Wedding Flowers Timeline

Looking for an easy wedding flowers timeline? Planning your wedding can be overwhelming and when it comes to wedding flowers, it is sometimes hard to figure out when and how to plan your floral arrangements. Similar to choosing and ordering a wedding dress, the floral consultation is quite detailed and time-consuming. It can take a few months to determine the wedding budget, theme, and floral vision. Therefore, having a plan in place for when to contact and book a wedding florist is crucial for stress-free wedding planning and a happy bride.

 

If you’re keeping it simple, you may only need bouquets, bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpieces. However, if you’re going all out, you might want more blooms and floral arrangements, meaning more things to consider and plan for. We hope this wedding flower timeline will help you stay on track and organized!

 

Wedding Flower Timeline

 

9-12 Months Before The Wedding

Determine Your Budget

A big step in any wedding planning process is setting your wedding budget. Make sure to work out an estimate of your wedding budget, who will be paying for what, and how much you can realistically spend. Once you have an overall budget, figure out what elements are most important to you during your wedding day. This way you will know where you can splurge and where to cut costs.

 

Tip: It is common to have 8% to 10% of your total wedding budget for flowers.

Make A Flower Checklist

Figuring out what flowers and how many of them you need will be key to your budget. Do you need wedding bouquets just for you and the rest of your wedding party? Or maybe you’re looking to add corsages, boutonnieres, and flower crowns? Are you considering having flower arrangements for every part of your wedding venue? Food tables, chairs, powder rooms? Obviously, some of the floral arrangements are completely optional. However, once you know what you want, it will help you not only narrow down the options but also narrow down the budget.

Decide Your Wedding Theme

Your wedding’s theme is one of the first things you’ll want to decide on when planning. The theme will set the tone for your wedding and will be visible throughout every aspect of your wedding day. From the wedding bouquets and boutonnieres to floral aisles and centerpieces, it is important to have a set wedding theme to ease the planning process.

Choose a Color Theme

Many couples pick a color theme for their wedding day and then decide on their flowers accordingly. After all, the color palette you choose will make or break your floral arrangements. This doesn’t mean you have to be incredibly specific about it. However, knowing what colors and aesthetics you want will help your wedding florist  fit the florals to your vision. Draw your inspiration from social media and find floral visuals that excite you.

Choose a Venue

The venue plays a major role in the flower planning process. You should choose a venue that you will absolutely adore, from the location and view to the architecture and the vibe of the space. If you have a venue that you’re not head over heels for, you will need to put more work and budget into the decor and floral arrangements. Therefore, your flower arrangement selection will definitely depend on your wedding venue.

Source Inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest, or TikTok

It is much easier to select wedding flowers when you have an idea of what you want for your big day. Pull up your mood boards on Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok, gather all the inspiration you need, and select the elements you want to fulfill your wedding dreams. This step is very important, as it will help you explain your wedding floral  vision to your florist. Knowing what vibe and look you’re going for will allow your wedding florist to make suggestions and pricing estimates.

Research and Schedule a Consultation with a Wedding Florist

Once you have accomplished all the previous steps, it’s time to research and schedule an initial consultation with a wedding florist! Either look for a florist  online or ask your married friends for recommendations. This time isn’t just for looking online, start reaching out to the wedding florists you find and make sure to have all your information ready! From your wedding date and venue to your budget and inspiration, you should cover all of the important details.

6-8 months 

Book Your Favorite Wedding Florist

Working with a wedding florist will ensure that things go smoothly on your wedding day; from finding lush flowers that will reflect your vision which are in season  for your wedding date (and fits within your budget) to decorating the venue and making sure everything is on time. Booking a wedding florist early on in your wedding planning will also help prevent overwhelm. So make sure to choose your favorite florist after the initial consultation and book the date!

Have a Final Wish List of Wedding Flower Arrangements

While it’s never too early to decide what you like and which arrangements you want to have at your wedding, your inspiration may change over the course of a year. That’s why it’s important to have a concrete list of the floral arrangements you need for your big day closer to the date. This will also help you narrow down your options and choose your favorites!

Walk the Venue with Your Florist

After you’ve booked your wedding florist and have a solid list of the flowers you want, it’s time to have a look at the venue! Let the venue be an additional inspiration for you and your wedding florist. Many times when brides see the venue, its architecture and surroundings again, it can help them figure out what and how much they need to order. Moreover, the details inside and outside the venue can help when selecting the perfect hue for your wedding floral arrangements.

4-5 months

Finalize The Details

Finalize your contract and all the details, including what floral arrangements will be present, how many, and their sizes, types, and colors. Make sure to have a checklist of every flower you have discussed and go over it with your florist. This way, you will ensure that you haven’t missed anything. 

 

1 month

Confirm The Order and Timeline

It’s time to check in with your wedding florist to make sure that everything will run smoothly. This will give you a chance to ensure that you and your florist are on the same page. It’s also a great time to finalize your delivery times for flowers, vases, and floral arrangements! Moreover, it’s crucial to share this information with other wedding vendors ahead of the wedding day. This will create open communication and will help your vendors work well together, resulting in a smoother and more enjoyable wedding for everyone!

On the Day

Congratulations! Your wedding day is here! Thus, plan to receive all your personal flowers when hair and makeup are underway. This way your photographer will be able to include the flowers in the getting-ready photos. If you have opted to collect your flowers, make sure that whoever is in charge of that comes in early. For example, approximately 2-3 hours prior to the ceremony. Installations and setting up the arrangements can take some time. Therefore, your florist will start setting them up as early as possible. It’s time for all the consultation time and design work to pay off!

 

We hope you found this wedding flower timeline helpful! And since you now know what the floral wedding planning timeline looks like, you may want to learn about other tips and tricks to ease your wedding planning journey. Fortunately, we can help! Check our wedding planning guides for more inspiration!

 

Header Image Credit: @keanibakula