Personal Flowers - Details for Details

When one thinks of wedding details, personal flowers often come to mind. Details they may be, but they in turn come with their own set of details - as is “the devil is in the details.”

It happens all the time. The photographer arrives at your home as you are getting ready and asks you to hold your bouquet. And then you realize, your bouquet is being delivered to the church. Oops!

Or one of the groomsmen gets stuck in traffic, decides that instead of meeting the rest of the boys at the apartment, he will go straight to the ceremony. His boutonniere never makes it. And the best man says, “oh, yeah, but I thought the one we left behind was for your father.” Oops again.

Here are some suggestions to avoid these calamities:

• Create a list of all your personal flowers; one line for each item, with name of the person for whom it is intended, the delivery place and delivery time. Give a copy to your florist and anyone else who will be accepting the deliveries.
• Insist that each item is packaged individually and labeled with the name of the person for whom it is intended. “Bridesmaid” or “groomsman” doesn’t cut it for my clients. What happens if you have 6 bridesmaids and there is one bouquet left? “Jane forgot hers” is helpful, “someone forgot their bouquet” a lot less so.
• Have the personal flowers delivered in time for pictures, but not too early lest your bouquet says “done” when you say “I do.” (A good rule of thumb is not more than 3 hours prior to ceremony - if it’s much longer, you might want to consider getting a second bouquet to be delivered later.)
• Ask for extra boutonnieres - one extra for the groom, one extra for all the men. They are not expensive, and guys can be all thumbs (I’m a guy, I know.) Make sure someone (florists are of course good at this, but so are most photographers) knows how to pin it on. It’s not difficult - unless you have never done it before and you are rushed. Which you will be.
• The base of your bouquet should not be wrapped; it can’t drink if it is. Ideally your bouquet will be delivered in a small vase with water. You should have a towel handy to dry its base when you remove it from the vase.
• Keep in mind that heat is the enemy; if you are getting married outdoors during the summer, choose heartier flowers. Never put personal flowers in the trunk of a car, especially on a hot day.
• Make sure your photographer gets pictures of your bouquet. It’s a visual memento that you will want, and it’s a lot simpler than preserving your bouquet (if you do want to preserve it, you will need to make the arrangements in advance.)
• Be careful about allergies; make that a part of your conversation with your florist, some flowers have much stronger scents than others. At the same time, you should like the scent of the flowers as much as you like their look; your ability to remember scents and their associations is very strong.
• If you plan to toss a bouquet, get a separate (and less expensive) bouquet for the toss. Belle Fleur, a well known New York florist, garnishes the tossing bouquet with long flowing ribbons; the bouquet will flutter through the air, and be much more noticeable in pictures.
• On the last topic, many people - myself included - believe that the bouquet toss is no longer appropriate; it suggests that finding a husband is what the single women aspire to. One alternative is to give your bouquet - or a separate “honor bouquet” - to someone special.