Welcome back to another installment of Friendor Fridays! Today we are featuring our fave floral ladies over at Petal + Vine. These two sisters are some of our favorites in the industry. We planned Anna's wedding last year and are currently full steam ahead with Molly's upcoming nuptials as well! We recommend Molly and Anna to literally all of our couples and couldn't have picked a better team to collaborate with on our styled shoot in Ireland just a couple of months ago. I am so lucky to call these two my real life BFFs! Okay, now that I'm done gushing, let's get to the Q&A.
Tell us a little about yourselves and Petal + Vine!
Hi everyone! Our names are Molly and Anna, we are sisters, besties, and flower loving boss babes. We grew up with a love of creating and we continue to explore new and exciting avenues that push our boundaries. We started Petal and Vine in 2015 after our “just for fun hobby” turned into a more consistent endeavor. We have been able to slowly grow our little business while maintaining our 'day jobs' into what it is today!
While growing up, our mom always had a love for gardening, and our dad would get outside in nature any chance he got, so naturally our love of both started at an early age. We love being able to create with our hands and provide a product that will put a smile on someone’s face, whether it’s a singular rose, or a lush bridal bouquet. Along with being sisters, our husband/fiancé are also best friends from Gonzaga University, which makes date nights fun with the four of us! When we aren't playing with flowers, Molly loves to go wine tasting, check out new and yummy restaurants with her fiancé Jason, and is busy in the finally stages of planning her own wedding in September with the help of her good friend and fellow boss babe Alex with Willow and Ivy, herself. Anna loves painting, playing with her 90 pound lap dog Bowie, seeing any live music she can, and brewery hopping with her husband, Kevin. [Editor's Note: Anna & Kevin's wedding was featured here on our blog on Wednesday! Go check it out!]
At what point in the planning process should a florist be chosen? How many weddings do you guys take and how early in advance do you book up?
Typically when choosing a florist, it's good to start browsing early for someone you like based on their style. A lot of florists have minimums and reaching out for basic info like dates, availability, and price range is something you can do 12+ months out (personally we don't book more than 16 months out). Our process usually works best when our client reaches out to us 8-12 months in advance for date availability. If we are available on the clients selected date, we will disclose our minimum and what our pricing structure is. If that’s something the potential client is okay with, we will set up the initial in-person meeting and place a soft hold on that date. This meeting is our chance to get to know the clients, and for them to get to know us. One of our favorite spots to meet new clients is Lady Yum for macaroons and bubbles!
After this meeting, if the client is a good fit for us and we feel we can make their floral dreams come true, we have them sign our contract. From there the time line is based on the clients needs. Each client is different. During our “wedding season” (typically April - October), we won’t book more than 3 weddings a month. We do have day jobs, and 3 weddings is a manageable amount for us. We won’t book more than 1 wedding on the same day unless special circumstances are involved.
When people think of wedding florals, bouquets and centerpieces immediately come to mind. What are some other wedding day florals that people often forget?
When we talk to our couples, we have a long conversation on the vision they have in their head about what they want! A lot of times clients often forget or aren't sure on arch/backdrops, bar and welcome table bouquets, and signage floral pieces. Often they have never thought about having their officiant wear a boutonniere or corsage, or what their flower girl/ring bearers will have. A toss bouquet is usually an added suggestion that we mention, as most times the brides want to keep their bouquet and don't realize they have the option to toss a different one.
Speaking of centerpieces, what is hot right now? And what would you like to see more of?
Currently, the buzz words in almost every meeting we had over the last year were eucalyptus, greenery heavy, and “organic.” We would love to see more textures and a different variety of greenery. Most of all, we love a challenge and couples that think outside the box. We would enjoy a wedding that has a food focus, like vegetables and fruits. It would be a fun challenge and unique event! [Editor's Note: You want a wedding with fruits and veggies in your florals!? Hit me up; we wanna plan that ish. We did the one above with Petal + Vine and it was amaaaazing.]
Brides always tell us they think flowers are going to be one of the most expensive pieces of their wedding day. How can they be a little more cost effective but not sacrifice design?
We get this question A LOT, and with good reason. Flowers can be and are expensive if you want flowers such as garden roses and peonies. Alternative flowers are always an option, and we walk our couples though those options based on their budget. Another misconception is that greenery is always cheaper. If you want garlands running down your 12ft tables instead of 3 bouquets, that is likely to be more expensive than the bouquets due to it being so labor intensive. An alternative to that would be loosely laid greenery instead of a bound garland.
How do you suggest brides budget for florals?
This is a tough question. We constantly are trying to keep up with flower costs due to climate and availability, as well as staying true to our clients requests, because the possibilities are endless! That being said, from our own experience and research that we have done, flowers is usually about 10% of your total wedding budget. For example, if you are planning a $60K wedding you would spend roughly $6-7k on flowers. If you only want to spend $2,000 on flowers on that same budget, you might want to reconsider what you are looking for. $4-5K for flowers is usually average, but again that is very much determined by what you want. Bridal bouquets for us range anywhere from $150-500 depending on flower types, floral to greenery ratio, and size.
Are there any "floral mistakes" that brides often make but can be avoided?
"Floral mistakes,” might not be the words we would use, maybe “over used”. Common flowers and greenery that are trendy on Pinterest are not all that's out there! We love a good eucalyptus bouquet, but with it being so “in” right now, we try and show our couples all greenery options. This helps open their eyes to other really fun greenery that could end up giving their flowers that originality everyone craves.
If you could offer general floral advice to brides just getting started on their wedding planning journey, what would you say?
Reach out and don’t be afraid to ask questions! We love hearing from prospective couples on social media and email. Doing some research on Pinterest or Instagram for bouquets and styles you like will do wonders. Once you have some ideas on styles you like, save them to a board so that when you meet with your florists, it is easy to articulate and show the styles you are looking for.
You don't need to know what specifics right away. Usually colors and specific flowers are the final details we confirm closer to your wedding, but having ideas of style and how flower heavy you want your wedding day are always good to talk about up front. That way, your florist will have a better idea on cost moving forward.
What are your favorite flowers?!
We’re florists, we love all flowers! For Molly, she loves David Austin garden roses and will always take a fresh bouquet of sunflowers to brighten up her kitchen. Anna loves butterfly ranunculus, tulips, and a bouquet of peonies always puts her in a good mood.
All photos courtesy of Petal + Vine.