Choosing Poppy for Perfect Affordable Wedding Florals

Photo Credit: Kelsey Rae, Ridge and Ramble Photography for a Poppy wedding in Shenandoah , Virginia in Fall 2021

As our founder and CEO Cameron Hardesty says, “The wedding is not the destination; it is the beginning of a very beautiful journey."

Getting engaged is one of the most exciting and thrilling moments in your life. Then comes the planning.

Many engaged couples soon discover that planning a wedding can be one of the most stressful times in their relationship. When you start booking wedding vendors - from your florist, venue, music, to your photographer - you will likely find that each vendor has their own process, timeline and payment structure.

At Poppy, we want to make the process of booking your wedding flowers seamless. We built this company so that anyone can access beautiful, stress-free wedding flowers! In this post, we’ll share the most important things you should consider when searching for your wedding florist and how the process works at Poppy.

How To Find Your Wedding Florist

Weddings are booming right now, and many florists are either booked up well into 2024 or require a minimum spend that is more than what you thought you would spend on flowers. If you are struggling to find a florist, you’re not alone.

When you start the search for your wedding florist, you will be looking for someone who can deliver your personal vision within your budget. Here are a few things that can help prepare you to find the right florist for you.

First, come prepared with an idea of your personal style preferences. Consider your wedding color theme and the styles you like; do you like romantic, traditional, or something a little more wild?
Second, review your overall wedding budget and decide how much you plan to spend on wedding florals. This can be an estimate!
Third, gather all of the logistical details you have finalized for your wedding, your date, your venue, your guest count, as these will be helpful in planning for your unique floral arrangements.

Choosing Poppy For Your Wedding Flowers

At Poppy, we build the wedding flowers of your dreams designed to your budget. These are some of the most important flowers you’ve bought in your life, we want to make that easy for you! Your journey begins with Poppy's Wedding Style Quiz.

With our Wedding Style Quiz, we will help you determine the best style and color palette for your vision. When you finish the quiz, you will receive your personalized wedding flower proposal. You will instantly know if Poppy can service your wedding date and location. Getting a wedding flower proposal right away means that you can stick to your wedding planning timeline and not stress.

At Poppy, we are able to serve weddings across the U.S. because of our Poppy Designer Network. We have built a network of 400 designers and counting. Poppy Designers are vetted floral designers who work with Poppy in addition to their own freelance work, or floral design work as business owners.

Why is the Poppy Designer Network so special? Our Poppy Designer Network enables us to serve couples in the top 52 metro markets in the US. In addition, Poppy partners with flower farms in Ecuador, Colombia, and the United States allowing us to keep costs down and stick to the budget! (psst, we are still booking weddings for Winter 2022, 2023, and beyond!)

On your wedding day, we will deliver, install, and break down your wedding florals so that you can focus on tying the knot.

Our Digital Proposal Brings Your Vision to Life

Once you receive your personal wedding flower proposal, with pictures and details, you will see what Poppy suggests for your wedding flower style, flower varieties, and what floral arrangements will work within your budget. We do this so that you have a better understanding of what will be provided on your wedding day.

So now you have the proposal; what if you want adjustments or have questions? Well, lucky for you, the proposal is interactive! You can add notes and select different item options based on price and size. Not sure what size bridal bouquet you want? The wedding flower proposal will give you various options to choose from.

What if you want to make changes? A bridesmaid is pregnant and due on your wedding day? Go ahead and take off one bridesmaid bouquet. What if your significant other's family from England, who they swore would not RSVP "yes," did, in fact, RSVP "yes," and you need 3 more centerpieces? You can add those right there to the proposal. You can add as much as you want to your floral proposal until 60 days before your wedding.

Even better, you can instantly chat with a Poppy Wedding Sales Specialist. Our Wedding Specialist will walk you through the proposal and make edits where needed.

If you love everything you see, you can book your wedding date on the spot. We offer two payment options: pay monthly with an initial deposit to save your date, or pay half of your estimated cost upfront and half before your wedding date.

If you are not ready to book right away, you are welcome to take your time. Discuss the proposal with those who are financially tied to the floral commitment. You will have access to the proposal and your Wedding Specialist to ask any questions. Then, when you are ready, you can book Poppy online!

Your Dedicated Poppy Team Takes Care of Every Detail

It is important to note that three Poppy team members work with you when you book with Poppy. That's right, you get three people assigned to you and your wedding flowers! These three people are in communication, and all have access to the one central document that holds all the details for your wedding day. The three people on your team are the Sales Specialist, Design Specialist, and Poppy Designer.

The Wedding Specialist works with you until 60 days before your wedding. They ensure your proposal is exactly what you need and answer any questions you may have. Sixty days before your wedding, your Wedding Specialist will introduce you to your Design Specialist.

The Design Specialist takes care of every little detail leading up to the day of your wedding. They make sure the flowers are being ordered and shipped. They connect with your planner while communicating with your Poppy Designer, so they know every detail about your floral needs.

Your Poppy Designer creates the flower arrangements for your wedding day!

How We Work With Floral Designers At Poppy

So what is the Poppy Designer Network? The Poppy Designer Network is a group of floral designers vetted by Poppy.

The Poppy team has well over 40 years of combined floral experience, which means we know what makes a qualified designer for our weddings. When vetting florists to join the Poppy Designer Network we take the following steps to ensure they are qualified to work with us:

Review the designer’s floral portfolio.
We have two interviews to learn more about their skill level and experience.
Poppy sends our Poppy At Home kit and asks the designer to record themselves making a bouquet and a boutonniere so we can assess their mechanics and technique.
Finally, once we’ve assessed the designer’s skills, we provide each designer with a rating of their level of expertise.

We currently have 400 members in the Poppy Designer Network, with more members added daily, allowing us to assign the perfect Poppy Designer whose skills and expertise match your wedding needs!

We Make Your Wedding Flowers Easy And Beautiful

In the months leading up to your wedding day, Poppy is working hard behind the scenes to make sure we source the best flowers from our farm and wholesale partners.

The week of your wedding, here is what you can expect from our team:

Your Design Specialist will make sure flowers are shipped to your Poppy Designer.
The Poppy Designer will trim and hydrate all the flowers and greens.
Two days before your wedding are “design days.” Your Poppy Designer will design all your centerpieces, bouquets, bud vases, etc.
Your Design Specialist and Poppy Designer will have constant communication and refer to your wedding proposal for every little detail..
Your Poppy Designer makes your wedding day beautiful with flowers!

The Poppy Team is here to make your wedding day beautiful. We want to help ease the stress of finding wedding flowers. So after reading all that information, remember Poppy CEO Cameron Hardesty words of advice, "The wedding is not the destination; it is the beginning of a very beautiful journey." Here at Poppy, we want to be a small part of creating beauty at the beginning of your journey together!

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Choosing Poppy For Your Wedding Flowers

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