Flower Search

With a lot the big items on the list - venues, dresses, photographer, videographer - getting checked off, I figured it is time to tackle flowers. As mentioned in a previous post, I had met with Kathleen of Proline Trading a while back. Since that meeting, I took some time to research what flowers I will need and what type. Here's a summary of my floral search adventure...

Resources
Wedding websites, like The Knot, are great starting points. They have tons of photos of flowers from real weddings. As you may have seen from my previous post, they even talk about the meaning behind a flower, when they're in season, and how pricey they can be. Once you know what type of flower you like, doing an Image Google search can help you look for a photo of your flower in your color. Once you've found them, it's just a matter of RCSIA -- right-click save image as :)

Organizing
Since Kathleen mentioned that she gets emails from potential clients with massive attachments, I decided to help her along by creating and publishing a Google doc with the flowers I had in mind. I found this to be a really easy way to show florists what flowers I need or want when soliciting for quotes, especially via email. I've also been using Google spreadsheets to summarize the quotes I've received from various vendors.

Vendors
I've actually emailed a whole bunch of florists. Here's a list:

1. Flowers by Grayce
   
2. Proline Trading
3. Garlands Florists
   
4. The Flowerbox
   
5. Flower-Z
6. Cambie Flowers
   
7. Susanna Wedding
   
8. Mei Mei Florist
   
9. Winnie Flower
   

Garlands, Flowerbox, Flower-Z, and Cambie Flowers are more on the high end of the pricing spectrum. I think they do more artistic arrangements, particularly when it comes to centerpieces. However, for our wedding needs, I don't think we need to go to such boutique florists. On the other hand, the remaining florists offered more reasonable prices.

In the end, Proline Trading ended up being our wedding florist! It took me a long time to get a quote from Kathleen :( I don't think email is the best way to communicate with them. If you or someone you know needs to get a quote from them, just give them a call and set up an appointment. Bring a list of flowers that you need with you to your appointment, then you can have a quote by the end of the meeting.

Generally speaking, I think it is a challenge to find another retail florist that can match Proline's pricing. However, one florist did come close - Mei Mei Florist. Their prices were only slightly higher than Proline's. However, for a budget conscious bride like me, I needed to save as much $ as possible. That's why I didn't choose them. Next time I need flowers for a special occassion, I think I'll definitely stop by their shop.

I actually stumbled upon Mei Mei Florist after my meeting with Garlands. I can't say I was super pleased with my experience with Garlands. All I needed was a quote from them. However, they "do not provide any prices until [they] have completed a consultation with you and/or your Groom to discuss the full scope of your wedding." So I went to their shop on West Broadway. The lady that I had been emailing with was not in that day. As a result, they had me meet with one of her associates. During the meeting, we just went over a print out of the Google doc that I had sent them. He was a really nice guy... but at the end of the meeting told me they'll email me a quote. Why did I even need to go all the way to their shop?

Despite that experience, there are 2 florists I interacted with that left a good impression - Susanna Wedding and Winnie Flower. I had talked about Susanna Wedding in one of my previous posts. They may not have won the pricing battle, however, they've always been super helpful whenever I've talked to them. Winnie Flower was also really helpful. When I asked for a quote, they informed me they are unable to do wedding flowers during the time of my wedding because they'll be closed for vacation. What impressed me was they didn't just end it off like that. They asked if I needed any florist recommendations. They subsequently suggested Proline Trading (I guess Kathleen is popular around the florist industry) and South Van Florist. I think it's great to meet people who are genuinely willing to help out. Or as H helped me phrase it, "It's great to see businesses being genuinely nice and helpful and to see it isnt always about the money."

Anyway, the deposit with Proline has been paid. Wedding party flowers, check! I'll actually be working with Kathleen some more for my centerpieces. For the same price, Kathleen can do the centerpieces with a fuller arrangement compared to R2 Decor's florist.

What's Next...
We'll be meeting with Karl this Saturday at A&B Partytime Rentals to settle our catering rentals. D is actually taking the reigns on that one. Meanwhile, I have a meeting with a wedding day coordinator/planner this Thursday to sign the contract and pay the deposit. More info about that in my next post. We are also planning on attending the Lovestruck Bridal Show this Sunday. The invitations need to be printed soon. So I'm pinging Kerwin of Printed Matter to send me his design ideas soon. Lastly, I am starting my search for hair and make up artists to help me be pretty for the big day :) If anyone can recommend a hair and/or make up person, I'd really appreciate it. That's all for now!