Wedding Quotes

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Hello Everyone, I'm new to the flower chat! I'm hoping someone can help me with a couple of questions. What would you suggest when a Bride is asking to see an example of your work. i.e. - centerpiece, when she has not signed your contract and you don't even know if she is going use your services. I do not want my ideas taken to another florist if she decides to go elsewhere.

Your suggestion would be appreciated

neg
 
I personally want a bride to see a sample of her centerpiece before she signs a contract. I do not give a detailed quote until after I get a deposit, but i do give an opportunity to let her see a sample. Especially if she is the type that knows exactly what she doesn't want but has no idea what she does want. She cannot take the arrangement home with her unless she pays for it and she cannot take a picture of it. I feel that if they see the real thing then there are no surprises on wedding day. Just my 2 cents. This is a varied opinion with many.
 
Welcome to Flower Chat! You're gonna love it here.

We keep portfolios, actually small photo albums, of our work. That has worked for us thus far. With so many brides watching all of those bridezilla TV shows, we might have to start making up a sample. In that case, I would follow Lori''s suggestions about no photos, no written descriptions, or no taking it out of the shop until it is paid for.
 
I have started inviting brides in to see upcoming weddings. I take appointments for Thursday/Friday if it's a saturday event, or wed/thurs if it's Friday. They can see almost finished bouquets, completed centerpieces, look at flower quality and design. I do this for brides who have come in for a consult, or if a bride happens to pop in while we're working on an event (this also gives me a very valid reason to request her to set up an appointment, because our time is being used on the current event).

welcome to flowerchat!

tracy
 
lori042499 said:
I personally want a bride to see a sample of her centerpiece before she signs a contract. I do not give a detailed quote until after I get a deposit, but i do give an opportunity to let her see a sample. Especially if she is the type that knows exactly what she doesn't want but has no idea what she does want. She cannot take the arrangement home with her unless she pays for it and she cannot take a picture of it. I feel that if they see the real thing then there are no surprises on wedding day. Just my 2 cents. This is a varied opinion with many.
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Lori you are spot on regarding brides, we follow your post exactly but vases play a much greater role over here. Colour matching is important so we often provide a sample of the primary flower free of charge a few days after the first meeting.
PS I charge for the first consultation regardless of the size of the wedding but refund on booking!
Regards Shaun
 
We bring the bride in on a second consultation to see a sampling of the flowers she has selected for the wedding to give her a chance to see the colors, ect. We do not make the bouquet for her to see, as it can be very time consuming and costly for something just to show.
 
Hello eveyone!

Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate your prompt responses. This helps.

Thank you!
Naomi
 
Color!


don't get bogged down in the flower varieties..... (if at all possible)


Great design can happen with carns, anthuriums, or those GD lilies that i can't remember the name of....

Joe

BTW: i have a doosy of wedding this weekend. one of three.

Thread to follow!
 
I do estimates in blocks, and give a vague general description/palette.

wedding party/"people" flowers=$

ceremony flowers=$

reception flowers=$

If they are price shopping, they are somewhat frustrated, but it weeds out the girls who are serious vs. the wal-mart crowd.

Once I have a deposit of $500 to hold the date, then they get an itemized list/description.

And I try to sell on a 'look' rather than certain varities, unless it is a monochromatic /all one flower/all one color situation.
 
Sample or no sample?

It's a tough one... Kind of a catch 22 in fact. If you don't show the bride examples of your work, you risk losing her altogether, while at the same time showing her stuff before she commits leaves a potential for her to take your designs to someone else who claims they can do it for cheaper...

I've spent 3 years doing only weddings and here's what I ultimately decided to do:
- 30 minute free consultation. I give them a rough estimate of what their looking at in terms of costs, and show them my portfolio. If they then decide to go with me and give a deposit, that is when I shoot tons of ideas their way!
- Consultations on Mondays and Tuesdays only, because the last three days of the work week are for me to take care of the existing clients and customers.
- If they have decided to go with me, they are welcome to drop in and I'll show them "live samples" of whatever wedding I'm working on that week.

