How to Prepare for Your Wedding Floral Consultation
Congrats on your engagement - what an exciting time!
We’re so happy you found your way here. Wedding flowers shouldn’t feel intimidating, and we love helping couples understand what the custom design process is really like.
Your floral consultation is where everything starts to take shape. It’s the moment your inspiration turns into real, thoughtful design. To make things easy, we created a quick guide on what to bring, what to expect, and how to feel completely prepared for your meeting with your soon to be wedding florist.
Fountains at Anheuser Busch - Image by Danielle Simone Co
Fireplace at The Coronado - Image by BLK Photography
Staircase at The Dogwood - Image by Cary Klein Photography
Book Your St. Louis Wedding Venue First for the Most Accurate Floral Design Plan
Before your wedding florist can begin crafting a personalized design plan, it’s essential to have your wedding venue officially booked. Florals are deeply tied to the architecture and character of each space. From grand staircases ideal for cascading greenery, to exposed beams perfect for hanging installations, to unique features like the Fountains at Anheuser Busch, the Fireplace at The Coronado, or the staircase at The Dogwood in St. Louis) that practically beg for a dramatic floral moment, we intimately know each venue and design for them. When your venue is set, we can design with purpose - tailoring scale, color, and style to the space and ensuring every installation feels intentional and elevated.
Tented receptions also bring their own unique set of opportunities and challenges. Since tents are essentially a “blank slate,” they require thoughtful planning to ensure your floral designs (and guests) thrive in any weather. Key design considerations include things like temperature, weather, humidity, wind and even how level the floor of the tent will be. Each of these elements impact both the design of the tent, as well as, the type of flowers, mechanics and even some rental elements that we can use. For example, real flame in an open-sided tent on a windy day means all candles and no flame. You are better off selecting LED candles from our extensive rental collection.
If you’re envisioning larger-scale installations, these designs require specialized rigging to safely suspend florals, draping, chandeliers, and more. While such installations have become iconic in breathtaking tented weddings, most tent frames were not originally engineered to support additional weight. Securing your tented venue early allows your floral team to collaborate closely with rental partners, planners, and tenting specialists to ensure every element is not only beautiful, but also safe and structurally sound.
Know Your Wedding Party Count and Estimated Guest List
Your guest count and wedding party size determines far more than your guest list; it directly impacts the number of floral elements needed throughout your wedding day. Knowing your wedding party size helps establish the number of bouquets, boutonnieres, and other personal flowers. A rough idea of your guest count allows your florist to estimate how many tables and therefore how many centerpieces will be required.
You don’t need exact numbers, but coming prepared with a realistic estimate allows us to draft a more accurate proposal and help you plan confidently. We will always account for attrition- the standard is around 20%, and we will err on the side of less centerpieces because, as we like to say, “you can always add more.”
Have an idea of your wedding day timeline!
These details do not need to be finalized; however, any information you can provide regarding the schedule will help us tremendously in maximizing the design of your wedding and determining appropriate staffing. Specifically, we want to know about the start and end time of your ceremony and reception and where they are taking place.
Understanding this information is crucial because it allows us to identify opportunities for repurposing elements, such as using ceremony flowers as centerpieces in the reception. This information also helps us determine proper staffing and associated service fees.
For example, a ""room flip"" (or as my Creative Director, Sandra calls it “a flippity dippity”)—where the ceremony space is quickly converted for the reception, typically during cocktail hour—requires us to schedule a larger team to efficiently remove ceremony decor and set up your reception decor.
Additionally, a late-night breakdown (scheduled for 12:00 AM or later) requires extra late-night staffing, which is standard practice for most florists and rental companies.
Providing this context will ensure we can develop the most efficient and cost-effective plan for your beautiful day.
Include an assortment of bouquet & centerpiece inspiration photos, color swatches, attire ideas, stationery, ceremony flowers, and tablescape examples in your Pinterest Board.
