How to Conduct a Wedding Consultation?

  Tips for a successful wedding consultation 1. Remember that this is the only chance for you to make a good impression on a client 2. First of all, let a bride talk; do not interrupt, look right into her eyes, and read the impression on her face 3. Compliment all her design and flower selections. Ask your questions to obtain more information about a number of items and event timing 4. Ask about her total budget and give your suggestions about the best distribution of the costs to make floral décor more impressive 5. Never talk negatively like “we can’t do it”, say instead “It would be better if we do it this way…” 6. For all bride’s comments say “You take words out of my mouth; I just was about to suggest it to you”. This way a bride is going to be under the impression that you are on the same page 7. At the end make conclusions by describing step by step the entire event 8. Ask if there are any questions for you 9. Let the bride know that you are going to provide a preliminary proposal by a particular date and request to respond by a particular date in order to ensure the services of your company for the day of the wedding.               Suggestions to a Bride In the wedding section of your website offer some suggestions that may help a bride in a wedding floral decor consultation. Planning wedding flowers is the fun part for most brides! You have been visualizing this day for a long time, and beautiful flowers will really set the tone of that special day. A bride has booked her venue, selected dresses/colors, and a general idea of what she will need in the way of floral décor. Once those details are set, it’s never too early to set up a wedding flower consultation! Sometimes clients book their weddings with us a year or more in advance, but 7-9 months prior is about average. To provide quality wedding décor services we limit two the number of events per weekend. Planning floral decorations for a wedding requires time and effort. 1. Plan to go in to see us. A wedding consultation last at least one hour, often longer 2. Our first wedding consultation is complimentary, but we are going to be spending time with you, and you will be asking for our expertise. Please treat us with respect. Be honest. If you are only pricing, say so. Don’t give the impression that you are booking an order especially if you are simply comparing the price with the one you got from the florist to whom you already gave the order!! 3. If you set up an appointment to discuss the flowers for your wedding, plan on showing up. If you have an unavoidable reason for canceling, give the florist the courtesy of calling and rescheduling. 4. There is a tendency to be slightly nervous when planning the flowers for a wedding. Try not to bring too many people with you. Bring your mom or a friend, or possibly the groom. 5. Before you go in to see us, have a general idea of how much you want to spend. Weddings can be very modest or very ornate. Sometimes brides feel that because the flowers are transient in lasting quality, they can really cut corners in this area. While you can have a very modest wedding that is still pretty, listen carefully to your florist’s suggestions. Wedding photos are often sad testimonies of weddings that had too many corners cut as far as flowers are concerned. And remember that the brides had to look at those photos with regret for years afterward. 6. Please try not to argue or fight with your mother or the groom during the consultation. Suggestions that are offered by the florist are just those suggestions. 7. If a florist is good enough to help you work out your order, you should be upfront with any price concerns, & first try to work with the florist. 8. Running around comparing prices never guarantees better prices or better quality. 9. Try to go in with some sort of idea of what you like. Perhaps you like a certain look or style or prefer certain flowers or colors. Express these things. You’d be amazed at what a florist can do with some basic ideas along these lines. Having a few pictures from Pinterest is a good starting point for planning a wedding that is right for you. Try not to get caught in the trap of insisting on exact duplicates of what you see in print. Allow yourself and your florist some creative room. 10. Remember that if you are concerned about budget, flexibility is the key. If you simply must have flowers that are out of season, you will have to pay more for them. The more freedom you allow your florist to work within seasonal choices, the more likely you can save money. 11. Similarly, keep in mind that it may seem romantic & wonderful to have a Christmas wedding or Valentine’s Day wedding, but you are running the risk that the cost of the materials will reflect the higher holiday prices. 12. Always have alternative flower choices in mind, or allow your florist to consider alternatives. If you have a second choice, make sure that it is something that you like as much (or almost as much) as the first choice, so that you won’t be disappointed if it must be used. 13. Bring as much information along with you as you can. Swatches of materials are helpful in determining colors. Let your florist work within a range of colors or combine different colors together to come up with interesting looks. 14. Numbers of guests, tables, settings, and whether there are other weddings scheduled on the same day at that location (gives the florist an idea as to how long s/he has to set up) are all helpful to facilitate the consultation. Average Price List To make things easy for our new clients, we provide our Average Price List prior to our initial consultation. It will give a bride an idea of what she can expect. Please keep in mind that pricing for wedding flowers varies widely and is dependent on style and size of designs, types of flowers used, time of year, bouquet embellishments, etc. 5 awful mistakes when meeting new clients! 1. Trash talks about former clients. You’ve got a million great wedding stories. Trashing former clients (even if you keep them anonymous) doesn’t put you in a positive and professional light. These couples want to trust both your work and your judgment. Making fun of others brides and grooms is just going to make them worry that they will be next. 2. Act like you’ve heard their questions 1,000 times. Of course, you’ve had this exact conversation countless times before. You could simply talk over them, or not fully engage with them to hurry these FAQs up, but that would be a mistake. Sure, you know not to worry about issues A and question B, but they don’t. Planning a wedding is seriously intimidating and many couples need vendors that will listen to them, address their concerns, and establish a great working relationship. 3. Tell them their ideas are wrong. The groom across from you might have the worst ideas on the planet. The bride just wants to completely copy everything from her gigantic Pinterest board. But you can’t just tell them they’re wrong. Instead, use your experience and prowess to steer them towards ideas that they might like that are inspirational and achievable. 4. Have a serious attitude when they wince at your price tag. If you have priced your services in line with what other vendors (with your experience level) charge in your area, then you are probably pretty tired of the price tag “wince.” Weddings are expensive. And sadly, most couples don’t realize just how much they cost until they are in the thick of planning. We’re not saying you should back down from your price, but rather be understanding of their initial surprise. The more gracious you are about their reaction, the more likely you’ll be getting a call back later. 5. Check your phone and email messages. There are enough emails in your inbox to give you a panic attack, but that shouldn’t be your concern when there are potential clients in front of you. Focus on them during your meeting, and check your messages afterward. Make sure you leave enough time between appointments so that you can keep in contact throughout the day. If necessary during busy weeks, leave an away message that expresses a response that might take a little longer than usual.