Wedding flowers,bouquets,flower arranging ideas for the bride.

The exact information you need to become an extremely successful wedding florist, is here!

Are you aware of the advice brides are given by about.com on what to look for in a florist? This information becomes "internet wisdom" and is duplicated again and again over thousands of websites. You need to know what brides are being told and be very prepared for it or your competition will win those valuable wedding clients!

I have taken each of the "12 questions to ask your florist" from that website and placed in italics below, and given you links all the resources at our disposal here at floralartmall.com to help you maximize your share of the wedding market in your area and online!

"Lock in your floral designer early during the wedding planning process. You'll want a designer who is gifted, knowledgeable, and agreeable. Most importantly, your florist should delight in providing you with the most beautiful flowers your budget can handle. Be sure to check with the local Better Business Bureau before hiring."

This first piece of advice to brides is all about your reputation as a wedding florist. A tall order for anyone but easy to address, with these quick steps:
1.Join your local Better Business bureau.

2. Gain floristry qualifications that are recognised in your country as the best, fitting in the time to achieve these with effective time management.

3.Get to know your flower wholesalers and insist on grade 1 flowers. If the bride's budget is tiny, use the value for money flowers which will give you lots of flowers on each stem such as Orchids, Chrysanthemums, etc, you know the ones right for your area but don't ever be tempted to buy cheaper grades as wedding flowers.

4. To prove you are gifted, you need to outclass the competition. Do this by winning floristry competitions, and plaster those certificates all over your walls. For advice on success through winning floral design competitions, available on a downloadable CD click here.

5. Agreeable? Only you will know how good your 'people skills' are. After each wedding, send the bride a questionnaire with questions about your service. You may not like some of the answers but the negative feedback is more valuable than the positive as it tells you honestly how you can improve.

6. Enhance your reputation internationally by being featured on the pages of floral design magazine... now that would be something to tell your potential clients about! The wedding special is published in August each year and is always sold out within weeks of being published. Why? Because it features weddings from all over the world, and it is a valuable tool for florists, brides and floristry students looking for exciting modern trends which have been actually part of a real wedding. You are able to submit your best wedding flower photos to the editor, Tricia Legg any time during the year. Simply send a CD of high quality photos to Editor, floral design magazine, 17 Hill Street Paeroa New Zealand, with a return address, email address and information on the wedding and techniques used. Any weddings selected for inclusion get a by-line for the participating florist and photographer and a certificate of floral design excellence from the magazine.

What is the florist's design philosophy? Minimal? Traditional? Elegant? Edgy and modern? Florists love explaining their artistic sensibilities -- the styles they love, their favorite flowers,the palettes they adore. Do the florist's views fit with your own ideas?

Wow, this implies that as a wedding florist you can only do one style of flowers well, and you only work really well with your favourite flowers and colours. How many bridal clients would you miss out on if you buy into that line of reasoning! But it does mean you have to show how wonderfully versatile you can be!If you do tend to have a set style I can help:

1. Start to actively expand your range of styles. The absolutely best way to do this is to subscribe to floral design magazine, a specialist magazine for florists. with an international outlook. You will see the latest European trends , will be shown the latest techniques and introduced to design ideas you would never have even contemplated on your own. Click here to learn more, about this fabulous monthly floristry magazine. Also order the online editions of the floral design magazine wedding specials from 2004,2005,2006 and 2007. Read more at the bottom of this webpage.

2. As you create new pieces using the inspiration and lessons from floral design magazine as your starting point, take photographs of your work. Use a professional photographer if possible or download the ebook with advice on photographing your flower arrangements, yourself, here

3. Seek out your local large print shop, get those photos mounted on large canvas frames and use them around the walls of your floristry studio, and at bridal shows. Make sure the photos you choose show a range of floral design styles, different wedding flowers, and a wide colour palette.

How many weddings will the florist do on the same day or weekend as yours? You'll want to know that your florist won't be rushed on the day.

If a bride hears a wedding florist boast that she is so good she does 5-10 weddings in a weekend, alarm bells will ring, after all this is the day she wants you all to herself! But you only have 52 weekends in a year, many not in your wedding season so how do you maximize your business potential without alienating your brides?

1. Your business will stay small if you are the business! Think about creating a culture of caring and individual care within your business using the staff you have. Become the overseer of excellence, but assign each staff member to be the liaison person with each bridal client...rather like waitresses are assigned to specific tables in a restaurant.

2.You must keep an eye on quality and workmanship to ensure your reputation is maintained. You may even be able to employ part timers who are assigned to each client as and when needed.

