When it comes to choosing the perfect flowers for your wedding, Lauren Work Phillips, the owner of The Farmer’s Daughter Flowers, says preparation is a must.
“The easiest consultations I have are with brides that have kind of done their research and have seen work that the florist has done,” says Phillips, whose shop is on the North Side. “They already know that florist studio’s style and that’s what’s attracting them, versus just calling and getting price quotes — which I know is important. But they should look at whether it’s their style and what they want their overall wedding feeling to be.”
Phillips says she’s been inspired by the choices her clients have been making and the trends she sees emerging for the 2016 wedding season.
“We’re doing a lot of color, a lot of different vibrant colors all mixed together, which I love,” Phillips says, “Our weddings are full of vibrant color, not so monochromatic anymore.”
Greenery is also a current wedding trend and can include table-runner garlands made from greens, or including ample lush greens in wedding bouquets.
But trends aren’t always easy to follow, and Phillips advises couples to consider the season they’re getting married in when making choices. For example, peonies, dahlias and ranunculus are the most popular wedding flowers, but they aren’t available year round.
And most importantly, Phillips says couples should pick a theme for their wedding and think about how their flowers will fit into that theme.
“It’s always great to come in with a color scheme, and I always love to say, ‘Are there flowers you hate and are there flowers you love?’ I get that list and then come up with a huge variety of floral we can work with,” says Phillips. “When they come up with a general theme or aesthetic, I love knowing that during the consultation. [Then] I can show them ideas they might not have thought of and collaborate on the design, so they get what they want. We walk them through the ideas and the kinds of flowers we can use to achieve the look they want.”
431 E. Ohio St., North Side. www.thefarmersdaughterflowers.squarespace.com
