mother or the MOB. That stress alone is likely to drive a woman insane, then you’d ask her to create your bouquet, your bridal party bouquets, boutonnières, altar pieces, centerpieces (would you like for me to go on?). In a time when money is an everyday topic and mentioning the economy is almost as bad as a four letter word many brides are trying to figure out how they can save money on their wedding expenses and many usually turn to the fun world of “DIY projects.” And while the thought of turning your wedding into a DIY affair might be glorious… realism should fit somewhere into the equation. So let’s go over a few pros and cons:

Pro:

You could save money by not paying labor charges.

Con:

Your stressed out mom  will waste money by buying more flowers than she needs (does your mom really know exactly how many stems she needs for 4 bouquets, a bridal bouquet, 5 boutonnières  and 10 centerpieces?).

Pro:

You will save money by not paying a florist to deliver your floral items.

Con:

You will waste money buy paying more per stem for flower (florists get great discounts through their floral wholesaler)

Con:

You will waste money buy paying more for ribbon for your bouquets (again florists get great discounts on floral accents {including ribbon} through their floral wholesaler)

Con:

Your mom will waste her energy from the hours and hours of work that she will have to do alone when a professional florist could easily spread out the duties of your wedding to their entire staff.

Con:

The beautiful perfectly symmetrical spherical masterpiece that you had always envisioned is an oblong somewhat cascading far cry from your dream bouquet was supposed to be…

Con:

Your flowers could very possibly be ruined when your mom sticks them in your refrigerator to keep cold. While your florist might keep their flowers in a walk-in cooler this is held at certain temperatures…the temperature of your own refrigerator will most likely burn your flowers (or at least the ones that will fit)…Do you think you’ll have room for dozens upon dozens of stems of roses for bouquets, stephanotis or orchids for your boutonnières and 4000 loose calla lilies for your centerpieces…Just move the eggs, that might help.

 Let’s be realistic…Does the thought of you overwhelming your mother on the most important day of your life really sound so dreamlike now?