Pinning down my vision with a fabulous, detail-oriented florist.
By Grace O’Neil
On a sunny Sunday afternoon, my mom and I ventured to Tiverton to coordinate a wedding detail we were both excited to discuss: flowers.
Earlier this year, Paul and I had signed a contract with Sayles Livingston Flowers, who came highly recommended by both family members and friends. From looking at portfolio images of her past work, I knew her aesthetic was lush and romantic, making her the perfect vendor to execute the “rustic elegance” theme I envisioned.
When my mom and I arrived at Sayles’s shop, we were immediately charmed. Her boutique looked like it was picked right out of a fairytale or storybook and was filled with beautiful arrangements, a variety of pretty vessels and inspiration boards. We jumped right into planning, looking over pictures of loose and airy arrangements in shades of blush, coral and ivory, with lots of flowing greenery.
We decided on bouquets and arrangements of garden roses, dahlias, lisianthus and pops of baby’s breath, as well as day-of wedding logistics. Sayles was creative and resourceful, researching options and offering suggestions as we shared photographs and Pinterest references. From ideas to repurpose ceremony pew flowers to making our sweetheart table stand out with a bowed swag, she helped us nail down how to complement the historic look of our ceremony and reception venues. I was glad to be working with a floral designer who was flexible and responsive to our ideas and left our meeting even more excited about our big day. On the ride home, my mom and I shared that we felt thankful we had entrusted someone with such a careful eye for detail.
When planning to meet with a florist for your wedding, it’s easy to focus on the basics, like bouquets and centerpieces. And, if you’re anything like me, you might not have thought about some specifics that you may want to include. To help with your planning, here’s a downloadable checklist of items from the editors of Engaged that you may want to review before meeting with your florist.