floriculture specialty designs weddings. floral decorations set the mood as a professional florist,...

Floriculture Specialty Designs

Weddings

Floral Decorations Set the MoodFloral Decorations Set the Mood

• As a professional florist, whenever you sell a wedding you accept the responsibility to translate the magic of love in the bride's own personal style through the flowers you suggest and create.

• Whether your bride is planning an elaborate church ceremony or a simple home gathering, the floral decorations you plan are the key element in establishing the atmosphere for the entire ceremony and reception.

Floral Decorations Set the MoodFloral Decorations Set the Mood

• This means you must sell the bride and her family on the tremendous visual difference flowers play in setting the mood and creating the appropriate romantic environment for the wedding festivities.

Suggestions for Selling WeddingsSuggestions for Selling Weddings

• Be a professional.– The member of your staff who sells weddings

must be a professional salesperson.• Skill in successful selling techniques is essential, as

well as a thorough knowledge of all aspects of wedding sales and design.

• Your wedding specialist must be thoroughly familiar with pricing, should have complete knowledge about what flowers are available and be competent to recommend substitutions when required.


– Most prospective brides are interested in bouquet colors and shapes, rather than in specific flowers which might be used.

– A professional salesperson can, therefore, sell flowers which are currently in season and which offer the best profit potential.


• Establish a sales environment.– Ideally, a shop specializing in wedding flowers

should have a bridal room where the atmosphere has been deliberately planned for the bridal customer.

• If an entire room is not available for this purpose, a specific area of the shop can be reserved for bridal interviews.

• It should be apart from the distractions of shop traffic and offer comfortable seating for the customer, as well as the salesperson.


• The customer should be made to feel relaxed, comfortable and important.

• It is poor selling practice to ask a bridal customer to stand at a sales counter, while she attempts to complete the flower details for her wedding.

– When discussing wedding flowers with a prospective bride, a salesperson should concentrate his/her complete attention on this one customer.

• It is impossible to sell a successful, profitable wedding while trying to design, answer the phone or wait on shoppers in the store.

Suggestions for Selling WeddingsSuggestions for Selling Weddings• The bridal customer always deserves undivided attention.• The professional salesperson will plan ahead so that

interruptions are not allowed to take his total attention from the bride.

– Booking appointments.• Whether a prospective bride should have an appointment

before coming in to discuss flowers, is a matter that each florist must determine individually as desirable or not for his shop.

• The general trend indicates, however, that most flower shops prefer to discuss wedding flowers by appointment only.


• This enables the salesperson to prepare for the interview and to reserve the needed time so the customer can receive undivided attention.

• Appointments often eliminate the chronic shopper.

• Usually, the bride who will go to the trouble of making an appointment is a prime prospect.

• Some florists arrange special appointments for brides who work and cannot come in during regular business hours.


– Booking appointments can be costly.• The florist sets aside valuable work time and spends

considerable effort to entice a prospective bride into ordering her wedding flowers.

• However, not every appointment will be a sale.

• A consultation fee of $10.00 or $20.00 can be applied to a bride's statement when she commits an order for wedding flowers.

• Other professions charge for their time, and the florist should not hesitate to charge for service.

Suggestions for Selling WeddingsSuggestions for Selling Weddings• Handling the interview.

– It is important to have a definite sales procedure in handling a wedding appointment.

– A specially-designed order form for recording wedding details, will help the salesperson cover every important flower detail.

– An efficient procedure is to obtain all information about the wedding first; names, addresses, phone number of the bride & groom, when and where the wedding will be held, as well as other bridal functions.


• Next, move along to the wedding flower details.– Most brides have a color scheme in mind.

• Discuss their ideas on color, and ask for a sample of the dress material for attendants, mothers and other members of the wedding party who will be wearing flowers.

• Fabric samples will help you envision the gowns in relation to potential flower choices.


– Discuss the style of gowns the attendants and the bride will be wearing.

• If you keep latest issues of bridal magazines in the bridal sales room, your customer can refer to styles shown to indicate to you the general designs she has selected.

• All of these details will enable you to have an overall feeling for the wedding scene and how flowers can best contribute to the picture.


– As you talk to the bride, you should be studying her personality and appearance.

