I had the great pleasure of spending time with Fabienne Laveau and Kelly Love of Wedding Muse this past week. We had a great time chatting about current trends, the behind the scenes work of a floral designer, and some great tips for brides regarding their wedding flowers. But before we get into the 5 great tips, let me introduce you to Fabienne, the owner and head designer at Wedding Muse in Warrenton, VA.

This is Fabienne (or “Fabe” as her friends and family call her) and her incredibly sweet assistant, Kelly! And here is an example of their beautiful work.

Fabienne has an extensive background in horticulture and design, specifically garden and landscape design. This lady truly knows her stuff! She’s trusted in the industry not just by brides but also by her fellow floral designers that she sees as partners, not competitors!

Because of Fabienne’s years of experience, I am so excited to share these tips with you.

Tip #1 – Donate those used flowers after the wedding!
With the green initative, this is a great way to repurpose those gorgeous flowers that you don’t need after your wedding. Petal Share in DC will gladly take your unwanted flowers and use them to brighten up local nursing homes, shelters, and hospitals. What a great way to give back!

Tip #2 – Don’t rule out roses!
With the rustic wedding themes still in full force, some brides are hesitant to add roses into the mix. Don’t rule them out. There are so many varieties of roses out there. Let your floral designer show you some beautiful options like these that will look great with your rustic bouquet.

These gorgeous little roses paired with the lamb’s ear are beautiful too!

Tip #3 – Check your venue’s time allowance for vendors!
Most venues have a specified time when vendors are permitted to arrive to drop off items, set up, etc. This is an important piece of information to know. Why? If your first look is at 2:00 and the vendor isn’t permitted to drop off until 4:00, that’s a problem. Be sure to communicate to your venue that the florist needs to be permitted to arrive in time to drop off flowers for your scheduled events of the day before the ceremony.

Tip #4 – Ask your floral designer for items to borrow!
That’s right! If you know you want some gorgeous center pieces for your reception tables but don’t know how you’re going to afford one. more. thing., just ask your designer if they have some items you could borrow for the day like these vases below. Look at how gorgeous they look once filled with a beautiful mix of flowers.

Tip #5 – Let your floral designer guide you!
This is the last tip and probably the most important. You have a clear vision for your day and you want it to be perfect. Your designer know that and respects that. After all, that’s one of the reasons you hired them. You also hired them because of their talent, creativity, and experience. Let them guide you to the best flowers and arrangements that will fit in your budget and be the most beautiful on your wedding day.

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