3 Tips for Creating Personal Wedding Flowers for Friends and Family

So you’ve been asked or tasked to put together the wedding flowers for a loved one.

What an exciting opportunity to showcase your talents, make meaningful memories, and have some fun!

But it can also seem like a daunting responsibility. Ensuring the bride is thrilled with her flowers (and feels extra special!) is, after all, one of the most important goals we strive for as wedding florists.

Tips for Creating Meaningful Personal Wedding Florals

As someone who just stuck the landing—if I do say so myself—on delivering personal flowers for my twin sister’s October wedding, I am pleased to provide some carefully selected advice on creating personal wedding flowers that are, well, truly personal.

1. Treat your loved one as an exclusive client.

Many of us in the floral world get our start creating personal flowers for our own wedding, a friend’s wedding, a special family event or milestone, etc. That is when our interest is piqued, our creativity tapped. We grow the confidence we need to execute increasingly larger-scale flower commitments for our community.

I had the dream opportunity to design my sister’s entire wedding floral suite, which was really special for our family, especially considering—like many 2020 weddings—we didn’t know if we would be able to gather and celebrate due to the pandemic.

After her engagement in February, my sister struggled with her decision to have a wedding in 2020 or plan for a long engagement and future wedding. When she decided to plan for a downsized wedding this fall, she asked if I would take the lead on her florals.

Spending my days looking at inspiring autumn bouquets and planning the floral recipes for the bridal bouquet, bridesmaid bouquets, corsages, and boutonnières? No brainer. I said yes emphatically! And wedding florists of the world, my sister is the model client. She is realistic, enthusiastic, and easy to please. This commitment was looking like a cinch right out of the gate!

Because it was 2020, I thought I was doing my sister a huge favor by keeping her out of the loop. I was so worried about adding to her to-do list that I repeatedly said, “Leave it with me. I’ve got this!” In retrospect, I skipped the entire planning and communication phase that sets initial expectations for the client and the florist.

Even though you may be tempted to make the process as informal as possible while planning for a loved one’s big day, offer an initial consultation to go over design expectations, create a timeline, and review the budget as you would any client.

Since you are likely not turning a profit on your services, you should adhere to stricter guidelines and unique rules for yourself while making the florals special. That way, “informal” won’t translate to “disorganized” closer to the wedding day.

2. Offer something special that you would not necessarily be able to offer every client.

She will be the first to admit this, but my sister does not know a Scabiosa from a Ranunculus—and I wouldn’t expect her to! That’s what I’m here for, right?

When I sent her my meticulously-curated master list of wispy, rustic florals that would be in season, coordinate with her fall color palette, and be reasonably priced overall, she heeded my advice. And then confessed Orchids were her favorite flower of all time. Orchids. Sigh.

Orchids are lovely to look at, but their shape and cost did not align with my floral plan for the wedding. How will they stay hydrated all day? How much extra weight will they add to this already billowing bouquet? And how much will one stem cost?!

When I told my sister my concerns, she graciously conceded and told me not to order orchids. I was in the clear, relieved at first, but then guilt started setting in. Her wedding should not have to fit into my floral plan, and as the expert, I should know both the limitations and possibilities of what I can deliver on. Back to tip #1: I am still providing a service.

Because I was paying for and designing the flowers as my wedding gift to the happy couple, I was extremely budget-conscious. I would never do this for every client, but for my sister, I chose to gift her orchids in her bridal bouquet, hairpiece, and her husband’s boutonnière.

It was such a unique, memorable gesture and obviously made for exceptional photos—and tears—when I presented her the bridal bouquet, orchids cascading nearly to the floor before she walked down the aisle.

3. Go outside your comfort zone to meet theirs.

As you can probably tell, orchids are neither my favorite flower nor my go-to choice aesthetically.

But this special gift allowed me to flex some creative muscles and work with something different, too. A win-win!

My sister will have a lifetime of memories and photos of herself adorned in flowers that made her tremendously happy on her wedding day.

I was thrilled to be a small piece in the puzzle to make it happen!

The truth is, most of us like working with flowers to make others happy. The doors that open to us as part of this world are incomparable and continue to surprise us. We know the secret joy that comes from surrounding ourselves with their beauty, so the best thing we can do is share the secret and open the door to others.

Was the bride thrilled with her flowers? Check. Did the flowers make the bride feel special? Check. Did the florist feel like the luckiest one of all? Check check.

Creating personal wedding flowers for someone you care about is a way to show your love, best wishes, and gifts through the natural beauty and ephemeral spirit of flowers.

It is often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—and our privilege as florists. I recommend following the advice that resonates most with you to make for a joyous occasion for you and the bride, which is why you both said yes to begin with.