• Not all brides can wear all flowers.

• To be perceptive about the bride as an individual will help you suggest flowers which are best for her.


– At this point in the interview, you many want to point out specific areas of a presentation book which have the feeling your bridal customer is looking for.

• Many brides will want to look over all the photographic materials available.

• You should allow them the time and freedom to do so.

• Selection of flowers is one of the most important decisions a bride-to-be makes.


• She should be given the opportunity to make her selections. Thoughtful sequences in selling bridal flowers is to consider attendant's flowers first, then the bride's bouquet, followed by corsages for the mothers, church decorations, reception decorations, rehearsal dinner decorations with minor floral details last.


– An important tool in helping the bride with church decorations can be a card file.

• By keeping a file on local churches, the florist can have at the tip of his fingers such information as length of aisle runner needed, restrictions the church may have on decorations or candles, equipment owned by the church such as candelabra, and much more.

• This indicates to a customer that her florist is familiar with the church and can help her visualize how flowers can most effectively decorate the church to portray the proper setting.


– When the bride has made her flower selections, a definite bid to book the wedding should be made.

• There are many closing techniques which can be used.– Among the most successful is a to-the-point request for a

deposit to hold the wedding.– Most florists figure an estimate of the wedding flowers while

the bride waits.– If it is impossible to close the sale at the interview, plan to

follow up by phone.– Generally speaking, if you follow up by phone after the

interview, you will book 50% to 60% of the weddings you have bid on.


– It is essential that staff members KNOW PRICES.

• The salesperson working with a prospective bride should never have to ask someone else or guess.

• Every bouquet should be available in three price ranges: good, better, best.

• An excellent way to help your staff be professional in this area is review bridal presentation books and price every bouquet and decoration with a range of three prices.


– Depending on your clientele and your selling policies, you may want to note prices in the book beside the pictures.

– Another alternative is to put them on a separate sheet so the salesperson can conveniently refer to them during the interview.


• Here is a suggested procedure for quoting prices: – Determine how much each bouquet picture in

the books will sell for in your shop, exactly as shown.

– Then decide if this pictured example will be your lowest, middle or highest price.


– Most shops use the pictured examples as the middle price range. During the interview, you can point out to the bride that:

• For example: this bouquet can be styled at: $20.00, $25.00, and $30.00.

• The one pictured is in the 25.00 range.

• The $30.00 bouquet is longer and more dramatic (or uses more flowers, or whatever feature you can emphasize to justify the higher price).

Suggestions for Pricing Wedding Suggestions for Pricing Wedding BouquetsBouquets• Methods of pricing wedding flowers are as many

and as individual as florists themselves.– Each retailer must determine the system best for his/her

shop and the one that insures a fair profit.

– Many factors influence the price of a wedding bouquet or arrangement: the quality and number of flowers selected, the caliber of effort required and the personal service given.

Suggestions for Pricing Wedding Suggestions for Pricing Wedding BouquetsBouquets

• When pricing wedding work, a florist must not only provide for his/her own profit, but also be competitive in the market.– Some shops use a standard mark-up system for weddings,

charging from 4 to 1 to a 10 to 1 mark-up.

– When a shop has no definite formula, but follows the policy that designers should use as many flowers and materials as needed to make a bouquet look right, a fair profit is seldom returned.


• There are three important elements in every wedding bouquet: labor, the flowers and accessories.

• It is important to make a study of how long it takes to sell, plan, design and service a wedding.

• This is the basis for a determination of bouquet costs.

Suggestions for Pricing Wedding Suggestions for Pricing Wedding Bouquets Bouquets • Many florists use a formula based on the

selling price of the bouquet. – This deals with a percentage of selling price being

assigned to each of the three elements of a bouquet.

– This system must be altered depending upon the design and type of flowers used in the bouquet.

– A bouquet of phalenopsis orchids requires a high labor cost and a low material cost.


– These factors should be taken into account and the pricing formula adjusted accordingly.

• A typical adjustment formula to cover the three design categories follows:

– Labor ..... 30% of the selling price.– Flowers ... 50% of the selling price.– Supplies .. 20% of the selling price.– Bouquets requiring high labor, low material cost such as

glamellias, composite flowers, etc.)– Labor ..... 50% of the selling price.– Flowers ... 75% of the selling price.– Supplies .. 20% of the selling price.


