Monday, May 31, 2010

Your eyes lit up the room when I gave you flowers.

Next up on my list of vendor reviews - our florist, otherwise known as The Flowerbox!

Wedding planning and sticker shock are like best buds. Where one goes, the other is likely to follow. Kind of like that annoying younger sibling that insisted on tagging along while you and your 7th grade BFF spied on your 18 year old neighbour, aka beau-hunk extraordinaire. I'm kidding, I'm kidding - I love my little brother (now)!

Anyways, where I'm going with this is that I thought I was prepared for the sticker shock of wedding planning. And for the most part, I really was. I didn't bat an eye at the estimated cost of photography, invitations, catering, formal wear, party rentals, limousines - none of it surprised me.

That is, until I started researching the cost of flowers. My newly engaged self (aka pre floral research) happily thumbed through magazine after magazine of the most gorgeous floral designs. So much inspiration to be found, and oh the spectacular things that could be done with flowers. And sure there are "expensive flowers" but I didn't need those! Heck - just look at what people are doing with carnations these days! Right?

Hah! Consider me shocked. Now, I must point out that I understand the reason behind the cost of flowers, I really do. But I guess I never truly *thought* about the cost of florals until I started googling. Oh I googled alright, and gaggled and gurgled. Gah. Unfortunately, there wasn't room in our budget for big, lush, fancy flowers designs. And so it came to pass that our centrepieces would be DIY potted florals and ferns. I even considered arranging the bouquets and boutonnieres myself - until my bridesmaids lovingly shoved nudged me back from the brink of "DIY on your wedding day will make you insane" insanity.
Thus, it was with an embarrassingly (at least to my mind) meagre budget that I called to set up appointments with 3 different florists in Vancouver. And so, armed with all the clipped out, printed off, and dog earred inspirational photos of wild and woodsy floral designs, I carefully explained my ideas to each of the florists in turn.

The first florist was very sweet, albeit a wee bit scatterbrained. She was fairly new to the business, and although she had grand ideas, her proposal came in at more than double the budget I had given her. Strike One.

The second florist had been in the biz for a long time, and wasn't shy to admit it. Although her proposal was more in keeping with my modest budget, she just didn't *get* my ideas. When I showed her the photos of the wild looking bouquets, she said "oh yes, we can do something like that, only less messy and wild - you don't want it looking like that". Um what? Were you not just listening to me?!? Did I not just say that's exactly what I wanted? Aaaaand Strike Two.

By this point, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to get the look I wanted for the price I could afford. And then I met with Sacha Thompson from The Flowerbox She chatted with me about my ideas, looked at my (piles of) pictures, and quickly put my worries to rest. She would use local, in season greenery and flowers. She'd make sure to incorporate my colours, and she'd do it at a price that would fit my budget.

Hoooooooooooooooomerun!

Without further ado - check out her amazing work!









(All photos taken by the amazing Gracci and Rico Pelaez)

Aren't they gorgeous? They were exactly what I wanted. Woodsy, textured, green, wild, yellow. I'm pretty sure the first thing that came out of my mouth when I saw them was [high pitched girly squeal] ahmaigad they're peeeeeeeeeeeeeerfect [/high pitched girly squeal]

A+++++ for The Flowerbox. I would work with them again in a heartbeat. Half a heart beat even!

PS. Bonus points for anyone who knows the song that this blog title refers to!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you still trying to get rid of your burlap tablecloths? If so, please contact me at laxshmi69@yahoo.com
Thanks!

Aimee said...

Hey Amy - so I'm 35 days out from my wedding and was feeling pretty lost as of this morning... googling around, looking at pictures I stumbled on your "real weddings" feature and BOOM - HEY! THAT'S MY WEDDING! Everything down to the fern center pieces (which are currently growing all over my house and driving us crazy!). I was struggling with renting organza overlays but am already in contact with the burlap place after reading your review - such a great idea!! Any other tips or hints for a stressed out bride? I actually also got in touch with Sacha this morning too! Thanks for this blog, you may be a life saver and not even know it :) if you have any info to share kingselfwedding@gmail.com :)

An English Lady said...

Awww, I'm so glad I could help you out Aimee!! I too struggled with the idea of renting linens for the tables, and then one day a picture of a party that had used burlap - and well you know the rest of the story :) So you're essentially a month out from your wedding, and at this point, I think the most helpful pointer I can give you is don't sweat the small stuff! Because in the end, you're going to have the time of your life, and that's all that really counts. If you are wondering about any other specifics (like wear I purchased something or whatever) let me know and I'll be happy to answer! I'm so excited for you!!

Tara said...

Hi Amy... we've put our deposit down on the DAC and we're so excited. But I have so many questions about your experience since I don't personally know anyone who has been married there. Would you be available to answer some questions by email? taralegare@hotmail.com. Thanks and I hope you're enjoying married life!!!

Florists Vancouver said...

That is, until I started researching the cost of flowers. My newly engaged self (aka pre floral research) happily thumbed through magazine after magazine of the most gorgeous floral designs. So much inspiration to be found, and oh the spectacular things that could be done with flowers