Witness the love of Alejandra and Brittany while learning a tip or two from For The Beauty Floral in this Florist Q&A
We have a passion for celebrating great flowers at The Wilds, and absolutely loved sitting down with Dani of For The Beauty Floral to provide some wedding floral advice. This local favorite vendor is known for her unique, whimsical, and joyful arrangements and floral curations. We asked her some of your top questions for florists and are excited to share the conversation with you today on the blog!
The Wilds: We’d love start this Florist Q&A an introduction for readers who haven’t met you yet! Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey with flowers.
Dani, For the Beauty Floral: I sort of stumbled into it on accident. My husband and I had a 300 person wedding without a 300 person budget, so I did my own flowers. I loved the creativity and expression of it, but then we moved to New York city and had incredibly limited space and different goals, so florals got put on the side for a season.
We then moved to Indiana, and a friend was getting married. I agreed to help her with her florals, and it came out well! I was sweetly encouraged to keep going by friends who loved what I created, and so I kind of just jumped in with both feet and have been so blessed to see where it has come to today! I’ve learned so much in the years since then and have discovered a depth of creative expression through florals that totally surprised me, so it’s been incredibly exciting. I love carrying that wonder and joy into each wedding and each individual couple.
The Wilds: Tell us a bit about your philosophy as a florist, what do you hope to help couples accomplish in their wedding with flowers?
Dani: I believe that your wedding should feel like a celebration. What you are committing to is so beautiful, and I believe in every bit of the joy in that. There is nothing more visually celebratory than flowers – in my humble opinion. So I want you to feel like your day is really as special as it is!
I love for guests to immediately feel your joy and personality, and I love when my couples are intentionally adorned with florals.
The Wilds: What is the start of the wedding floral design process like with a couple? How do you help guide aesthetic choices?
Dani: I always want to know the couple’s story to start. That sets a huge visual tone. We talk through their story and personalities before we talk design, color palettes, anything.
Then we get really open ended and talk vibe of the wedding day, whether that is specific visuals or mood. Alejandra and Brittany in particular at this point said, “We want the most fun, pink, breakfast brunch, fun, lesbian party.” So we went from there and made just that! The result is a wedding day that truly tells you about their love and personality as a couple from the moment you walk into the space.
The most crucial piece of wedding floral advice that I always tell my clients is that their floral design should feel like it belongs on Pinterest. But not just any Pinterest, it should belong on YOUR pinterest! It should look and feel like your design identity and your design dream.
The Wilds: Let’s talk budget a bit. There are a lot of numbers thrown around on the internet and it can definitely be hard for couples to understand how to set their floral budget.
How do you guide your couples as far as budget?
Dani: I always start with, “How important are florals to you?”
Pick three things that matter the most to you, if florals in that top three, you need to be prepared to allocate a large percentage of your budget to that. If they aren’t, that’s completely fine and I can help you allocate what budget you do have in the most impactful ways. Just don’t undercut yourself, if you really want a floral moment, you can’t box yourself in too tightly on budget.
We always prioritize the bridal bouquet so it is done right. If a bouquet is a part of your day, it will be photographed more than any other floral element of the day. If your budget is tight, treat yourself there first.
I also always tell my couples that impactful moments and focal points matter more than trying to sprinkle a small number of flowers everywhere, because that adds up in the budget surprisingly quickly. I have my couples consider gathering points for guests and places where they will be placed and photographed most. Since people’s eyes will already be drawn to these places, they’re the best ones to invest in if you’re on a tighter floral budget.
The Wilds: This wouldn’t be a true florist Q&A without a few hot-takes! Do you have any floral hot-takes that might surprise people?
Dani: I do! I think there are a few areas that not everyone needs to invest in, but I think they feel cornered by tradition to do them. Two that jump to mind are boutonnieres and bridesmaid bouquets, and I have some wedding floral advice about those elements.
Boutonnieres in particular are low impact and can add up quickly if you do them for the bridal party. I recommend floral pocket squares for my suited brides or grooms, and ditching personal blooms for the rest of the suited bridal party. Pocket squares proportionally sit really nicely, make for a really clean look, and your lapel size doesn’t matter so much. In my opinion, no one will really miss flowers on the rest of the suited party.
Bridesmaid bouquets also are worth questioning the need for if you’re picking and choosing floral elements for the day. I personally don’t feel that repurposing them for table decor during the reception works that well, as they are composed to be held at an angle, not to be viewed in the vase. So they aren’t quite the double-duty solution that they sometimes are made out to be. If you adore the look for your maids, go for it! But I would recommend investing more in other areas if it’s a toss-up.
