Regulars to my blog will know I specialise in marquees, I actually love the logistics involved in organising a marquee function but there are some things beyond my control, namely the weather! Problems occur when we have had serious downpours over a few months meaning the ground is literally waterlogged.

One such occasion was July in 2012 where the marquee was pitched next to a watermill in a beautiful setting. The days leading up to the wedding were wet, the ground was waterlogged in places. I therefore had to put some contingency plans into action:

1. I had to instruct all suppliers there was a particular route they needed to take to avoid the worse hit areas. Guests were ok as they were parking up a slight hill thus the ground was hard. But I knew suppliers needed to get close. The owner had a small tractor with trailer so actually helped transport the chairs into the marquee as we all decided the lorry shouldn’t go onto the field for fear it would sink!
2. The marquee company laid down a walkway from the gravel driveway into the marquee itself so shoes were safe
3. On the day despite our well laid plans, the poor mobile bar van was so heavy it literally sunk. We tried towing it with a land rover but the van wasn’t moving, in the meantime the guest arrival time was fast approaching. The van contents were unloaded onto the land rover after a few shuttle runs meaning the van was now lighter. I knocked on the owners door to see if we could use his mini tractor, he was able to tow the van out literally 10 minutes before the guests arrived. Yes the field was a total mess, but at least we didn’t have a van parked in front of the marquee anymore! And the sun did come out for the drink reception and amazingly guests were able to walk on the lawn.

Photo Credit:

Bev Lloyd-Roberts

 

Here are some ways to make sure conflict doesn’t happen when dress shopping:

At times however it can be confusing for clients to understand ‘why’ a certain supplier is charging x, y, z. They see the product, in this instance, say a bouquet, but don’t think about what influences the price to charge. A bit later in this post I will explain this to you and I will continue this series with explanations on entertainment, mobile bars and stationery.

If you have viewed my gallery of past events you will notice flowers feature quite heavily in my designs, this is because many of my events have a traditional country garden feel and/or are in marquees thus we need to fill the space.

If you want to create something like this Autumnal party or bohemian wedding , you need to ensure your budget reflects just what the flowers will cost. I’m not saying you have to spend thousands on flowers, but you do need to be realistic, not all wedding designs need a lot of flowers but if your dream is to fill your venue with peonies then you have to be realistic, £500 is just not going to suffice.

“Most of our prospective clients now come to us with a fairly good idea of what they want in terms of flowers, but not always what they cost. It is rare to have a bride who has absolutely no idea of what she wants. Our brides are internet savvy, they use social media, they bring THEIR Pinterest boards to US! They also read the wedding blogs and the bridal magazines which are chock full of gorgeous American weddings which have been photographed in Californian vineyards or New England gardens. The photographs are always stuffed full of flowers!! The magazine and blog suggested prices are usually wrong!!” Simon & Victoria, Euphoric Flowers

One of my pet hates is photoshoots filled to the brim with flowers on a table, yes it looks wonderful but brides, multiply that design by the number of tables you will have, being extravagent on one table is all well and good but what about when there are 11, 13 or even 20 tables to do?

With the type of weddings I design I find brides want beautiful Peonies, hydrangeas and garden style roses (a fact attested by Euphoric) but they come at a premium price. Likewise some brides want the “wildflower’ look, that’s great, but that’s a lot of flowers and creating that “I’ve just picked this” look isn’t cheap.

I’ve had many discussions with my florists recently who all tell me that making a profit is getting harder, they are unable to charge more for their services due to the economic climate but at the same time, wholesale flower prices have soared. So what is a realistic budget for wedding flowers?

Let’s look at some scenarios ………..

A Central London venue for the ceremony and reception with a total of 80 guests (as quoted by Euphoric Flowers in 2013)

Bridal Bouquet – hand tied bouquet £75.00

Bridesmaids x 3 – hand tied bouquets at £35.00 each – £105.00

Buttonholes x 6 at £6.00 each – £36.00

Corsages x 2 at £15.00 each – £30.00

Ceremony Flowers – 2 large vase arrangements – £100.00 each – £200.00

Registrar’s Table – 1 small arrangement – £40.00

Reception Flowers – 8 tables at £60.00 each – £480.00

Cake Flowers – £30.00

Total -£996.00
VAT -£199.20

Delivery, installation and clearance £100.00

Grand Total – £1,295.20

Now lets compare this to a flower quotation from one of my earlier weddings in 2005 (Jades Flowers)

Bridal Flowers

Bride’s Bouquet (based on Phalanopsis Bouquet) – £ 80.00

Bridesmaid’s Bouquet (to match) – £30.00

6 Orchid Buttonholes @ £3.00 each – £18.00

3 Orchid Corsages @ £10.00 each – £30.00

Ceremony Flowers

1 Candelabra Arrangement  - £120.00

Fireplace Arrangement - £50.00

Arrangement for Registrar’s Table – £45.00

Ivy for Gallery  - £80.00

Reception Flowers

8 Table Arrangements @ £70.00 each (560.00)

7 Table Arrangements @ £70.00 each (490.00)

Fireplace Arrangement  £50.00

Grand Total – £1,553

It’s amazing to see how ‘little’ prices have increased over 8 years despite the fact florists labour & flower costs have increased.

