7 Tips for Getting the Most from Your Wedding Florist

Now that you’re engaged, planning your perfect wedding should be exciting, fun and give you a chance to put your unique signature on this big day. All the details can seem overwhelming at first but when you work with professional, experienced vendors that you feel a rapport with, all the details fall in place so you can enjoy every minute. You can make meeting and working with your potential florist much easier if you keep in mind a few of these tips.

A good florist should be able to give you alternatives that keep the feel and color you are wanting from your Bridal Bouquet Design to the Boutonnières all while remaining within your budget.

1. It’s best to wait until you’ve chosen your wedding and reception venues before meeting with your florist. Each location has specific needs and you’ll want the designer to be familiar with your venues.
2. Call and make an appointment a few weeks ahead so the designer can set aside time just for you. Remember that most florists are busy designing and setting up weddings on weekends so try to find a weekday that will work.
3. As with any vendor, it’s a good idea to meet with at least two florists. Take a look at their websites before meeting with them to see if their style compliments yours. Get a written proposal from your potential vendors before making a decision and certainly before putting down a deposit.
4. Your florist will ask you all the possible places you may want flowers, all the people you may want to include and all the details you haven’t thought of. They will want to know what color palette you are working with, how casual or formal your event will be and what your personal style is. It will be helpful to both you and your florist if you spend a little time perusing Bridal magazines and websites to get an idea of what you like and don’t like. Bring in some pictures or send ahead some photos via email. You might be drawn to the shape in one bridal bouquet design, to the colors in another and particular blossoms from several others. Your florist can meld those together to create a unique bridal bouquet design that reflects all the various aspects you desire.
5. It’s a good idea to be a bit flexible, especially if you are on a limited budget. The bridal bouquet design you loved from a magazine may contain blossoms that are out of season, hard to obtain or extremely expensive. Your florist should be able to give you alternatives that keep the feel and color you are wanting while remaining within your budget. If you’re set on one particular bridal bouquet design for yourself, and the flowers are available, then think about using less expensive blossoms for your Attendants and the reception. After all, this is the one chance to have the bridal bouquet design of your dreams.
6. When going over proposals from possible vendors, make sure to ask if there are additional set up and/or delivery fees. Find out if they expect the containers or vases to be returned to them after your event, if they intend to pick them up or if they are included in the cost. You may be able to save on your cost by providing vases to your florist; ask if that is a possibility. If you are having a Sunday going away brunch the table arrangements from a Saturday wedding can be used again there. It’s often a shame when your beautiful arrangements are left after your reception as guests are heading out of town. If this is the case, ask your florist if they can deliver them to a local hospital or nursing home. Not only will you bring joy to the homebound but you can also take a tax deduction of your gift.
7. Finally, while reviewing the various proposals from florists, the bottom line is important but confidence and rapport should weigh equally in your decision making. You’ll want to feel that the designer you choose understands your vision, is detailed and organized, responds in a timely manner, is flexible and makes you feel at ease. Most florists will be happy to provide you with a list of Brides they have worked with in the past and you can also speak with other vendors: photographers, bakers, caterers etc. for recommendations.

As a final recommendation, once you decide on a florist, make your deposit to hold the date. The details can always be finalized as the date gets closer but designers can only do so many weddings in a weekend and you’ll want to be sure they can do yours.

Margaret Bost is the owner and designer of Santa Fe Floral in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Specializing exclusively in weddings, parties and special events, Margaret and her staff focus all their attention on making each Bride’s vision a reality. With over 30 years in the floral industry, Margaret has been honored with numerous awards for her innovative designs and featured in many local and national Bridal publications. To learn more about Margaret and see the work of Santa Fe Floral, please visit www.santafefloral.com.

How to Get More Bang for Your Wedding Buck

I may be a photographer, but I have money saving ideas for you to consider for every aspect involved with your wedding. Read on…

Let’s start with the venue.  Is your wedding in a Church or Temple?  Do you want your wedding and reception in the same place? If you can pick a day or evening other than Saturday, your venue is much more likely to be available, and much more likely to offer you a lower price. Even if it needs to be a weekend because so many of your guests work, you can book a Friday night, or Sunday lunch, and hopefully it will still work for most of your guests and you could save a couple of thousand dollars.