– Bouquets requiring high material costs, low labor costs (such as lilies, orchids, gardenias, etc.)

– Labor ..... 15% of the selling price.– Flowers ... 75% of the selling price.– Supplies .. 10% of the selling price.– Recent studies indicate that the most profitable way for a

flower shop to price wedding work is by using a percentage of the selling price for the labor and a general mark-up on the flowers and supplies. The formula works as follows:

– Labor ..... 35% of the selling price.– Flowers ... Retail selling price.*– Supplies .. Retail selling price.**


– * Selling price for flowers was determined to be most profitable when a 3.5 times mark-up on the cost of flowers was used.

– ** Selling price for supplies was determined to be most profitable when a double mark-up on the cost of supplies was used.

– The 35% labor charge was arrived through the following information.

» The average designer is paid $6.50 per hour.» The hourly rate increases by 25% for payroll taxes

and benefits paid by the employer.» When these factors are considered, the "real" design

labor cost to a floral shop becomes $10.56 per hour.


» This must be doubled to be profitable, resulting in a $20.00 per hour labor charge.

» Most shops cannot charge for design labor based on an hourly rate.

» It is too hard to control and monitor and is neither practical or reliable.

» A 20% labor rate is more satisfactory.

» A 20% labor rate would be the rate for an average design.

» Because of the additional skill and time required for wedding work, the labor rate should be 35%.


• Examples of various pricing formulas are below:– Standard Mark-up (4 to 1) Examples:

– Flowers:

» 24 marguerite Daisies @ .08 each wholesale cost ......$1.92.

» 1 stem Baby's Breath @.43 stem wholesale cost .........$.42.

» 2 stems Baker Fern @ .08 stem wholesale ...........$.16.

– Supplies:

» 50 pieces wire and tape @ .015 wholesale cost

» 2 yards ribbon @ $.21 per yard wholesale cost

– Labor:

» 1/2 hour @ $6.50 per hour.$3.25 (actual wage paid employees)


– Percentage Mark-up (30-50-20).– Flowers (50% of selling price):

» 24 Marguerite Daises @ .30 each ............. $ 7.20 (.08 each wholesale price x 3.5 mark-up)

» 1 stem Baby's Breath @ 1.50 stem ........... $ 1.50 (.43 each wholesale price x 3.5

mark-up)» 2 stems Baker Fern @ .30 stem ................$ .60

(.08 stem wholesale price x 3.5 mark-up).– SELLING PRICE $28.00– Supplies (20% of selling price):– Wire, tape and ribbon..........$ 3.70– Labor (30% of selling price):

» 30% of selling price ..........$ 5.60» SELLING PRICE..$18.60


– Percentage and standard mark-up (35% labor charge):

– Flowers (3.5 mark-up):» 24 Marguerite Daises @ .30 each .............. $7.20

(.08 each wholesale price x 3.5 mark-up)» 1 stem Baby's Breath @ 1.50 stem ............ $1.50

(.43 each wholesale price x 3.5 mark-up)» 2 stems Baker Fern @ .30 stem

(.08 stem wholesale price x 3.5 mark-up).– Supplies (2.0 mark-up).

» 50 pieces wire and tape @ .03 each ......... $ 1.50 (.015 each wholesale price x 2.0 mark-up)

» 2 yards ribbon @ .42 per yard ................... $ .64 (.21 per yard wholesale price x 2.0 mark-up).


– Labor (35% of selling price)

– 35% of selling price ........$ 6.36

– SELLING PRICE $18.00

Wedding EtiquetteWedding Etiquette

• Many brides are unsure of themselves concerning wedding etiquette.– As their professional floral consultant, you may be

consulted for information on etiquette.– You should be prepared to answer questions accurately

and helpfully to make the bride more at ease with the many decisions she will be making.

– You may wish to pass the information along to your customers as part of your normal sales presentation.


• Wedding expenses– There are no absolute rules on who pays for

specific wedding expenses.• Financial obligations must often give way to

everyday realities and compromise.