“There are always going to be factors that influence what florists charge. Certain flowers are always more expensive, more elaborate designs are more labour intensive and there are always the additional costs such as hire items, transport, petrol (a killer), wages and most importantly our time. We can spend many months preparing for a wedding. Months of site visits, design meetings, quotes, re quotes and mock ups of final designs. But it doesn’t end there, our work doesn’t finish when we deliver the bridal bouquet. If we are lucky, we will be allowed to clear a job on a Monday morning, if not it can be a midnight or early Sunday morning call followed by returning all the hire items that are frequently requested.” Simon & Victoria, Euphoric Flowers

It’s not just the flowers……

When it comes to charging you the client for the flowers, its not a simple matter of a rose costs £2 so they will charge £2.50, there are many other factors to consider to ensure the business costs are met:

• General running costs like marketing materials, telephone line, rent, utilities, vehicles etc
• Wages inc. freelance staff for larger weddings (circa £15 ph)
• Their TIME! You’re paying for their professionalism in creating the right bouquet or table design + the time it takes to set it all up, it’s not unusual for my florists to be on site all day on the Friday + part of the wedding day itself, multiply that by the number of staff the florist has…………and you can almost see the profit diminish
• Collection of the vases, containers, removal of flowers not wanted on the Sunday or Monday after the wedding
• 1-3 meetings per client to ensure the wedding design is perfect
• Consultations with those clients that don’t book
• Numerous phone calls and emails with potential clients
• Then of course in the world of social media its not enough for a florist to attend open days at local venues they have to blog – tweet – facebook and pin their ideas for potential clients to see!

Break the flower budget down

Sometimes when you say a figure that you are allocating to flowers it can seem high, can seem plenty, until you start breaking it down. `Remember when working out your budget to ensure you have enough for:

Bridal Flowers

Bridal Bouquet

Bridesmaids/flowergirl bouquets

Buttonholes & corsages

Ceremony

Registrar/altar flowers

Entrance flowers (i.e bay trees, urns, pedestals)

Pew ends

Reception

Entrance flowers (i.e bay trees, urns, pedestals)

Top Table

Guest tables

Feature flowers (fireplaces, beams, poles)

Misc

Occasional tables in courtyards or lounge areas

Thank you flowers

Finally

Not every wedding has to be filled with flowers, it depends on the design you have chosen and as mentioned earlier you can complement flowers by using candles, bunting, lanterns and pom poms to add colour in DIY ways – i.e you’ll need to buy or hire the items but then allocate some of your time to implement the design the day before the wedding.

Also, if you have chosen a venue that is stunning before you even start with flowers, then its best to choose simple displays to complement the room, not fight against it.

Photo Credits

Kerry Morgan, Mydas Photography, Mark Bothwell

This service is perfect for couples who have planned their own wedding day but want reassurance there are no errors in the organisation they have undertaken. In the past I have been hired due to increased pressures at my clients work or in particular for clients organising a marquee event.

The Handover service starts 2 months prior to the wedding and allows couples to enjoy the final weeks instead of being incredibly stressed and overtired

Let me explain how this service works….

Lets Have A Chat

The process starts with a complimentary consultation at a place & time convenient to you; this allows us to get to know each other. Or if you are oversees we can conduct the meeting via Skype, not as good as meeting in person, but the next best thing.

The consultation is two fold, we want to understand more about you as a couple and what visions you have for the wedding but at the same time you need to learn about us and how we work.

I also have to check that The Handover is the most appropriate service for you and whether I feel any additional support is needed.

How Do We Charge

We charge £1,300 to include all elements (as listed in what’s included…). At times clients request we provide additional services to the package, in the past this has included:

• Design Consultancy
• Pre wedding set up/marquee supervision
• Additional hours attendance on the day
• Increased time to work on the wedding, i.e 12 weeks before

What’s included within this service?

About 2 months before the wedding we have a detailed meeting where we discuss your plans so far and provide a wedding analysis.

• Wedding analysis with full details on what we will organise prior to the wedding
• Written confirmation to all suppliers detailing directions and specific instructions
• Recommendations on up to 3 suppliers not booked
• Unlimited email support for all the wedding party
• 3 hours general administration from typing to booking hotels
• Production of the wedding day schedule
• Attendance for 9 Hours on the wedding day
• Full use of the wedding planners emergency kit

 “Thank you for pulling out all the stops for our wedding. I am so grateful! I honestly believe it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as magical and perfect as it was without you!”