Now that you’ve settled on a venue that fits your budget, you have to pick a meal that won’t be too expensive. Steak and lobster is definitely out, and chicken is boring. How about Mexican food, served by a real Mexican Restaurant, who might be able to put on a show by making tortillas right there on the spot. Ask your venue what their specialty is. They might offer you a lower priced meal that you didn’t think of. And don’t forget the champagne toast. Will your venue allow you to buy your own Champagne? – even if they charge you $1 or $2 per person to serve your beverages, you can save another bundle.

Wedding Cake – Tell your venue you want to supply it, and you’ll pay them to cut and serve it. Go to a store, get a small to medium sized wedding cake that you love, and get 2 or 3 sheet cakes from Costco to serve to everyone.  You cut the prize cake, and the sheet cakes are for the guest. Again a savings of hundreds of dollars.

Cameras on the table – Not any more – everyone has their own digital camera, and those that don’t, aren’t taking photos anyway.

Centerpieces can be a glass bowl with a fancy fish and colored marbles – sitting on top of a mirror. Total price per table – probably $10 or $15 at the most. A florist will charge you hundreds for table décor. Save it for your fancy bridal bouquet design.

DJ – I’m not for skimping on the music, especially if you have a dancing crowd, but if it’s not a Saturday, you’ll save hundreds on a wonderful DJ – who might not even be available if you wanted him for a Saturday.

Back to liquor. If you’re keen on paying for everyone, be aware that it’s very common these days for the host to pay for the first hour, and then it’s a no-host bar. For those weekend cowboys who don’t know when to stop, paying for it themselves will slow them down, and that’s good for you too. We certainly don’t want to turn your celebration day into a tragedy.

Gifts for your guests and bridal party.  Years ago you could give a pack of matches with the bride and groom’s name and date, and that was OK – Now it’s politically not correct, and so maybe a little sweet, engraved, or a little frame, and you can put a cute little saying in there, or a bride and groom photo (from your engagement shoot). For the bridal party, I think you need to spend a little more than you would for guest favors, but again, a nice silver-plated frame – maybe a higher end frame with a photo of you and them, which you will take when the photographer does your family and group photos.

Lastly, the transportation. Limos are fun – but expensive – especially on Saturdays. You can wheel and deal with them very effectively if it’s not a Saturday.

For enlargements of your photos, especially quantities more than 2 or 3 of the same photo, talk to your photographer. We do earn money by photo-shopping the photos, but when we make multiple copies of the same photo, we happily offer discounts.

As a husband-wife team, Bette & George have been capturing moments for couples for 25 years and were selected as one of the 10 Best Wedding Photographers in San Diego. They pride themselves on their sytle, professionalism and quality, and they work hard to satisfy every bride and groom — treating you like family. For Wedding Photography in San Diego, please visit George & Bette at www.photographybygeorge.com where you will find photos and packages for virtually every budget.

6 Tips to Save Money on Your Wedding Photography

Your wedding day – the day you have dreamt of, planned for and anticipated for a year, or a lifetime.  This is an event that takes up a finite amount of time, yet holds infinite memories. To honor the day and create a lasting tribute, you need professional photography services. There is no way around that, and like most brides these days, you may be concerned about sticking to a budget. As you explore ways to keep costs low, consider this article a primer to finding the right photographer for your needs and saving money on wedding photography.

First things first – this article will not tell you to forgo professional photography. It will not advise the hiring of a friend’s cousin’s sister who wants to get into wedding photography, nor will it recommend letting guests use disposable cameras to document the entire day. With that out of the way, let’s get started. Here are the top 6 things you can do to save money on your wedding photography.

1.      Be realistic. Sure, it would be great to be a ‘platinum bride’, but do you really have that money to spend and does the glitz of a diamond-encrusted cake really matter? No, what matters is that you have a celebration of your love surrounded by those who mean the most to you and will support your marriage. Besides, no marriage should stand the strain of paying off a credit card wedding.