• Bridal couples should sit down with both sets of parents and settle the financial responsibilities quickly so there will be no disappointments later on in the planning.


• Traditionally, the expenses noted below are shared by the bride and groom and their families.

– The Bride and her family.» Wedding gown.» Trousseau.» Invitations and announcements.» Flowers for the ceremony, reception and bridesmaids.» Decorations for the church.» Entire reception.» Soloist and organist.» Photographer.» Transportation for the bridal party.» Corsages for those assisting.


– The groom and his family.

» Bride's rings.

» Marriage license.

» Bride's bouquet.

» Gifts and boutonnieres for best man and ushers.

» Flowers for mothers and grandmothers.

» Rehearsal dinner.

» Transportation for himself and best man to the wedding.

» Clergyman's fee.

» All wedding trip expenses.


• Floral Etiquette.– If a bride is not knowledgeable about her options

concerning flowers at the church, flowers as part of the ceremony and flowers as thank-you gifts and remembrances, you can steer her towards some of these customs and add extra sales to your wedding order.

– "Thank you's" and remembrances:• Suggest to brides that flowers can be ordered for delivery on

their wedding day to grandparents and other special friends or relatives who are unable to attend the ceremony.

• This thoughtful gesture allows these people to share in the happiness of the occasion.


• Flowers should also be sent to the hosts and/or hostesses of the parties given for the bridal couple.

• These should arrive several days after the wedding as a "thank you" for their kindness.

• Suggest that the groom send flowers to his new in-laws thanking them for providing such a beautiful wedding.

Etiquette for Second MarriagesEtiquette for Second Marriages

• Almost 45% of all marriages performed in the past several years were remarriages for one or both of the people involved.

• Many of these remarriage couples are unsure of how to deal with etiquette for their wedding.

• Today's trend places importance on sharing a joyful, new beginning rather than a concern for traditional rules and attitudes towards a second or third marriage.


– Remarriages are as private or as public as the bridal couple would like.

• Many couples prefer small ceremonies in a home or secular ceremonies conducted in a chapel.

• Large religious ceremonies are appropriate if this is the couple's wish.

• The couple should check with officiating clergy to see how they and the church hierarchy stand on remarriages.


– Both the bride and the groom should pay for the wedding.

• If one of the partners has never been married, the parents may want to help with financial assistance which is perfectly acceptable.

• The latest trend is to use children from previous marriages in the wedding party.

– If the children are agreeable to the situation, by all means they should be included.

– However, legal witnesses to the wedding must be over 18.

• A best man and/or maid of honor could stand along with the children but the number of persons in the wedding should be limited in accordance with the ceremony.

• In a remarriage for the bride, no one "gives" her away.


– Fashion and color trends have changed for remarriages.

• White is a valid fashion choice for the bride.• If the bride feels that white is not her best color, she

may choose whatever color she prefers.– However, a pastel gown presents the bride in a more

glowing light than a bold color.– There are many styles of gowns to choose from; many can

be worn for other occasions.– The dress should be appropriate for the type of ceremony

planned.


• Planning a reception should be no different than giving a party.

– Couple should rely on restaurants, hotels, caterers or even good friends to prepare food and serve at a reception.

– Gifts are optional for remarriages; however, most people want to give the couple reminders of the day and will probably be sensitive to the couple's life-style.

– Brides should take advantage of the bridal gift registry to specify their preferences.

10 Key Factors that Establish 10 Key Factors that Establish a Distinct Reputation for your a Distinct Reputation for your ShopShop• Selection of materials.

– A professional floral designer knows how to select and combine materials to achieve ideal visual value.

– Creating an exciting and unique bouquet does not require out-of-the ordinary materials.

– Everyday flowers designed with a flair for professional treatment make distinctive bouquets.

• Working effectively with color.– Weddings are planned around color themes.– A professional floral artist knows how to use color

effectively to add life, drama and impact to wedding flowers.

10 Key Factors that Establish 10 Key Factors that Establish a Distinct Reputation for your a Distinct Reputation for your ShopShop• Creating various bouquet styles.

– A professional floral artist uses his own flair for materials, color, texture and proportion to add fresh excitement to traditional bouquet styles.

