“You’re always going to get the best quality if you pick within the season,” says Tia Rojan of InBloom Urban Flower Farm in Spokane, who grows many of the flowers she uses for weddings. “If you’re having a spring wedding, it’s going to go much better if you’re picking spring blooms like peonies, ranunculus, anemones, even tulips. You’re just going to get the best quality. The bouquets, the wedding, it’s just going to look right,” says Rojan. On the other hand, “If you want a really dark, moody look, maybe don’t choose April 1,” she says, though she adds, “You can always get almost every color, but it might be more expensive.”
And then couples should consider the style the florist works in. Rojan says there are plenty of florists representing a wide variety of styles, so choosing someone whose work resonates with the couple is key. Different styles abound in Spokane, and the floral community is not particularly competitive and are willing to refer clients to designers who might be more in line with their styles.
Standing near a bed of late summer cosmos, dahlias and straw flowers, Rojan notes, “I tend to be bloom-heavy and a little more on the romantic side because if I was a standard florist, stuff like this would cost me a lot of money and it doesn’t ship very well. So I can mix different things in because I grow a lot.” She’s pointed clients whose style doesn’t seem to align with hers — a client interested in black roses for example — to other vendors.
After a couple decides they like her style, Rojan says the planning process is relatively simple. She only needs the color of the bridesmaids dresses, the overall color palette and any pertinent design or decor, and a few inspiration photos.
“The hard thing (for couples) is not to ask for something you see on Instagram and say, ‘I want this exact thing.’ Because flowers are so different. This stem is different from that stem, so they’re not cookie-cutter. So be flexible.”
And then she encourages couples to consider where their flower budget is best deployed. She suggests prioritizing spending on things that are going to be photographed the most. “Make sure your bridal bouquet is amazing,” she says. The arbor or flowers are also worth prioritizing since they’ll be in lots of photos. Rojan offers a variety of price-point options for bridesmaids bouquets and table arrangements.
As for traditional corsages and boutonnieres? Rojan says the pandemic sort of created a reset. “There’s no rules anymore. I always say if you don’t care about it, that’s fine, it’s your wedding. But kind of put your feelers out. Is grandma going to be really upset because when she got married, a corsage was a big thing? If it’s going to really hurt someone’s feelings, it might be worth it just to do it.”
