How to Choose a Wedding Florist

Questions to ask a wedding florist

Fifteen questions, and the answer you are listening for. You will learn more from how quickly they answer than from what they say, because a florist who has run a hundred weddings has these answers ready.

Ask	The answer you want
Have you worked at our venue before?	A specific answer about access, timing or a past event there. Vague familiarity is not the same as having installed there.
If not, will you visit it before the wedding?	Yes, or a clear explanation of how they will confirm access and dimensions without a visit.
Do you install, or only deliver?	A direct answer. Install means people on site placing and adjusting. Delivery means boxes at the door.
Who will actually be on site on the day?	A named person or a described crew. Not simply the business name.
What is your access window at our venue?	A time range they have confirmed with the venue, not one they assume.
Is delivery, setup and pack down included in this price?	Itemised, with each line visible. This is the most common hidden cost.
What happens if a variety is unavailable that week?	A substitution policy: like for like within the palette, and whether they will contact you first.
How many weddings do you take on our date?	A number. More than two or three per florist on one Saturday stretches any team.
What is your wet weather plan?	Who decides, by when, and whether a second install location is priced in.
Are the vessels and structures hired or purchased?	Clear either way, plus who collects hired items and when.
When are final numbers due?	A specific date, usually one to two weeks out, tied to when orders are placed.
What is the deposit and the cancellation policy?	In writing, with the refund position at each stage stated.
Do you carry public liability insurance?	Yes, with a certificate available. Most venues require it before they allow an install.
Can we see photographs of a wedding you did in this season?	Images from the same months as your date, not only the best day of the year.
What is not included in this quote?	A florist who can answer this quickly is one who has written a complete quote.

Where to look for a wedding florist

Most couples start on Instagram, which shows the best photograph a business has ever taken and nothing about whether they can deliver a Saturday in February. These are the sources worth using, and what each one actually tells you.

Source	What it tells you	What it does not
Your venue's preferred list	Who has worked there and knows the access	Whether they are the best value or the best fit for your style
Your photographer	Who is reliable on the day, from someone who watches every wedding	Pricing, and they may have commercial arrangements
Instagram and Pinterest	Style, and whether the work is consistent	Reliability, scope, price, or whether that image is even theirs
Recent married friends	An honest account of the whole experience, not just the result	How that translates to your venue and season
Wedding directories	Breadth of options in your area	Anything verified. Most listings are paid
A floral designer or planner	One brief, one scheme, someone accountable across suppliers	It is a different service, with a coordination fee inside the scope

One test cuts through most of it: ask for photographs of a wedding they did in the same month as yours. A portfolio is a highlight reel across years and seasons. A February wedding shot at 5pm tells you far more than a styled winter shoot.

How to brief a florist properly

A vague brief produces a vague quote, and then a comparison that is not really a comparison. Six things make a brief usable.

The date and the venue, first. Both change availability and price more than any style preference
A list of arrangements, with quantities. Not a mood board. Six centrepieces and four buttonholes is a brief. Romantic and whimsical is not
A budget range. Withholding it does not get you a better price. It gets you a quote scoped to the wrong wedding
Three to five images, with what you like about each. One image with a note saying the shape, not the flowers is worth ten without
Colours to avoid, as well as colours to use. Exclusions narrow a palette faster than inclusions
Anything fixed. A family variety, a cultural requirement, an allergy, a dress that is true white not ivory

Send the same brief to every florist you approach. If each gets a different version, the quotes cannot be compared and the exercise is wasted.

Warning signs in a floral quote

Most disappointing wedding florals trace back to a quote that was never complete, not to a florist who could not arrange flowers.

A single total with no itemisation. You cannot compare it, and you cannot reduce it without renegotiating the whole thing.
No delivery or setup line. Either it is genuinely free, which is rare, or it is coming later.
Nothing about pack down. Someone has to remove the arch. If it is not in the quote, it may end up being you at midnight.
Specific varieties named for a date months away. Honest quotes describe a palette and a style, with varieties confirmed closer to the day.
No substitution clause. Every florist substitutes. The good ones tell you the rule in advance.
A deposit above about a third with no written cancellation terms.
Pressure to decide within days. Real date scarcity is explained calmly, with the specific date named.
No public liability cover. Most venues will not let them through the door.

Comparing quotes side by side

Copy this into a document and fill a column per florist. Quotes that looked similar rarely stay that way once the lines are aligned.

Line	Florist A	Florist B	Florist C
Bridal bouquet
Bridesmaid bouquets (number)
Buttonholes and corsages
Ceremony florals
Ceremony structure hire
Reception centrepieces (number)
Bridal table
Delivery
Setup and install labour
Pack down and collection
Substitution policy stated
Final numbers due
Deposit and cancellation terms
Public liability confirmed
Total

Install versus delivery, and why it matters

This is the distinction that separates a florist from a floral supplier, and it is where most wedding day problems begin. Delivery ends at the door. Install ends when the room is right.

	Delivery only	Full install
Who places the arrangements	Venue staff, wedding party or guests	The floral crew
Ceremony structures	Not possible	Built and dressed on site
Adjustment after transport	None	Arrangements reset and checked
Moving pieces between spaces	Someone from your side	Rostered and timed in the run sheet
Pack down	Your responsibility	Included or quoted
Suits	Personal flowers, small events, simple table arrangements	Anything with a structure, a turnaround or more than about ten arrangements

If your wedding has an arch, a backdrop, hanging pieces, or a room that has to be turned around between the ceremony and the reception, delivery only is not a saving. It just moves the work to someone at your wedding.

What to expect at each stage

Knowing what should happen and when makes it obvious if something is not happening. This is the normal shape of a wedding floral engagement in Australia.

