A Floral Affair

My experience with finding our florist was relatively easy. The wedding planners gave me their recommendations (which happened to consist of the 3 florists that I loved online) and setup the appointments. When I first started planning this wedding, I was leaning towards the traditional wedding with your traditional types of flower arrangements. After choosing The W as our wedding reception venue, my whole game plan changed. Now, our wedding is modern/contemporary and instead of the traditional sage green/brown colors, we are sticking to black and white.

The first florist we went to visit was Bella Flora, which also happens to be the in-house florist for The W. They were amazing. I immediately clicked with the florist and our ideas just seemed to flow. I left the meeting SO excited and ready for the day to be here...that's when I knew that not only was I REALLY engaged, but the wedding planning was becoming more then just a venue search. Here are some samples of their work:



My next meeting was a few days later with Fete des Fleurs, also a popular floral company in Dallas. They were awesome as well...all of their flowers are extremely gorgeous, but they seemed to lean on the more traditional side (in my opinion). While they really listened to me and tried to satisfy my wants during the discussion (the owner was incredibly nice), I just knew when I left that it wouldn't have been a perfect fit for this event. I think deep down my mind was made up before I even walked in there, which wasn't entirely fair to Fete des Fleurs. I would recommend them to anyone because, if I wasn't planning the modern/contemporary event that I am, I would use them in a heart beat. Here's some samples of their work:

And, if you are wondering after that first paragraph, what happened to the last florist? Well, once I talked to the coordinators about how I felt after the first two appointments, they agreed that my third appointment wasn't necessary. The third company tended to create flowers more like Fete des Fleurs, and my heart was already set on Bella Flora.

So there you have it, my positive experience at finding a florist. I would suggest that once you have your reception venue booked, find out their in-house florist because they will know what best fits the atmosphere of the venue. Also, if you're from Dallas, you have MANY amazing options for flowers, but these I would definitely put on your list to check out!

During my planning process, I've stuck with the number 3. I visit at least 3 vendors for each item I need. How many vendors did you all meet with when deciding the major elements of your wedding?