Does the florist's style -- and the overall look of the shop -- match yours? (This is common sense. Go with your gutCan you see photographs or live examples of past work? (Real bouquets and arrangements will give you a better sense of the florist's abilities than photos -- especially photos that aren't of the florist's actual work but show things the florist says he or she can do.)

As I said, photographs of your work on the walls are incredibly important, and if you missed the link, the ebook on photographing flowers is available here. But wait...there's more... You also need to use these skills to photograph every wedding you have done. Don't use the excuse that you don't have time..make time. Why? so you can...

1.Put all these photos on a DVD to give to brides to take home and view at their leisure on their TV with their friends and people who influence their decisions. This is a powerful advertising tool working while you are not there.

2. Make a portfolio of these photos in an attractive album. Put this on an imposing stand in your bridal studio for casual customer browsing. Include in this portfolio any letters from enthusiastic brides, as testimonials.

3. Add these photos to your website, you do have one don't you? Sort them into styles under the links so the internet visitor can quickly find the floral design style she wants.

How big is the shop (number of staff), and who will work on your wedding? Make sure the floral designer you're interviewing will actually create the arrangements. Try to gauge the florist's expertise by asking questions. What flowers will be in season when your wedding takes place? If your budget is on the small side, ask how you can maximize your options. What are some less expensive alternatives to blooms beyond your price range?

Don't answer the first question directly, but answer the concern which is as I have already mentioned, "Am I going to be the center of your attention?" This issue has been already addressed in the advice above.

What are the hottest floral trends of the moment? Why do they work or not work? What's the most innovative concept the florist has recently brought to a design project?

I can't repeat often enough, you need to be up to date with not only modern trends, but also emerging trends for the brides who wants the latest look. And the way to do that, in fact, in my opinion, the only way to do that, is to take out a 12 month subscription to floral design magazine. Twelve editions, one a month, not only give you ideas to try but also will form an extensive collection to be shown to your brides. Believe me, they will get very excited looking at emerging trends they will never have been exposed to before, and guess what, you introduced them... a hot modern florist? You bet you will be! Click here to begin.

Which flowers are best for your wedding season? If you're marrying in the summertime, what are some hot weather no-nos? Has the florist done weddings at your ceremony or reception site before? If so, she may have pictures of arrangements done at your site and will be knowledgeable about what sizes, shapes, and colors work in the space.

There are those photographs again, as a valuable resource to your business. See why I said make time to take them well? Other ideas to increase your effectiveness if asked these questions are:
1. Ask each of your area's most popular wedding venues if you can arrange flowers and take photos of them at their venue for your publicity and theirs. Add these to your portfolio and theirs.
2. Compile a second portfolio divided into 4 sections, one for each season. Add to each section as you do weddings at those times, to show your clients the flowers available each season and how you styled them.

Will the florist deliver the flowers to your wedding or spend time at the site, setting up and making sure everything is in order? You'll pay more for a full service florist, but you'll get what you pay for.

Once again this is the time to emphasize the personal florist that your bride will be assigned as part of her big day, and her duties.. Added value of yourself being there for the final checks adds to the amount you can charge and is also a reassuring note.

Does the florist offer rental items -- vases, potted plants, arches, trellises, candelabras, urns -- or must you contact a rental company?

Many florists find the rental side of the wedding is a lucrative addition. It also means you can fully utilize spending time on time consuming techniques such as seen in the December 2007 edition of floral design magazine (available here) as you can use them for more than one wedding, reducing the labour costs of the initial construction. The added bonus is you are able to introduce the truly modern wedding design techniques, many of which can be prepared well in advance.

Does the florist preserve bouquets after weddings? If this is important to you, find out now if he will do so, or if you can be referred to someone who does. You may have to make an appointment before the wedding to ensure that your bouquet can be preserved directly afterward.

This question actually is the doorway to a huge opportunity. Get in touch with your local preferred wedding suppliers, the cars, venues, preservation specialists, wedding cake makers, and join into a co-operative group. Advertise together, carry each other's cards and information and share clients. This way you all win as an enquiry to a car rental firm will lead the bride to you, and you lead them to your cake making partner! Everyone wins, including the bride who finds it easier to get what she wants! Make sure of course that the partners you select have the same standard of service and care as you do.

Finally, don't take my word for it! I have seen some of the top wedding florists from around the world and photographed them in action as they maximised their business. Find out the 11 step formula you need to know about to become the top wedding florist in your region. On a CD you can read it on your computer, or print it off to study offline! Here are your answers to making your wedding business the best it can be! Order the CD through flowerpowersuccess.com here

Wedding flowers, bridal bouquets, corsages, wedding table settings, reception and church arrangements, ideas for the bride, music, and books to inspire when arranging wedding flowers.