These are the things I don't do:
- Unless they are paying 10 000+ for their wedding flowers, there is no sampling made especially for them.
- I never EVER promise specific flowers. In fact, I have them sign a clause in the contract that explains there are some production problems that may lead to flower inavailability and those problems are out of my control. They basically have to trust me and let me make those kinds of decisions for them. For example, I ordered some mini green hydrangeas for a wedding this coming Saturday, and they came in unopened. They were cut way too early and will never bloom. Now I have 2 days to come up with an alternative solution and have to make sure the flower I select is also available in large quantity...

That is my experience so far... i'm still trying to find out the best way to deal with all of this wedding/bridezilla stuff!
 
Wedding samples....

neg said:
Hello Everyone, I'm new to the flower chat! I'm hoping someone can help me with a couple of questions. What would you suggest when a Bride is asking to see an example of your work. i.e. - centerpiece, when she has not signed your contract and you don't even know if she is going use your services. I do not want my ideas taken to another florist if she decides to go elsewhere.

Your suggestion would be appreciated

neg
Click to expand...


If a bride has not signed a contract but wants to see a sample of my work, I politely let them know that I would be happy to provide them with a sample- but I will have to charge them the cost of the arrangement (including labor & materials).


If they have already hired me, I let them know at the second meeting, they will have a "demo" where they will see samples of the flowers, vases, etc. to be used in their arrangements. At the end of the "demo", I wrap the flowers for them to take home. I've gotten great responses from doing this.

I also tell this to the brides that want to see a sample of my work before they hire me. When I tell them they will see the flowers (demo) AFTER CONTRACT, they usually hire me anyway. It puts their minds at ease.
 
sample centerpieces

Hello Liabridal

Thanks for the advice and very helpful. I'm working with a bride, last week I showed her a centerpiece She loved it, GREAT! But, she wants to see another one with a different flower in it. At this point I'm not sure what to think. She already gave me a deposit of $1000.00. I didn't charge her for the first piece. Since she gave me the deposite, I gave her the flowers. Should I just arrange another piece and not charge for it as the first one, or tell her that she will have to cover the bill for the flowers?

Thanks for your help!

Naomi

liajbridal said:
If a bride has not signed a contract but wants to see a sample of my work, I politely let them know that I would be happy to provide them with a sample- but I will have to charge them the cost of the arrangement (including labor & materials).


If they have already hired me, I let them know at the second meeting, they will have a "demo" where they will see samples of the flowers, vases, etc. to be used in their arrangements. At the end of the "demo", I wrap the flowers for them to take home. I've gotten great responses from doing this.

I also tell this to the brides that want to see a sample of my work before they hire me. When I tell them they will see the flowers (demo) AFTER CONTRACT, they usually hire me anyway. It puts their minds at ease.
Click to expand...
 
neg said:
Hello Liabridal

Thanks for the advice and very helpful. I'm working with a bride, last week I showed her a centerpiece She loved it, GREAT! But, she wants to see another one with a different flower in it. At this point I'm not sure what to think. She already gave me a deposit of $1000.00. I didn't charge her for the first piece. Since she gave me the deposite, I gave her the flowers. Should I just arrange another piece and not charge for it as the first one, or tell her that she will have to cover the bill for the flowers?

Thanks for your help!

Naomi
Click to expand...


Hey Naomi,
I do the same, but I don't do a complete centerpieces. I assign a certain percentage of the deposit (about 2.5%) to cover the cost of the flowers for a demo (not an actual centerpiece). I'm just buying a few of the flowers that I discussed with the bride.

For example, if I show the bride white lilies, yellow gerbera and red roses, it's only for her to see what flowers I'm talking about. She may ask if she can get red gerbera instead, but I won't go out and buy red gerbera.

I also have the John Henry flower cards. They help a great deal. They're not comprehensive, since there are so many varieties of flowers, but it does give the bride a good idea of what the flowers look like. I show her the cards in the initial consultation, that way I already know what flowers I have to buy for the demo.

You don't want to tell her that you'll have to charge her for the extra centerpiece. Just get the flowers and show them to her. She's already seen the vase, etc. Or else, you'll spend your time making centerpieces for her. She may feel that since she gave you a deposit, she's already paid for the right to keep asking you for demo centerpieces. After she's seen the flowers, you can wrap them up for her to take home.
 
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