Flowers are an important focal attraction of a wedding celebration.  Many wedding venues in Utah require brides to use their in-house florist for the event’s floral needs; however, Western Garden’s two wedding reception centers do not require but only recommend their favorite wedding florist.  As a courtesy to our brides, we recommend Hillside Flowers.  (Click to see their sample pricing)

Whether it is Hillside or other chosen florist, or even if you do your flowers yourself, here are 10 basic tips to know and remember.

1)  The Bare Basics include:  bride’s bouquet, groom’s boutonniere, corsages for each mother, boutonnieres for each father.

2)  Additional flower needs for the wedding party – Maid of honor’s/matron of honor’s bouquet, bridesmaids’ bouquets, best man and groomsmen’s boutonnieres, hair piece for the flower girl and rose petals for the flower girl to gently toss down the aisle.

3)  Wedding reception flower needs include:  table centerpieces, customary bouquet that the bride throws, flowers on a gift/guest attendance book table, and cake flowers.   Flowers for a food buffet table may be considered.

4)  The wedding’s theme and colors can be incorporated in the flower selection process.  Consider the types of flowers, flower colors, ribbons, greenery and accents to be used.  Your flowers can be a beautiful reflection of your personality for all your guests to witness.  A bridal bouquet reflects the final touch of the bride’s gown and is an accessory that completes the attire.  Flowers also help capture the theme of a wedding albeit romantic, elegant, rustic, modern, antique to simple.  Exotic orchids to timeless calla lilies, your flowers can tell your guests a lot about you.

5)  To keep the flower budget reasonable, it is less expensive to select flowers that are in season and locally grown if possible.  You may need to improvise and coordinate colors and flowers around certain seasons, but this means you may be able to afford more flowers.  Being open-minded and willing to work with your florist so you don’t have to import flowers will save you a lot of money.

6)  Consider your reception venue.  Utah reception centers that already have some greenery, won’t need as much floral decoration as those that have none, containing only walls and hard decor.  Brides that book at Ivy House and Atrium find that they don’t require as much floral design as other Salt Lake City wedding venues.

7)  Coordinate with a florist that can accommodate you for both the wedding venue for the ceremony and the Utah wedding reception center for your celebration.   This will help you deal with one single florist who can create one cohesive theme for your entire day.  These professionals are able to provide guidance and advice to you about what flowers will work best for your needs.  Sometimes they can even supplement flowers in bouquets and centerpiece with more greenery, feathers, pearls, or artistic elements.

8)  Inquire about vases.  Does your florist rent them to you?  Are they purchased by you as part of the cost of the arrangements?  This is important to know.  You will want to know if  you can send floral arrangements home with guests as a gift?

9)  Does the florist set up the floral pieces?  Does the florist take down the pieces at the end of the reception if the vases are rented or do you do this and return the vases?  These little details are important to know ahead of time.

10)  Many brides want their bouquets professionally preserved.  Some florists provide this service.  Inquiring ahead of time will help save you significant time and help to preserve the bouquet while it is still vibrant and fresh.

Flowers are a vital part of your wedding celebration.  Whether you choose one of the many Utah wedding venues that require the use of their in-house florist or use one of Western Garden’s two wedding reception venues in Utah where you can choose your florist or do it yourself, take heed to these 10 tips to have your flowers be the final accent to your beautiful celebration.