• Professional design skills.– Professional design skills allow a florist to communicate

personal artistry and style in flowers.– Without professional design skills, a floral artist cannot

communicate his unique style with distinction.• All designs must have a focal area. • The focal point can be created by the size, shape, color or

direction of the flowers.

10 Key Factors that Establish 10 Key Factors that Establish a Distinct Reputation for your a Distinct Reputation for your ShopShop

– Rhythm is another professional technique. – Line is one of the most fundamental elements of

professional design. – Clustering builds visual impact for each type of flower

used.– All bouquets use positive and negative space.

• Positive space is filled with material.• Negative space is completely open.

– Unity is the all-important design consideration that combines material, color and form into oneness so the total composition is pleasing to the eye.


– Unity is the process of bringing together all the design principles and elements expressed in a bouquet to achieve visual agreement.

• Understanding how to use foliage.– Foliages are often used as filler or to hide design

mechanics.

– However, foliages can create impressive bouquets when they are used as primary or secondary materials.

– Foliages emphasize flowers and lines when they are used as a secondary material.

10 Key Factors that Establish 10 Key Factors that Establish a Distinct Reputation for your a Distinct Reputation for your ShopShop• Using ribbon effectively.

– Ribbon is an important and often requested bouquet accessory.

– To enhance a design, ribbon must be an integral part of a bouquet.

– It should never be hooked on as a last minute addition or to hide sloppy mechanics.

10 Key Factors that Establish 10 Key Factors that Establish a Distinct Reputation for your a Distinct Reputation for your ShopShop• Fair and profitable pricing.

– Price is often avoided in the presentation of wedding bouquet suggestions.

– However, it should be discussed in all wedding presentations.

– Bouquets should be designed based on a predetermined pricing formula, otherwise it is impossible to produce a worthwhile profit.


– This formula can provide a guideline for developing your own profitable pricing policy for your wedding bouquets.

• 3.5 times markup on all perishables.• 2 times markup on all supplies and accessories.• 35%-50% charge for creative labor based on actual time spent

constructing bouquet.

– The pricing of your wedding work must reflect your cost of materials and your overhead expenses as well as a worthwhile profit.

– This requires careful figuring of all bouquets and astute control of all materials used.

10 Key Factors that Establish 10 Key Factors that Establish a Distinct Reputation for your a Distinct Reputation for your ShopShop• Coordinating wedding elements.

– The professional wedding specialist has the unique ability to coordinate all of the floral elements in the wedding.

– Coordination of wedding elements can be accomplished through the use of the style, flowers or color themes.

• Effectively using accessories.– The effective use of accessories is an important ingredient

in outstanding bridal work.– Silks, dries, ribbons and other accessories can enhance

bridal bouquets.


• Being creative and innovative.– Being creative doesn't happen by accident.– With professional education in the fundamentals of design,

color and bouquet styles and proper instruction in how to use accessories, foliages and other design materials, a florist develops a solid foundation for fostering creativity.

– When designing creative wedding bouquets, the goal is to develop unique salable ideas, interpreted in the bride's personal style and budget.

– From this day forward, design distinctive bouquets that blend color, flowers, beauty and romance with your bride's personal style.

BouquetsBouquets

• The colonial bouquet.– BIEDERMEIER: Influenced by a period in German and

Austrian History (1815-1848) this style of design features compact circular and oval forms and concentric material placement.

• Use small mass or filler flowers.

– TRADITIONAL COLONIAL: Circular or round shape, usually flowers are compacted quite tightly together.

• Use small mass or filler flowers.• Traditionally has streamers hanging down from the bouquet.• Appropriate for short dresses, but out of proportion for long

gowns, good selection for Victorian Wedding.

BouquetsBouquets

• To update the look of this arrangement, a more loose and airy placement of flowers may be desired, with flowers placed in and out of the arrangement for more depth. Larger flowers such as orchids may be used, and use of a filler is usually eliminated.

– HAND-TIED BOUQUET: A bouquet style made popular in the Netherlands. Flowers are grouped and tied in the hand, and not placed in a bouquet holder. Advantage of this style is that the flowers can stay in deep water until the wedding begins.