2.      Get your priorities in order. What is most important to you? Will it be serving coq au vin or lobster to your 110 guests?  Maybe having an open bar with top shelf liquor? Or maybe it is professional photography by someone who will spend time getting to know you and will create images that document the love, laughter and emotion of your wedding day. There is no right or wrong answer here, but do spend time making sure you and your future spouse have the same ideas when it comes to wedding spending. After all, compromise is the cornerstone of marriage.

3.      Do your research. There are thousands of photographers out there, a lot of good ones and a few great ones. If photography is your priority do your research. Visit LOTS of web sites to find a style you like and develop a ’short-list’ of photographers to call.  When your list is compiled start calling them to learn more. The initial telephone conversation will tell you a lot. Are they available for your wedding day? How responsive is this person? Did they rush me? What questions did they ask about me/my wedding? Do everyone a favor and don’t start the conversation with “How much is your wedding photography?” While that is an important question, it is secondary to other factors, described below. In short, determine if the photographer is available and get a ballpark rate for coverage.

4.      Kiss some frogs! You know the old adage of kissing lots of frogs to meet your prince? The same thing applies to finding your photographer. Once you have done your phone screens, set up face-to-face consultations with your top choices.  Don’t assume that photographers with studios are the best option. They may be, but there are a lot of great photographers who prefer NOT to have the expense of a brick-and-mortar studio. When you meet with these photographers, have a list of questions to ask. Here are some to get you started:

1. How would you describe your shooting style? This should be closely aligned with your personal style – traditional vs. modern, etc.
2. Do you have liability insurance? If you book them, your venue may want a certificate of liability. This protects the photographer, the client and the venue should any accidents happen.
3. What back up equipment do you have? A pro should ALWAYS have back-up bodies, lenses and lighting!
4. Do you have full weddings you can show me? It is important to see full weddings they have photographed to get a sense of their style and coverage.

Of course, there are a million questions you can ask, but those will open a discussion and help you learn more about the photographer. You want to be comfortable with her. She will be your shadow on your wedding day, witnessing some serious emotion and it is vital that she is easy to be around.

Spend some time with your top choices and it will be easy to see who you want to photograph your wedding. It may not be the cheapest photographer and it may not be the ‘artiste’. The right choice will be easy to be around, make you feel relaxed and confident in your choice.

5.      Respect the Photographer! If you are getting married on a peak day during wedding season, don’t insult the photographer by asking for a discount.  You don’t walk into Tiffany & Co. and ask for a discount on the 1 carat diamond studs, right? Nor would you eat at McCormick & Schmick’s and ask if the 9 ounce Filet Mignon is on sale. The same rule applies to professional photographers. These are artists who run businesses with all the associated costs, not hobbyists making extra money.

6.      Get alternative! Keeping the above in mind, realize there is nothing wrong with getting married during alternate seasons or taking advantage of any rate reductions the photographer does offer. Many photographers offer lower rates if the wedding is during a typically slow season or on an off-day, like a Wednesday. Additionally, some photographers will offer discounts to military personnel on active duty. Off-season weddings are a good idea across the board, as venues and other wedding vendors may offer similar cost savings during the off-season.

Another option is to ask if the photographer offers abbreviated coverage. If you are planning a wedding breakfast, or intimate celebration, this may be the perfect choice as you can still get the professional photography you want for a lower cost by reducing the coverage.

Wedding photography is an investment and like all investments it bears some thoughtful preparation, research and insight.  Spend some time deciding what you like, what is most important to you and what you can really afford. If photography is your priority, interview several candidates and make the choice based upon personality first, style next then affordability.  While there is a price associated with wedding photography, the emotional value of it is priceless.

Marnie McCown-Guard is a professional photographer based in Chandler, Arizona and available for travel. Her wedding photography has allowed her to document local and destination weddings throughout the United States and Mexico. She blends traditional and journalistic coverage with her passion for people to create images that truly reflect each individual wedding day. Known for her boundless enthusiasm and energy it is not uncommon to see Marnie on chairs, under tables or even on the dance floor, just so she can get the shot! She has photographed fashion, commercial and corporate work for clients across the United States, but nothing brings her greater joy than to witness the first hours of a new marriage. To view her work or learn more about Marnie, visit www.CrescendoPhoto.com.