Stage	Timing	What should happen	Warning sign
Enquiry	Whenever you are ready	A reply within a few business days, with questions about venue and date	A quote with no questions asked
Proposal	Within one to two weeks	A written scope listing every arrangement with quantities	A single number and a mood board
Booking	Once you accept	Written agreement, staged payment schedule, date confirmed	A verbal hold and a deposit request
Quiet period	Until roughly 3 months out	Little contact, which is normal	No response to a question during it
Design confirmation	3 to 4 months out	Palette, varieties as examples, venue access confirmed	Still no mention of the venue
Final numbers	1 to 2 weeks out	Written confirmation of quantities and the final figure	Numbers never requested
Run sheet	1 week out	Delivery times, addresses, the site contact, install window	No timings given
The day		They deal with the venue, not with you	Calls to the couple on the morning

The quiet period catches people out. Between booking and about three months out, there is genuinely nothing to do, and a florist who goes quiet then is not neglecting you. A florist who goes quiet at six weeks is.

When to walk away

Most florist relationships go well. These are the situations where the right decision is to stop, even if it feels awkward and even if a deposit is at risk.

They will not put the scope in writing. Everything else follows from this. A verbal agreement about a wedding twelve months away is not an agreement.
They do not hold public liability insurance. Your venue will very likely refuse them entry, and you will find out late.
They cannot tell you what is excluded. After being asked twice, this is not an oversight.
They have stopped responding. A week of silence at three months out is a problem, not a busy period.
They agree to everything. Including things that are physically not possible at your venue, in your month, at that budget.
Something feels transactional in a way it did not at first. Trust that. This supplier will be at your wedding.

If you do need to change florists, the earlier the better, and check the cancellation terms before you raise it. A staged cancellation policy will usually leave more of the deposit recoverable at six months than at six weeks.

Working with a florist your venue recommends

Venue preferred supplier lists are useful and worth understanding. Being on one usually means the florist has worked there before and understands the access, which is real value. It sometimes also means a commercial arrangement, which is not a scandal but is worth knowing.

Ask how the list is compiled. Some venues list anyone who has worked there without incident. Others charge for the position.
Ask whether you can use someone else. Most venues allow it. A few charge an external supplier fee, which should be disclosed before you book the venue, not after.
Ask what the florist actually did there. Delivered table arrangements is a different level of familiarity from installed a ceremony arch on the lawn.
Compare against one outside quote anyway. Even if you go with the recommendation, you will know what you are paying for the convenience.

Contracts, deposits and what to check before signing

Wedding floral agreements are usually short, and the short ones are where the problems are. These are the terms worth reading closely.

Term	What is normal in Australia	When to ask questions
Deposit	20 to 30 per cent to secure the date	Above about a third, or non refundable with no staged terms
Final payment	Two to four weeks before the wedding	On the day, which nobody should be handling
Final numbers deadline	One to two weeks out	No stated date, which means a dispute later
Substitution clause	Like for like within the agreed palette	No clause at all, or unlimited discretion with no notice to you
Cancellation	Staged, with more refundable the earlier you cancel	A single all or nothing position
Postponement	A stated policy, usually a transfer subject to availability	No policy. Every Australian couple learned why this matters
Damage or loss of hired items	A stated replacement value	Open ended liability
Public liability insurance	Held, with a certificate available	Not held. Most venues will refuse entry

None of this is unusual to ask about, and a florist who has run weddings professionally will have answers ready. Hesitation on the insurance question in particular is worth taking seriously, because your venue will ask the same question.

Red flags and green flags

Green flag	Red flag
Asks about your venue before your style	Quotes without asking where the wedding is
Names specific varieties as examples, not promises	Guarantees exact varieties for a date months away
Volunteers what is not included	Cannot answer what is excluded
Has a written substitution policy	Says it will be fine on the day
Tells you when an idea will not work	Agrees to everything
Talks about access, timing and pack down unprompted	Only talks about the flowers
Gives a staged payment schedule in writing	Wants a large deposit quickly, verbally
Suggests where to save money	Only ever suggests adding

The last one is the most reliable signal in the list. Anyone who has done this long enough knows which lines are worth the money and which are not, and will say so unprompted.

Sources

The question list and the contract terms on this page reflect standard Australian practice across the seven markets we work in, and the quotes we see couples bring to us.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, for consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law, which apply to wedding services and cannot be excluded by a supplier contract.
Flower Industry Australia, the national peak body for the cut flower industry, for supply, substitution and lead time practice.

This is general information, not legal advice. If a contract term concerns you, have it looked at before you sign rather than after.

Common questions

How many wedding florists should I get quotes from?

Two or three, briefed identically. More than that and the comparison stops being useful, because the quotes will be scoped differently and you will pick on price rather than fit.

What deposit is normal for a wedding florist in Australia?

Twenty to thirty per cent to secure the date, with the balance due two to four weeks before the wedding. Anything above about a third, or a non refundable deposit with no staged terms, is worth questioning.

Should I choose a florist based on their Instagram?

Use it to judge style and consistency, then verify everything else. Ask for photographs of a wedding they did in the same month as yours, because a portfolio is a highlight reel across years and seasons.

What is the difference between a florist and a floral designer?

A florist makes and supplies the flowers. A designer sets the scheme, writes the specification and coordinates whoever makes it. On a small wedding they are the same person; on a larger one, separating them is what keeps the look consistent.

Where a floral designer differs from a florist

A florist makes and supplies the flowers. A designer sets the scheme, writes the specification and coordinates whoever makes it. On a small wedding those are the same person. On a larger one, separating them is what keeps a consistent look across ceremony, reception and personal flowers. That is the model Aisle and Stem runs, which is set out on our how it works page.