We are so happy to meet with you and talk about your wedding or special event! Here’s a look at the process we use to create all the details for your big day. For even more information, please see our FAQs as well!
INSPIRATION: It all starts with gorgeous images. We encourage our clients to send over pictures or pinterest boards that evoke the feel of what they would like to create, even a few images are helpful! Don’t know where to start? That’s okay too. We can always talk you through some ideas and look at images together.
SCHEDULE A CONSULT: Please send us an email at inquiry@alliumfloral.com and include your event date, location, and inspiration pictures. From there we will schedule a time for you to meet us at our studio (if you are planning from outside the Lehigh Valley area, we can set up a phone call or videochat with you). Please note: You must have your venue booked in order to schedule a consult with us. We typically don’t meet with clients more than a year before the event. We find this time frame allows clients to gather all the inspiration they need and to really hone in on a feel/style that they like.
THE INITIAL CONSULT: Consults typically take about an hour – we ask a LOT of questions! Sarah was formerly an event planner, so she asks all kinds of planning as well as design questions. We really want to be prepared for every possible scenario at your event.
OUR PROPOSAL (no rings involved in this one though!): We meticulously research each event and are in contact with multiple wholesalers to get you the best possible pricing. It will take at least 2 weeks to receive a proposal, although in some cases it can take up to 2 months. If you have an urgent need where you need to make a fast decision between multiple florists, or if your event is coming up quickly, let us know so that we can expedite your proposal.
Please keep in mind: we budget about 10 hours of planning time per client prior to the wedding. Excess meetings/planning time may be subject to additional design fees. You may have some questions about design or your wedding before your 8-week consult, feel free to email those to us! We try to get back to clients within 24 hours, so please resend if you didn’t get a response. We want to make sure we got your email!
NEXT STEPS – OPTIONS AND EDITS: Our proposal will feature the items we talked about in our initial consult, but will also include a category called “Additional Items to Consider”. Although many of our couples like to DIY, we find it helpful to price out styling and décor options to give you an opportunity to rent items at a fraction of the cost of purchasing them.
We typically do one round of edits from the initial proposal. From there, we’ll meet 8 weeks out from the wedding to review everything in great detail before placing your floral orders. Since it is unlikely that you’ll know your timeline or table count at this meeting, we will also touch base over the phone or via email about 3 weeks before the wedding to finalize these details.
SECURE YOUR DATE: We encourage you to pay your deposit (25% of your total cost, or $500; whichever is greater) promptly after receiving the proposal, as this secures us working together for your date. You can change any aspect of your wedding up until 1 month before, so you don’t need to worry about having the entire proposal finalized when you pay the deposit. From there, 50% of the balance is due 1 month prior to the wedding and the remainder is due two weeks prior to the wedding. Unless we have made billing arrangements prior to the event, payment for non-wedding events are due the day of delivery. We CANNOT deliver any florals without payment in full.
We hope this helps give you a look into what you can expect when working with us! For more details, please be sure to read our FAQs or feel free to contact us with any other questions you may have.