I DREAM OF FLOWERS, PART 2

I left off in Part 1 with me in dreamland, skipping down a yellow-brick road, a big binder overflowing with pictures in tow. Images of pink and white fluffy flowers (peonies, ranunculus, garden roses, oh my!) floated in my head as I headed off to my floral vendor meetings. I arrived, sat down and opened up my binder to reveal my inspirational pictures and organized list. I sat back and waited for my gold star when instead, I was given a swift kick and just like that, I was thrown out of dreamland and into (sigh) reality.

Reality #1: Our chosen wedding date is after "pretty flower season." And by pretty flowers, I mean peonies, ranunculus and garden roses. NOOOO! I knew that our early July wedding would be cutting it close, but c'mon people! We figured out a way to get a man on the moon...why can't we figure out how to grow peonies in NYC in July!

Reality #2: Apparently we can. But they're expensive. And by expensive, I mean way-out-of-the-budget-that-there's-no-hiding-it-from-Mr. Latte expensive. So out the window go my beautiful pink peony and ranunculus bouquets, centerpieces and boutonnieres....and my broken heart.

Reality #3: The flowers that are in season and therefore much more affordable? Calla lilies, hydrangeas and roses. Now, I know that most brides would be jumping up and down at this point conjuring up new dreams of modern calla lily bouquets and poofy hydrangea centerpieces, but I guess I'm the anti-bride because I'm not a big fan of...you guessed it, calla lilies, hydrangeas and roses. I know, I know...and I call myself a bride.

The look of shock, horror and disappointment must not have gone unnoticed because florist #1 told me that she may be able to get peonies for my bouquet, and my bouquet only. Maybe it was the look on my face, or maybe it was the single tear running down my cheek, but whatever it was I didn't care because I WAS GETTING PEONIES!!! She was quick to remind me that this was NOT a guarantee but I think I saw her give me a little wink. Mr. Latte says that I was hallucinating but I am (not-so) secretly hoping and praying that mine hands will be holding those white, fluffy balls of beauty (peonies) on wedding day.

Honestly, I can't remember all the details of the meetings. I remember talking about altar arrangements, aisle runners and centerpieces but the details escaped me as soon I left their offices. All I know is that a couple of weeks later, the proposals that came into my email inbox almost put me into cardiac arrest. Like Miss Perfume, I was FLOORED when I saw their estimates. At $8,000 to $10,000, they were 3-4x our initial budget!!!

And that's when the madness started. For the next 4 weeks, I worked with one florist to cut the madness down to a reasonable cost. The florist I chose to work with was Atlas Floral Decorators. Jeannie was wonderful...totally understanding of my budgetary concerns, flexible when I wanted to make changes and very attentive to my likes and dislikes. During our initial meeting, she GOT my look/feel very quickly and suggested some really beautiful ideas for both arrangements and centerpieces. I felt like I could trust her 100% and not have to worry about whether or not I would like the flowers come wedding day. So, a month and 3 contract revisions later (did I mention how flexible she was?), the florist was booked!

Yes, I had to add to my initial budget a bit, but I came to realize (and deal with) the fact that flowers are more expensive than I had thought. And they add up quickly. For example, if a centerpiece costs $50, multiply that by 16 tables and that $50 skyrockets to $800!

I also had to work within my budget by prioritizing the flowers by what I felt was most important. For me, the personal flowers (bouquets, boutonnieres, etc) were the most important because they were going to be in all of our wedding day photos. Also, I was relying on them to really pop against the chocolate brown bridesmaid dresses and add some color to the wedding party. So I worked with Jeannie to bring down the costs of some of the other arrangements (such as the table centerpieces) to keep the personal flowers within our budget. Flowers for the cocktail hour? Out. Entrance table piece? Good-bye. Arrangement for the escort card table? I'll DIY something, thank you very much. This gave me the room for my peony bouquet (still hopeful!) and pomanders for the ceremony.

The flowers were Hurdle #1 for me during wedding planning and I was so happy and relieved to put it behind me and move on. Today, I will be meeting with Jeannie to see a mock-up of some of the arrangements. I'm so excited to see what she comes up with!

Anyone else floored by your floral proposal? Did you have to prioritize the flowers to make everything fit into your budget?