Also, local blooms aren’t necessarily as cost-effective as some seem to think they would be. They are, however, more eco-friendly and great for the local economy. So know that if your florist utilizes local flower farms as I often do, they are benefiting the environment by limiting shipping and also choosing to lift up other local businesses. Just don’t expect a lower pricepoint, as cost of business is a big deal on local scales.
The Wilds: That is incredible insight, thank you! We would also love to know some pricepoints that couples can start to plan for.
With the understanding that floral rates can change dramatically over time, at the moment, what are a few starting pricepoints that couples can plan on for key floral elements of their wedding day?
Dani: You can anticipate your bridal bouquet to start around $200. Bloom variety and scale will be your greatest factors. Flexibility on bloom types can help you create similar looks at a range of pricepoints. I always recommend that clients hold more to a general aesthetic than specific flower types unless they’re chosen for sentimental reasons. That flexibility can create something truly special without amping up the price so quickly. Seasonality in florals also doesn’t effect pricepoints as aggressively as you might think, so talk to your florist about any ideas that you have.
At The Wilds in particular, the ceremony pergola is a physically large element, and you don’t want to do too little otherwise it looks out of balance and awkward. An appropriate starting budget for that item is $450. That is a large investment, so if you plan to repurpose that element for the reception, make sure to talk to your florist about that specifically. It will be a very large scale item when transitioned into the more intimate scale reception hall. If your florist is a part of making it transitional, they can help design it so that it works beautifully in both settings.
Are there things that clients can request from their florist to maximize the impact of their budget?
Dani: Yes, absolutely! Florals that are designed to be repurposed are an excellent option. For example, aisle florals for the ceremony work beautifully popped onto tall stands for the reception. Freestanding pillar florals to frame the ceremony work beautifully behind the sweetheart table or around the bar or other high traffic areas where guests will gather. As mentioned before, chat with your florist if you want to repurpose! They’ll make sure that it is composed to work in multiple spaces and you’ll get the most out of the designs that way.
Signage with floral as decor is wonderful as well. I’ve had some wonderful collaboration moments with Creative In Bloom accomplishing this at The Wilds. It is always fun to make statement focal pieces that really bring more than just a pretty element to the decor of the day! Guest touch-points and communications are a great place to show your loved ones that you are celebrating them as well, and florals are the perfect compliment to those moments.
Thank you so much for chatting with us today! As an homage to the absolutely sweet and lovely Alejandra and Brittany, whose joyful wedding we’ve enjoyed looking at through this conversation, can you share some highlights for you from this day and design?
Dani: I love these two as humans, so deeply!! Alejandra and Brittany are the sweetest couple and I loved how personal their whole experience and wedding day design was. They truly celebrated their way.
Some of my favorite parts of their day were how they navigated bridesmaids’ bouquets utilizing single statement blooms with a more delicate pop around that focal point. The whole brunch theme was also so fun and celebratory, and I also loved that they were brave enough to suggest something new and then trust their vendors to pull it off for them. That’s the confidence that comes with finding the right vendors, and I loved working with them to make their vision to come to life. That flower curtain was totally magic, and everything was fun for them because they hired the right people. Not to mention the mariachi band, what an exceptional party!
I wish them so much happiness, always, and am so honored to have been their florist.
Vendor Team
| Wedding Venue | — | The Wilds Venue |
| Bar | — | Upland Brewing Co. |
| Caterer | — | First Class Catering |
| Planning | — | First Class Events |
| Photography | — | Samantha Mitchell |
| Florist | — | For The Beauty Floral |
| Musicians | — | DJ Connection |
| Hair & Makeup | — | Something Blue Stylists |
| Rental Decor | — | Sparkling Decor and More |
| Stationery/Paper Goods | — | Dazzling Daffodil Designs |
| Signage | — | M3 Custom Designs |
| Wedding Dress | — | Brides By Young |
| Suit Shop | — | House of Breton |
| Telephone Guest Book | — | After the Tone |
| Nails | — | Wheely Good Nails |
Looking for more wedding planning inspiration? We have all that you need right here!
- About The Wilds Wedding Venue
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- Real Weddings at The Wilds Venue
- Special Events at The Wilds Venue
- Spring Weddings at The Wilds Wedding Venue in Indiana
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- Top Indiana Wedding Vendors
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- Winter Weddings at The Wilds Wedding Venue in Indiana
