Planning your wedding florals can be one of the most exciting parts of the big day. Florals set the scene, establish your color palette, and make the vision of your wedding come to life. But between endless online inspiration, budgeting questions, and figuring out what’s actually possible in your venue, florals are often more complex than they seem. Enter T Villager Designs, expert Nashville florist, here to answer the big questions. Whether you’re dreaming of a full floral installation or simply want to understand how to budget, these insights will leave you feeling informed and inspired.
Communication Is Key
Let’s talk about transparency! Creating a budget early on is essential for every aspect of the wedding planning process. Once that budget is set and you’ve consulted with your planner, don’t shy away from sharing the numbers with your florist. Being upfront allows your florist to understand what’s possible and design something that works for your vision and your price point.
Q: Why should couples share their budgets early on, and how can you work with a couple’s budget?
T Villager Designs: “Floral designers always want to build your dream wedding florals, but what they cannot build for you is a Pinterest dream that doesn’t fit your budget. It can be discouraging to get your floral proposal based on your inspiration photos, and it’s several thousand dollars over your budget. Before you or your planner ask for a floral proposal, make sure you’ve discussed your floral vision thoroughly, reviewed your Pinterest or design board, and make certain your floral vision is achievable within your budget. This saves time and effort on everyone’s part. Trust your floral designer to use their creativity and imagination to help you obtain a beautiful floral vision within your budget and not compromise the beauty of your day. Great floral designers can help you come up with options that can help lower costs and still achieve your vision.”
Elizabeth Nord Photography
Do The Research
Understanding how much of your overall budget should be allocated to florals is the first step. An experienced planner can help break down this budget based on what is most important to you on your wedding day. Is it the venue? The photographer or videographer? The entertainment? Flowers? Another aspect to consider including in your floral budget is floral preservation. Pros like Lake Dessie Studio specialize in turning your floral arrangements into artful keepsakes, preserving your flowers with care so you can cherish them for years to come. Once all of that is established, you can begin to explore what florals may look like on your day. Coming to that initial meeting prepared with details like your wedding party size, guest count, and specific elements of your vision will make the planning process smoother and more productive.
Q: Why should couples establish and understand their floral budget before reaching out, and how can a planner help set realistic expectations?
T Villager Designs: “First: Consider what drives the overall cost of your wedding. The venue, the number of guests, the table decor, the bridal party number are just some of those factors. Again, every couple will be different in what is most important to them, and it should be that way. Every vendor who is a part of that very special wedding day can and will deliver based on your vision.
Second: It’s VERY okay not to know anything about flowers. That’s the florist’s expertise, so lean into them. Good floral designers really know their floral art and design, so trust their guidance. That’s part of what you are paying for.
Third: If you have a great planner, trust their expertise and guidance. Great planners are worth every penny you invest in them, and they can make your life so less stressful.
Fourth: Be prepared to let the floral designer know what flowers are your favorites and any flowers you do not like. And if you don’t know those things, it’s fine!”
Caitlyn Floyd Photography
Reuse & Reimagine
When shaping your floral vision, there may be several areas where you would love to incorporate flowers. Maybe your vision includes elaborate arrangements lining the aisle, a beautiful ceremony arch, or styled centerpieces on each table. But as you start adding up all those floral moments, the costs can quickly add up, too. That’s where a skilled florist comes in. An experienced floral designer can repurpose florals from the ceremony for the reception, helping to significantly reduce the cost while still bringing your vision to life.
Q: What are some creative ways you’ve reused arrangement?
T Villager Designs: “We like to make sure we are using everything we can from ceremony to reception. Often, aisle arrangements can be repurposed to table centerpieces, the front of the stage, or head table. We even try to use florals from arches somewhere in the reception, if it is possible and feasible to do so. Sometimes, it may not be, but we’re always thinking about what we can do. Bouquets can also be repurposed. Most florists will agree when breaking down when the evening ends, we find bouquets left on tables or thrown away. We always encourage couples to talk with their planner about how those can be repurposed in places like the bar, down the center on a long head table, or even on the cake table.”
Heather Durham Photography
Trust the Process (& Your Florist)
While you may have a clear picture in your mind of what you want for your wedding day, trusting someone else to bring it to life is a big leap. That is why it is important to book a florist that you trust and feel comfortable communicating with. The experts know how to make your vision a reality, and they know which flowers will best match what you are looking for and how those will fit in your budget. Keeping an open mind and allowing your florist to have creative freedom can lead to stunning results.
Q: What does it look like to have creative freedom while also honoring and executing the couple’s vision?
T Villager Designs: “While we always strive to capture everything our couples ask for from their design board or Pinterest board, when allowed the freedom to add our own creative style to give a little extra, add some new varieties of flowers, etc., we go the extra mile to make the outcome as beautiful and creative as possible. We always have extra flowers on hand during the installation in case we see a flower we feel needs to be replaced, and we are ready just in case there might be one more table added, another boutonniere or corsage needed, etc., as a last-minute change. I guess we’re like boy and girl scouts. Our motto is: Always be prepared!”
Glenai Gilbert Photography
Field To Ceremony
It can be hard to conceptualize how much work goes into creating the dreamy floral moments we see online. Behind every arrangement is hours of planning, sourcing, designing, transporting, and more. What may look effortless in photos is often the result of a carefully orchestrated process from start to finish.
Q: Can you explain a little more about sourcing, prep, labor, and how it all impacts pricing?
T Villager Designs: “We always try to source whatever we can locally, which is becoming more viable in today’s world. There are still flowers such as roses and hydrangeas that are better sourced from Central and South America. Greenhouses there don’t need to be heated or cooled because of the climate and high elevation. This also helps us to lower the carbon footprint that greenhouse grown flowers produce. We also spend time doing our research to source flowers from Holland, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries to try to secure the more hard-to-find flowers during off-season.
At least a week (or sometimes more) before your wedding, your flowers are often already being picked and boxed and are beginning the shipping process where they often go through multiple sets of border checks for bugs. Then, they are put on a plane and delivered to your florist early the week of your wedding.
When your florist gets your flowers, they have to re-hydrate and baby them in the studio so they will be at their very best on your wedding day. By the time you touch your bouquet, almost 100 people (or more!) have been involved in process between the planters, growers, pickers, shippers, customs and your floral team. Our team pampers our product because when our name goes out there we want to make sure the flowers are at their finest and will last throughout the day and evening.
Emma Manning Photography
T Villager Designs’ Final Words of Advice?
“Nashville is very fortunate to have some incredible, talented floral designers who we love to support and promote as well. Not every florist is for every bride and vice versa, and that is totally okay. You’ll find your florist, feel the chemistry, and know you are a match! Remember to trust the process!”
Now that you’ve heard from one of the best, it’s time to connect with a floral team that gets your vision and budget. T Villager Designs & other talented Nashville florists are waiting to make floral magic happen!