Signing On The Dotted Line

Once you have decided to book Dream Occasion, I will send you a deposit invoice and our terms and conditions for you to read and sign. Once I receive this back I confirm your wedding in the diary and commence work 8 weeks before.

Advice And Mediation

Throughout the planning process we give you guidance on etiquette, what is/isn’t appropriate for your wedding. We help choose your readings, music and hymns. At times we might act as a mediator if conflicts in the family occur. Sometimes the bride and groom ask us to source a special surprise gift for each other for the morning of the wedding.

“What can we say – thank you so much for all your help with our wedding planning throughout, for taking our fabulous ideas, scrapbook pictures and rainbow colours & helping turn them into a day that felt elegant & special – and still very us. We really loved our wedding day & thanks for all your huge contributions.” Ali & Dan (The Handover + Design + week of wedding supervision)

Ding, Dong The Bells Are Ringing

On the day itself we will be working alongside your suppliers ensuring all your plans are carried out perfectly. We supervise the ceremony and act as master of ceremonies if required (minus the red jacket!). We always blend into the background to keep the schedule on track without causing a fuss. We promise no headsets or bum bags on the day!

Post Wedding

I collate all outstanding invoices and send them ready for your return from honeymoon. I send thank you letters to all suppliers involved (even though you may send your own personal thanks as well). Finally I send a post wedding report to you just updating you on any issue that is important for you to know about the wedding day itself.

So if you think you might need some help with your wedding planning I’d love to hear from you, give me a call on 01376 5691 544

To read an actual week before the wedding account pop on over to this blog post

Photo Credit: Mark Bothwell & Mydas Photography

My husband is a beaver scout leader so we were able to use ‘Scout HQ’ for the party.  I asked the talented Emma from A Bespoke Design to create some fun invites for me, we wanted the invites to reflect the theme but more importantly the age of the children, we thought it would be fun for the ‘princesses’ to be able to colour in their own invites. Each invite was tied with ribbon and had their own named tag.

The Games

Due to the age we had to be careful with what games we played, therefore we stuck to:

• Freeze Fairy (aka musical statues) , I thought this would be an easy game but they were all so shy they linked hands with me and we ‘flew’ likes fairies instead, just as well I was dressed as a grown up fairy
• Musical Chimes, I told the children that if they made musical chimes the fairies would come and visit their gardens
• Pin the Crown, we had a large picture of a fairy princess so the children were blindfolded then had to place the crown on the princess head
• Sleeping Fairies, frankly I think this is the best game ever, perfect for some quiet time
• Pass the Parcel, good old favourite never fails

The Table

• Unless I went OTT and called in James there wasn’t much I could do with the scout HQ so I just concentrated on making the actual table pretty instead
• I had some gorgeous fairy helium balloons but due to my wonderful photography, you can’t actually see them!
• I borrowed some wire handbags from Jades Flowers and filled with jewelry, marshmallows and flowers
• The plates were alternate rounded spotted and floral pink ones and every guest had a wand so they could create their own spells

The Food

Just for you

The beauty of the brides speech is she will remember to thank all the special people, I’ve lost count of the number of times Lisa (my assistant) and I are waiting in the wings to hand over the Mothers thank you bouquets only for the groom to get nervous and miss half the thank yous! I can guarantee a bride wont forget 

What order

The bride will usually speak just before or after the groom.

Proper Preparation

Plan what you want to say in advance and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Keep it short and to the point, don’t waffle, say what you want to say concisely and clearly.

What to say 

• Give a special thank you to those that have been important and supported you in the planning of the wedding, like your Mum and bridesmaids
• 
• Thank anyone who has not already been thanked by other speakers or may not be mentioned by them (esp. if the groom forgot)
• Keep it personal, everyone wants to know about how you and your groom met, how the relationship developed. Especially any funny encounters when you were dating or perhaps a story of the proposal
• Say something personal to the groom, why is he so important, why do you love him

Calm and collected

Half the reason for practicing your speech is so you can concentrate on the delivery and clarity. Reading notes that are on the table in front of you will make it difficult to project your voice and you will look uncertain of what you want to say. Remember to smile (you’re looking beautiful after all), make eye contact with your guests plus relevant guests as you speak about them, i.e when thanking your Mum turn and look at her.

Remember don’t slouch, stand tall and confident (even if that’s not how you’re feeling)

Photo Credit: Kerry Morgan,  Blue Sky Photography

In one of my earlier marquee weddings, a client had wanted a rustic feel combined with elegance and thus ordered the simple wooden folding chairs for the wedding breakfast. Unbeknown to us they had been used at the Suffolkshow, and not cleaned and as with the joys of the British weather were caked in mud. I started cleaning the chairs personally until I realised it was every chair so called the company to replace them all.

Tip: Always get furniture delivered on the Friday morning allowing for the chance to correct any mishaps easily.

Photo Credit: Kerry Morgan