BouquetsBouquets

• The crescent and cascade bouquets. The romantic cascade bouquet style is still very popular with today's brides.– Traditional Symmetrical Bouquet: The long

cascading line tends to have a slimming effect held against the gown.

• Popular flower choices: Roses, Stephanoties, Orchids, Bouvardia, Mini Carnations.

BouquetsBouquets

– ASYMMETRICAL CASCADE BOUQUET: You can use clustering techniques to make individual flowers stand out with distinction, or other design trends.

• Popular flower choices: Unique flowers such as spring bulb flowers.

– CRESCENT BOUQUETS: Due to the shaping of the bouquets, it can be one of the most difficult and time consuming. These factors should be taken into consideration when pricing the crescent shaped bouquet.

• Popular flower choices: Unique focal flowers such as lilies, orchids, gerbera daisies, etc. - smaller flowers to accent the line.

BouquetsBouquets

• Novelty bouquets.– Parasols.– Lace fan.– Bible.– Wreaths.– Baskets.– Hurricane candles.– Christmas muffs.

BouquetsBouquets

• Hairpieces: Floral hair pieces are the perfect finishing accent to any gown or bouquet.– They formalize the gown and give the brides party an

ensemble look.

– Possible ideas:• Halo - can attach veiling for a bride, ribbon streamers for

attendants.

• Head band - can attach veiling.

• Single flower - example: baby's breath and bobby pins.

• Combs.

Designing the FlowersDesigning the Flowers

• At the church and altar.– In designing flowers for any altar where the focal point

is the cross, the flowers should never dominate the cross; they must highlight it.

– Quality wedding equipment often makes the difference between an ordinary altar and an outstanding one.

• A florist interested in developing profitable wedding business must make an investment in quality decorating fixtures and maintain them properly.

• A general rule of thumb is to rent specialized wedding equipment for 20% of the retail selling price.


– In ceremonies where a candelabra is the only appropriate decoration, it is essential to create a composition with important visual impact.

– Contemporary design is perfectly appropriate for a church ceremony decoration.

– When flowers are not permitted on the altar, decorations for the family pews must create a visual setting for the ceremony.


• Creative and Distinctive Wedding Receptions.– As a professional florist, your creativity is a vital

ingredient in creating the appropriate setting for the reception.

• Whether the plan calls for a simple punch and cake occasion, or a gala sit-down dinner, the flowers you recommended and create are the focal point that set the mood.

• Holidays may require special decorations because brides usually want to incorporate the enchantment of the season into their wedding and the same holiday theme can be carried through to the reception flowers.

DecorationsDecorations

• Bridal table:– When the bride and groom are seated at their own table the

decoration must command attention.– Possible ideas:

• Garland front of table.• Impressive arrangement.• Use bridal party bouquets.• Balloons.

• Cake table:– Traditionally the wedding cake is the focal point of the reception,

with all other decorations subordinating.– Today, the wedding cake can be grand and glorious or harmonize

with the theme the reception decorations.


– Possible ideas:• Garland table (greens, ribbons, netting).

• Decorate the whole cake with flowers.

• Cake top: fresh or silk.

• Arch of flowers on top (over a figurine).

• Cake base (greens or flowers).

• Cake knife.


• Buffet table:– When a buffet table has room for only one

arrangement, the design must make an impressive statement.

• An important consideration to keep in mind is also to keep the arrangement up off the table if space is needed by the catering staff.

• Possible ideas:– Arrangement in a pedestal container.– Candles.– Candelabra decorated.– Mirror tiles and containers.


• Beverage tables:– When decorating beverage tables be sure to

check with the bartender or caterer so as not to interfere with the service of drinks.

– Possible ideas:• Small vertical line arrangement.

• Balloon bouquet.


• Table centerpieces:– Dramatic centerpieces can add a dramatic touch to the

reception atmosphere and can carry through the wedding theme. Ideally, centerpieces are arranged to promote conversation - either above or below eye level.

– Attractive effects can be achieved with the mix of variety of flowers or an arrangement of a single variety in low centerpieces.

– Pretty baskets or elegant bowls with tapered candles in the center or on each side can provide a lovely flow for your tables: Be sure to check with the reception hall as to whether unprotected candles are allowed.


