Monday, January 5, 2009

Venue Visit


At DebraFlower like any other professional floral designer, we visit all venues before designing and calculating our estimates. Why are we so strict about this rule? Let me share a story with you. On Saturday a couple came to enquire about floral decorations for their wedding in June….by the way it’s perfect timing to talk to a florist in January especially if you are planning to marry or have any other event in June. The month of June is the busiest for people who design events since there are graduations, weddings, anniversaries and end of the year business events. Back to the Venue Visit, the couple described the church to me since they had visited it a number of times and booked the church for their wedding. Like most couples they were unable to answer most of my specific questions about the characteristics of the church. We talked about the kind of decorations that they dreamed of for their wedding. Which reminds me, the “groom” should always be included in the planning of floral decorations. On the wedding day, he is the only one who can check to make sure that the decorations are what the couple wanted. Someone from the DebraFlower team is always present to make sure that the “groom” likes the final affect of the decorations. As is our practice, on Sunday I went to personally visit the church with both of my cameras, paper and pen in hand. I should be accustomed to this but I just never get used to how little a couple knows of the church they have chosen for the most important day of their lives. There were at least 5 errors in their description. If I had followed what they shared with me, the decorations would have been wrong for their church and totally against the requirements of the church. Yes, many churches have very specific requirements for floral decorations. It's the designers responsability to make sure these requirements are respected.

If the florist that you would like to use for your very special day, has not personally visited your church, temple, location or wherever you plan to marry, make sure they do. Do not allow someone to design your florals if they haven’t seen the venue.
From the DebraFlower team,
Debra