Your Guide to North Carolina Wedding Florists
Think about everything that a wedding florist will bring to your wedding: colors, textures, smells, and most importantly, the wow-factor! Your floral designer understands all these elements and what they can add to your special day. The team will take your vision and match it, creating perfect centerpieces, backdrops and bouquets.
As you begin planning your wedding, keep in mind that there is a huge difference between a standard flower shop and a wedding florist. Floral design for weddings is a unique business, which requires a lot of expertise in terms of working with a couple, planning and order based on seasonality, knowing the latest wedding styles, and working cohesively with your venue and vendor team.
Timing is a critical factor. It’s important to start looking for a florist as soon as you have a date set and the venue booked. In some cases, wedding florists in the Raleigh-Durham, and Chapel Hill area may request up to a ten month contract to reserve your date on their calendars. Just like venues, wedding vendors are booking up faster than ever. Therefore, hiring your florist as soon as possible is imperative.
How Much Do The Best Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Greensboro NC Wedding Florists Cost?
Some say that flowers should cost 10-12% of your wedding budget. But really, this is a personal choice. Wedding florists in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill markets report that couples spend around $3,500 on average for their big day. Many of the top florists have a minimum spend requirement. That number is often in the $5,000 to $7,500 range. However, many florists will work with smaller budgets than that. Some even provide very affordable a la carte arrangements that can be picked up.
How to Find the Right Triangle or Triad NC Wedding Florist
Wedding florists are as diverse as flowers themselves. Here’s a quick consideration list for your research phase!
Your Wedding Flower Style
Just as flowers vary in price, they also vary in the way they look when arranged by one floral artist versus another. The style of your florist is the single most important factor to match up with your own wedding vision.
Are you looking for classic wedding flower design? (Think: Tight arrangements, lots of white or solid color palettes). Or, are you more fond of the current trend of loose garden style arrangements? Perhaps even a mix of wild flowers and greenery garlands? Maybe you like the idea of lush and exotic vibes? Narrowing down what floral style best fits your vision will be your first step in finding the florist who will bring your vision to fruition.
3 Quick Tips to Lock in Your Style
- Wedding Flower Inspiration It’s always best to show and not tell when it comes to floral arrangements. Have fun with this! Dig into your favorite wedding blogs (Hint – find top LOCAL florists on our Heart of NC Weddings search engine). Having a visual example will make it easier for you to find the florist who can guide you to the perfect floral arrangement for your perfect day. We advise making a Pinterest board.
- Don’t Get Hung Up on a Specific Match Yes, looking at florists’ work on their website’s photo gallery, their wedding listings online, and even on social media can be very helpful! This is a great way to research and find a great style fit. But please, do not get hung up on specifics. Most florists can and will defer to your vision – as long as your flower choices are available.
- Referrals and Deep Research Certainly, your friends and family referral network can come in handy – as long as they had a recent encounter with the vendor they recommend. We advise taking the advice of your venue and planner at equal or heavier weight, too. That is especially true if you are considering a very intricate floral design. Websites like ours also share vetted local vendors, so we hope you’ll consider us to be a personal recommendation, too.
As you research, we want to remind you that these are all local businesses. Learn about the people behind these businesses that you are considering investing in. They will be your partner on the most colorful piece of your day!
What Type of Wedding Flower Service Do I Need?
NC Wedding Florists
A florist that specializes in weddings has the creative touch of building tabletop displays that match a range of wedding budgets. They know how to design a bouquet that matches your personality. Additionally, they have an operation down pat of ordering and delivering flowers that will not leave you stranded and having to DIY on your wedding day.
Wedding Design
Some of our florists offer wedding event design. This means that they will take care of the rentals and room layout. The type of florist or package you book will depend on your needs. For example, it depends on what your wedding venue offers. Also, consider whether or not you have hired a wedding planner that does the design (as opposed to just a coordinator).
DIY Wedding Flowers
Shop local farmers’ markets, or big box locations like Costco. Here, you can purchase flowers in bulk and assemble your own wedding flowers. Warning: this is not as easy as it sounds. It takes hours of work from a team of people, a cold place to store, and delivery. If you DIY set up, you also have to DIY breakdown. From start to finish, you need a team to execute DIY wedding flowers.
Finding the best wedding florists for Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Greensboro
You can start your search by reviewing our list of some of the best NC wedding florists. They are guaranteed to help guide your floral selections based on your budget and season of your wedding. We’re sure that you’ll love getting to know these Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and NC Triad wedding florists as much as we have!