Wedding Flowers

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Wedding florals, lighting and decor. We have a $250 minimum order for pick-up, and a $1000 minimum for local delivery, Semi-local deliveries may have a slightly higher minimum, depending on location and date.
That usually translates into a customer order for just bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages being picked up at our shop, but if they also order centerpieces, the order will be delivered to their venue.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Make sure your florist responds quickly to your request for information, and gives you a detailed quote in writing. If you don't get the feeling that they are professional, detailed, & organized, don't use them - there are many "fly-by-night" companies with sloppy business practices. The most common mistake is to only get a "general" description of your florals - a pro will be able to tell you exactly what you are getting!

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. I think if customers realized how much of a difference the choice of flower type, and also the variety of different blooms used affected the price, they would be surprised. Seeing arrangements of pink & white calla lilies, orchids, peonies & ranunculus, for instance, in bridal magazines prompts them to ask for them specifically, but a "pink & white" color scheme using just roses and hydrangeas can cost 35-40% less - that's a lot, if the quote goes from $3000 to $1800! All flowers are lovely; keep an open mind, especially if budget is an issue!

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Make sure the florist/decor provider has a physical base of operation, including a cooler, and an actual staff. Individuals working on the side often have no way of keeping your florals at the right temperature, and no way of handling personal emergencies that pop upon the date of your event. Also, those working alone tend not to have a good Plan B for the transport of your items, especially if your venue does not allow access to the space more than a few hours in advance.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. The date needs to be set. Seasons affect flower prices greatly. Also, the color scheme and "mood" of the event. Flower pricing can also be affected by color, so if we quote using white hydrangea, and have to change to purple later, the price could go up quite a bit.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Our floral/decor business is professionally managed. Creative types like floral designers sometimes lack organizational skills, so things can go wrong when complex events are planned. We have professional business practices, along with talented young designers. In today's competitive environment, you need both. Also, with our lead designer in the same age group as most of our customers (20's), we have a youthful vibe - our "vintage" designs look edgy, not old!

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. Artfully arranged flowers are always beautiful..... weddings, which are about 90% of our bookings, are happy occasions.....we have the tools to make things stress-free....and we are extremely skilled at being prepared for last-minute emergencies such as rain at outdoor events, power failures for lighting, accidental breakage on site, etc. We plan for emergencies - we even have "emegency kits" that look doctors' bags, that we carry to every event!

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. With regard to florals, they often ask how our prices can be so much lower than retail florists. The answer is: we do not have to keep flowers in stock every day, because we only order what we need for each event. There is a lot of "waste" for retail florists, since they need to be prepared to make last-minute arrangements for birthdays, funerals, etc. Plus, our design space is decidedly "unattractive" - just a warehouse with a big cooler. So customers have to be impressed with our prices & service - there is no decorated consulting space displaying luxury linens, chandeliers, and dozens of buckets of flowers, etc.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. We have dozens of satisfied customers, as evidenced by our perfect scores on WeddingWire.com - the number of customers that stress how great our prices were is only exceeded byt he number who say that they expected far less service for the price they paid - the overwhelming comment is that "Scentsational Events' prices are budget-friendly but there is nothing 'budget' about the service"!!!

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. I wish customers understood the many variables in floral design- they often comment that you can buy a dozen roses in the grocery story for $12, so why does a bridal bouquet using 24 roses cost $70, rather than $25 or $30? They don't realize that we have to order at least 20% more of each material, to cover breakage/imperfect blooms, and that we use special solutions to enhance hydration, and that wedding flowers are kept in a cooler for the same reason,and that artful arrangement is a skill, not just a lucky coincidence, and that the trims, pins & ribbons costs money, too!

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. Prior to the year 2003, wedding florals were a purchase initiated by the bride's mother, who was often planning and paying for the wedding. Once wedding vendors were mainly sought on-line by 24-28 year old brides, who were paying for much of the wedding themselves, we noticed a dearth of professional on-line marketing by the old-timey shops, and knew we could easily attract the attention of brides and wedding planners by offering pricing online, followed by a personal consultation. Immediate gratification wins in sales!