Bring a Pinterest Board or Mood Board - But Stay Flexible
We love- love-loooooove when couples come prepared with inspiration images, mood boards or a Pinterest board. As a matter of fact, we require it for your consultation, because it’s just that important! These visuals give us valuable insight into your color palette, style preferences, event vibe, and the flowers you’re naturally drawn to. They are a pictorial representation of the hopes and dreams you have created for your wedding!
That said, flexibility is key.
Not all flowers are available year-round, and some blooms, like peonies, have short seasons that affect availability and pricing. When something you love is out of season, our designers are experts at suggesting beautiful alternatives, such as reflexed garden roses that mimic the look and texture of peonies or on some occasions tasteful silk enhancements when appropriate.
It’s also easy to fall in love with lavish inspiration photos that may stretch beyond your investment. We’ll help you interpret the feeling of the design and propose creative, budget-conscious ways to achieve a similar look without compromising beauty.
Don’t forget to follow Belli Fiori on Pinterest and Instagram to look for design inspiration from our past weddings and special events!
Source: Brides
Establish a Realistic Floral Budget Before Your Wedding Consultation
While many planning guides suggest allocating 10% of your total wedding budget to florals, there is no true “one size fits all.” If flowers rank among your top priorities, or if you envision a celebration filled with statement installations, lush ceremony florals, cocktail hour décor, or floral touches throughout your reception and after-party, you may want to allocate a larger percentage.
To help guide your conversation, create two lists before your meeting:
Must-haves: The floral elements you cannot imagine your wedding without
Nice-to-haves: Items you’d love to include if your budget allows
This helps us build a custom plan that reflects your vision while staying mindful of your investment. By having information about what you are looking to invest in your wedding flowers, we can also propose alternative blooms to match your budget. As Lisa, the owner of Belli Fiori, likes to say, “there are a hundred different ways to create a single floral look,” it's just aligning the look with the right flower.
Understand the Role of Your Planner vs. a Venue Coordinator
If you’re working with a planner…wonderful! We collaborate with planners daily and truly value the partnership they bring to the wedding day and design process. However, it’s important to understand what level of service your planner provides. A full-service planner often handles design, rentals, timelines, and logistics, while partial planning may leave some of those responsibilities to you or to us as your florist.
It’s also helpful to note that a venue coordinator is not a wedding planner. Their role is to manage the relationship between you and the venue to ensure their internal teams and functions run smoothly. They may create floor plans and communicate vendor access (although this isn’t always the case), but their role does not include wedding design or personalized coordination.
We’re always happy to assist with linens, rental recommendations, and aesthetic direction. With over a decade of wedding and social event design, Belli Fiori is so much more than just a florist! We can help you source your decor company and coordinate that relationship; we also love to craft the whole look of your tabletop with items such as chargers, goblets, cutlery and linens. We really take our role as a full-service florist to the next level.
Images: The Youngs Photo and Film
Bring Any Important Details That Will Help Customize Your Design
The small details matter. Bringing the following to your consultation can make a tremendous difference if you have them. If not, don’t stress! These are just bonus items that assist us in crafting a more detailed design proposal:
Photos of your attire (your bouquet should complement your gown, not compete with it)
Invitations or stationery samples
Color palettes for attire or décor
Cultural, religious, or family traditions that influence your ceremony
Any fragrance sensitivities or allergies
These additional pieces of information help our team craft a cohesive design that reflects your story.
What Happens After Your Consultation? Here’s What to Expect
After your consultation, our team will begin crafting a custom floral proposal that reflects everything we discussed together. This part takes a little time—usually about a week—as we source flowers, build floral recipes, and design a plan that brings your vision to life. Once it arrives in your inbox, you’ll get a beautifully detailed look at your flowers, décor elements, and the overall design direction for your day.
Curious about what happens next, what you’ll receive, and how to read your proposal like a pro? Stay tuned for our next blog post—it’s your insider’s guide to the next steps in the floral design process.