– Possible ideas:• Candles.

• Topiary trees.

• Mirror tiles with votive candles.

• Balloons.

• Bubble bowls.

• Garland: laid down and ribbons the table.

Servicing WeddingsServicing Weddings

• Local custom and your own personal feelings about time involvement will help you make the important decision about whether your shop will or will not service a wedding.– There are definite advantages to your assumption of

these extra responsibilities toward your bridal customer.

– The advantages should always be reflected in an extra measure of profit to justify the time and effort such servicing requires.


• A primary advantage to your servicing a wedding is being able to supervise the display of the bouquets and arrangements you have designed.– This will be especially important if attendants will be

carrying unusually-shaped bouquets or if they will be wearing special flower accessories.

– Your guidance in helping to make the entire wedding visually beautiful will enhance your reputation as a floral artist.


• When you service a wedding, you will control distribution of the flowers.– At the same time that you are making sure each member

receives the correct bouquet ordered for her, you can also be giving brief instructions on the proper way to wear or carry the flowers.

– A box of bouquets or corsages made up, delivered and left for the bridal party or one of the family members to disperse can often result in confusion: who gets what bouquet?

– Excessive handling of bouquets at this point could be damaging.


• Your personal attendance to members of the wedding party is one of the key responsibilities in servicing a wedding.– Corsages and boutonnieres must be distributed and pinned

on.– Instructions on how to carry a bouquet gracefully so that it

compliments the girl and the gown will need to be given.• If you are unable to attend and explain this technique, be sure to

include a "How to Carry Your Bouquet" card in the box.• If there are hair pieces to be worn, help the attendants attach these

deigns comfortably and firmly, so that they feel comfortable with the floral accent.


• A wedding preparation kit should be included with the wedding you service for the use of your staff in case of emergencies.– A preparation kit might include pins for taking down

aisle runners and attaching decorations, extra corsage and boutonniere pins, floral tape, snips and bows for emergency repair of decorations that are fragile, you may wish to take extra blossoms along in the event that some in the bouquet be replaced.


– Depending on the amount of decoration involved you may want to include the reception area set-up as your service option.

• You can place floral arrangements so they are to your best advantage.

• Many times caterers do not understand how to decorate the cake properly with flowers, maybe you can work directly with the caterer or perform this task yourself.

• You can assure the bride that the cake is correctly and creatively decorated to achieve the service she has order.


– Servicing efforts should not go unrewarded. • There should be a well-defined policy covering the

new servicing options a shop provides.

• Servicing a wedding takes one or more staff members who will be taken from their normal activities at the shop.

• Charges should be furnished accordingly to cover whatever inconvenience that it may cause to the day-to-day routine.

How to Carry a BouquetHow to Carry a Bouquet

• Showing the bride and her attendants how to carry their bouquets correctly is the final step in the design process. When a bouquet is held incorrectly, it is not being displayed to the best advantage. All the artistry and work which has gone into the design could be minimized.

• Bouquets should be carried gracefully and naturally with consideration for the bouquet styling, the features of the gown and the size of the girl. No detail on the dress should behidden by the bouquet. Bouquets should, therefore, be held low enough to reveal the gown and held in front with both hands or to the side with one hand.


– To keep a bouquet tilted upright, the bride tucks two fingers behind the handle and two in front of the handle. The handle then rests between the thumb and fingers.

– Bouquets styled in bouquet holders can be designed so that the handle is held in an upward position and is grasped in a natural manner without special finger placement. This natural grasp is very comfortable to hold. The bouquet is automatically tipped at the correct angle called for by the design in order to show the best advantage. The upright handle styling is especially effective for arm and clutch bouquets.


– Clutch or arm bouquet should rest naturally in the crook of the arm so that flowers face away from the body.

• An index finger placed over the top of the stems keeps the design from slipping.

• A clutch bouquet can also be held near its bow and carried at the side for an informal look.

– Basket bouquets should be grasped by the handle so that the basket is flat.

• If the basket is designed to be carried at an angle, the handle should be grasped toward the back of the bouquet so the arrangement will tilt forward slightly.

• Unless this design is deliberately styled to be held at a slight tilt, the basket will look most natural carried parallel to the floor.