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. We did a wedding in August 2011 that was planned an outdoor waterfront event. The bride had wanted peonies, which are impossible to get in August in Maryland, and also wanted anemones, which are hard to get in August and not hardy enough for an outdoor summer wedding. So, she had to trust us to come up with the same vintage, garden look she wanted, without her favorite blooms. The day of the event, it rained, so she could not have it on the riverfront. It could have been a disappointing day for her, but the night before we had sent her a "sneak peek" photo of her florals, and she was so thrilled that she said she didn't care if it rained, she knew it would look fabulous- and it did! We re-worked the entire design when we got there, and everyone loved it. It didn't look like a compromise; it looked like it was designed that way from the start.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Yes, our designers take classes at least once per year to stay current with industry trends. Plus, I personally read every wedding magazine each month, and watch every wedding show on TV, to see what the customers are seeing with regard to florals and decor.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. Retail floral shops are expected to decline by more than 25% over the next 5 years. We believe that our main competition will then become on-line floral wholesalers who offer "packages" that get assembled the day before the wedding. We plan to offer our "labor-only" services to customers who choose to get their flowers on-line.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. This week, we are working on our display at the local Bridal Show. We are designing versions of our best-selling bouquets to display, plus working on a new concept of designing less elaborate, more affordable versions of celebrity wedding florals. So it you want Kim Kardashian's centerpieces, or Kate Middleton's bouquet, we are ready for you!

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. The best thing about using our company is that we never take advantage of our customer's lack of knowledge about our product. It is a long-standing tradition in our industry to ask the customer up front what the floral budget is, and then price the pieces as high as as you can get away with. We price a bouquet of 24 white roses, wrapped in white satin with pearls pins exactly the same for a bride with a $750 floral budget as we do for a bride with a $5000 budget. The higher your budget, the more flowers and more exotic blooms you can buy with us. Customers love this approach - we tell them right up front that if we come in over their budget, we will make recommendations on the design, materials, or number of pieces, to lower the price. Our prices are not negotiable because they are never marked up past a certain level. We cover our materials & design time, then mark up the same percentage for everyone.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. To understand how to market their product. We know a lot of very talented floral designers, who have to work for someone else, or in another industry, because they do not know how to find customers. Also, you must run it as a business, not as a hobby. You can't ignore your email for 2-3 days and still expect to attract clients - they've moved on. We check our email & voicemail at least every 2-3 hours from 8am to 11pm, 7 days per week.

Q. What is your greatest strength?

A. Our marketing savy; plus having a young designer who understands this generation's preferences. Plus, we have excellent customer response time, and superior service at the actual event. We mix great design with great business practices.

Q. What are you currently working on improving?

A. We are always working on ways to reduce waste - the better we are at keeping our material orders tight, the more profitable we can be. We also want to work on our Facebook presence for 2012. We have purchased a series of Facebook ads targeted to engaged couples in our area.

Q. Write your own question and answer it.

A. Have you ever had an unhappy customer?

Yes, we've had 2 or 3 over the years. Once it was totally our fault; we made the wrong number of centerpieces and three of her tables did not have flowers. As soon as we found out, we refunded her for the undelivered pieces, plus added an additional gift. She, in fact, did accept our apology and even referred us someone a few months later. She said she loved the work we did; she was just disappointed in the error. We couldn't blame her - we were horrified ourselves. (The designer had read "5 foot tall centerpieces as "5 centerpieces" - there were supposed to be 8 of them) Another unhappy customer complained that we forgot to scatter rose petals around her centerpieces, and she was right, we did forget - and we immediately sent her an e-gift card and an apology. But for some reason, the e-gift went to her junk mail, and she didn't know we sent it. By the time we spoke with her again, she was very mad, and said she didn't like any of our flowers. While we were disappointed, we realized that since she thought we didn't address her complaint, that soured the whole experience for her. Such a bummer - as a result of these errors, we incorporated a policy that 2 of us had to re-read the order before we leave the venue, to make sure nothing escapes us.