Wedding Flowers

Before the Wedding Reviews

Hey there ladies and gents,
I haven't quite made it to my wedding yet, but I have finished most of my details with all of my vendors and wanted to give everyone some reviews.

A bit about my wedding first. We are planning our wedding from across the country. We live in Saint John, NB, but are getting married in Ancaster, ON. This has made finding, and working, with vendors very difficult. I feel it is important to let everyone know who has been great, and who hasn't.

Florist:
I have gone with
Sticks and Stems, the lady in charge is named Lori and she is utterly fantastic. We had a fixed budget, but I wanted orchids. She is the only florist that I have spoken with that has been really accommodating and able to give me what I want in my price range. She has been really prepared for all of our meeting, was honest with me when it came to adding accents to my bouquet (I thought I wanted banana leaves, she let me know that they really take away from the overall shape and I was very glad for the input... which I went with). She is incredibly friendly and has extensive knowledge of the business. Of all of the vendors I have worked with, she has been the best. I can't even explain how awesome she has been through this process. We just had our final meeting Monday night. I will definitely do a follow-up after the wedding about the quality of the flowers. She was able to give me the best deal on orchids of all of the florists in my area (Burlington/Hamilton). I made changes half-way through this long process, she was able to accommodate me and didn't ask questions. If anything she made suggestions that were better suited to my changes and actually cost less then what I wanted. I also changed my mind about delivery and centerpieces (I was going to pick them up, and then do my own centerpieces). She was more than willing to use the vases that I wanted and was providing for our new centerpieces, and even deliver them all to Ancaster and set them up. I wasn't required to use hers, and no extra fees were added, just the cost of gas for the delivery.
Her prices are very reasonable. She inquires about budget first, then goes over your vision. I thought this was great as I didn't set myself up for disappointment (Although my budget for flowers was quite large at $2000).
With my budget I am able to get

Bridal Bouquet – A hand tied bouquet of white roses, pink mini callas, and green cymbidium orchids, tied with a full lime green ribbon wrap. My request was $200 for my bouquet

4 Bridesmaids Bouquets – A smaller version of the bride’s bouquet with looped lily grass around the edges and tied with a full lime green ribbon wrap. My budget was $75, her final number was $70

Groom’s Boutonniere – One green mini cymbidium orchid and one pink calla with greenery on a magnet.

Martin and Brett’s Boutonnieres - A pink calla with greenery on a magnet.

6 Boutonnieres – One mini green cymbidium orchid with greenery on a magnet.

2 Mother’s corsages – One green cymbidium orchid with greenery on a magnet.

3 Grandma’s corsages – One green cymbidum orchid with pink accent flowers and greenery on a magnet.

Bride - $200
Bridesmaids - $280 (4 x $70)
Groom - $15
Boutonnieres - $80(8 x $10)
Mothers - $32(2 x $16)
Grandmothers - $54(3 x $18)
40 stems of mini cymbidium orchids(pink and green) $760.00(40 x $19, she gets them at wholesale for $17.00)

I will post other reviews of the vendors I have been dealing/dealt with over the next few days.

Sticks and Stems is located in Waterdown, Ontario