If you are not knowledgeable about flowers or seasons, or styles, the meeting with your florist can be an intimidating one that will leave you confused, and maybe a little overwhelmed.



During my wedding planning, I had an idea in my mind of what type of flowers that worked with the style and feel for my wedding. I went into my meeting with my florist feeling that I knew exactly what I wanted, and I even brought pictures to help me explain the over all feel for what I was going for.

The actual meeting was a bit different than I had expected. A large book with examples of wedding bouquets was thrown at me along with terms and styles that I was not familiar with. From nosegays to cascades and everything in between, I left with a headache and felt sad that I was not able to express what I wanted because I lacked the knowledge about flowers.

My advice to any bride is to do your research before you meet with your florist and arm yourself with the knowledge you need to be specific when discussing what you want. These points may help you when looking up what you need to know.

** Styles-learn the different styles of wedding bouquets. As pictures may help you to express what you want, learning the different names will help you sound confident about the choices that you make. This will also help you verbalize the information you need to relay to your florist. If you search the web, you will find good resources and information that will help you do the necessary research on bouquet styles quickly.

** Names-learning the different names of flowers may sound simple enough, but when you don't know, this can be difficult. There are more types of roses than you can imagine and not knowing the correct names for flowers you may want, puts you at a disadvantage. Bridal magazines and websites can offer the necessary names of flowers that you need to have enough knowledge to be informed before your meeting.

** Pictures-Yes a picture is worth a thousand words, and it holds true in this case as well. Even if your floral vocabulary isn't where it should be, a picture may be able to explain exactly what you want. If you want your bridesmaid's bouquets to be a different style than yours and you don't know the proper names, use pictures to get your point across to your florist.

After that first meeting, I had to go back and read, learn, and research. My second meeting went much better because I knew what I was talking about. I ending up having the perfect flowers for my wedding. If you follow these tips, you will too.