Today's Five Quick Wedding Planning Tips come from Nancy of Nancy Liu Chin Floral and Event Design, a respected San Francisco florist known for her modern, American and classic style. Nancy's beautiful weddings and floral work have been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, Elegant Bride and more. For floral design and wedding advice, be sure to visit Nancy's blog, Nancy's Brown Bag.
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| Photo: Arrowood Photography |
1. Buy flowers that are at the peak of their season. Out of season flowers might also cost more but they are also not as nice. Sometimes at the end of the season, the flowers just don't hold up as well. And too early in the season their blooms might be a bit premature and don't bloom as full.
2. Don't put your eggs in one basket. Many times couples feel that in order to save money they should just put all the floral budget into the reception leaving the ceremony without flowers or other details lacking. Instead of focusing on one part of the wedding, try to spread the wealth so that each area is done nicely. If flowers from the ceremony can be repurposed that is great! Try to rethink the centerpiece so that you can allow for decor on vignettes, ceremony and other details.
3. Perfect is overrated. Flowers are naturally beautiful in their own way. Each flower is uniquely created which doesn't always mean that each petal is perfectly made. And within a bunch of flowers their might be some color difference. That's what I love about flowers. Sometimes that doesn't always work if you are aiming for perfection. If you are bride who loves white peonies but don't like their yellow center because it's not in your color palette, try to forget that it doesn't match but embrace the overall beauty of the flower. Having unrealistic expectations sets yourself up for disappointments.
4. Avoid heavy scents. I just love the scent of gardenias but that doesn't mean that everyone at a wedding will appreciate them as much as I do. Be aware that heavily scented blooms can be distracting and possibly irritating. If you want to do some scented flowers in your bouquet, that's awesome but try to minimize them in a centerpiece.
5. Sweet Endings. Often we are so busy planning a wedding that we forget about giving our planner, our vendors and our venues instructions for the end of the evening. Have "end of wedding" instructions. Don't be caught up with having to pack up flowers. Or worse, if you want to keep your place cards to put into a scrapbook, don't forget to tell someone. As for flowers, if you want to preserve your bouquet, have it planned out a few weeks prior to the wedding, not after you return from your honeymoon.
What was your favorite thing about your wedding?
Having my nephew walk our dog, Chin Chin walk down the aisle! That was just adorable and special. Having him as our ring doggie was too cute and all the guests never forgot how he made the ceremony light hearted when he barked during the "i do's". Right at that moment when Reverend Holt asked "Do you take this woman to be your wife?", our dog, barked "woof woof". His timing was impeccable.
If you could change one thing about your wedding, what would it be?
I wish it were longer. The day just went by so incredibly fast. I wouldn't change the details but I wish I could have spent more time with people. Though I was able to chat with almost all the guests, there is nothing as precious as that time together. You think, when will all these people be in one place, one time. We've lost my grandmother and a few other family friends since we got married in 2000 so when I look back, I wish we could have had more days together.
Nancy, thank you for your fabulous tips!
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Great tips for floral arrangements. Many people strive for what they want than considering if the flowers are even in season. In season flowers would most likely look better than flowers that aren't, even if they are your favorite. Thanks for the advice.
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