Mount Ida was a picturesque backdrop and captured so perfectly by The Mallory's. Meggan and Mark, thank you so much for entrusting us to create your beautiful florals. Your wedding day was simply stunning and I wish you all the happiness in the world.
Read moreMY WEDDING WEEK ROUTINE
Let's talk today about wedding week workflow, shall we? I will admit that I am type B kind of girl and work the best under pressure. However, this may have worked for me in college with term papers and finals, but not so much when you have a big beautiful wedding on your hands. Figuring out the best time management strategies for myself come wedding week has been a game changer. Everyone has different ways of setting up their workflow, these ways I'm about to share just work great for me; I'd love to hear some of your ideas too! So let's dive into it!
Photo by Andrea Pesce Photo
I place my floral orders about two weeks in advance. Maybe a little longer if I need something a little exotic or out of the box. This way I don't have to worry about not being able to get something in time, and if something is wrong, I have plenty of time to work it out and not feel stressed. Two weeks out is when I make sure I have everything I need supply wise too and if anything needs to be constructed installation wise, now is the time when that happens. If something needs to be built or made, I know it will be done well before those gorgeous blooms arrive. If I have multiple wedding months like this upcoming Fall, my calendar needs to be scheduled to the minute to make sure I'm not leaving anything out for a wedding. For example, I'll take a Monday and use the morning to work on nonperishable items for one wedding and the afternoon to work on something for the next wedding. This way I'm not leaving anything till last minute. Timing is everything, my friends. I also use this time to confirm timelines with my brides regarding set up time so I can know well in advance what time loading needs to happen and when we need to be on the road to the venue.
A few extra things I get together two weeks out are lists of everything. For example.
1. List of my floral orders so I know if I'm missing anything.
2. List of vases and inventory I will be using.
3. List of the wedding day timeline.
4. List of pieces that needed.
MONDAYS
Once we get into wedding week, the fun begins! During wedding weeks, I usually have my vacation responder on my email and my wedding becomes my priority. Mondays are when I get buckets ready and prepare the ribbon for the bouquets. I also wipe down all the inventory I'll need and get all my supplies in place. This way when my flowers arrive, I can attend to them right away
TUESDAYS
Tuesdays are when my first floral order usually comes. These typically include all the greens I'll need and any hearty roses I want to allow to open before a Saturday wedding. If I have a Sunday wedding, this schedule moves back a day. A Friday wedding, it shifts forward a day. Tuesdays are when I get all my vases ready with either chicken wire or foam. The processing of flowers starts this day too. I like to spend a couple of hours in the afternoon doing this. Then I "green out" all my centerpieces. That means I put in all the greenery for each piece so I can place flowers in accordingly on Wednesday and Thursday!
WEDNESDAYS
Wednesdays are when the bulk of my orders arrive. I take a few hours to process and then knock out as many centerpieces as I can before the end of the day. I like to try and get about half of them done so I know I have a good head start on Thursday.
THURSDAYS
Thursday is centerpiece day and knowing I have half of them done from Wednesday, I'm not stressed and can enjoy the day designing without feeling rushed. Priceless my friends. If everything goes according to schedule, they are wrapped up by 5 pm, and I can enjoy my evening with my little family. Working into the night during wedding week is bound to happen from time to time. I just like to make it a point to stick to work hours as much as possible. It's better for my piece of mind and overall well being the week of a wedding.
FRIDAYS
Fridays are bouquet days. I like to start with the bridal bouquet. It's my favorite (of course), and it just starts my day on the best note. Bridal bouquets sometimes take hours and doing them on Friday mornings allow me ample time to get it perfect. Doing it first also lets me make sure Once the star of the show is complete I move on to bridesmaid bouquets. These tend to be less involved and smaller, but still take up a few hours. I like to place ribbons on bouquets once I arrive at the venue, so the don't get soaked with water during transit. Once bouquets are completed, I move onto small personals. This category includes boutonnieres, flower crowns, and corsages. These need to be made last since they are the most perishable and need to be delivered at their freshest. On Friday evenings, loading begins. Anything non-perishable gets put in the cars the night before so that all I need to do the morning of the event is load the florals.
I think the key for time management for the week of a wedding is finding what works best for you and your team. It took over a year for me to finally nail down a schedule that didn't leave me rushing and stressed. My brides deserve the very best work and the utmost professionalism from me, and that starts with planning a schedule and timeline that works for me. A detailed and curated workflow that allows me to wake up on a wedding day feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day is priceless.
Happy Fall season y'all!
Warmly,
Michelle
KIR + BEN MARRIED. CHARLOTTESVILLE WEDDING AT VERULAM FARM WITH THE HERRINTONS.
Kir's wedding flowers for her Charlottesville wedding with The Herrinton's at Verulam Farm were some of my favorite of the year so far! The venue was stunning, the wedding party was hilarious, and hello! Floral print bridesmaid dresses for the win!
I knew Kir and I were on the same page when the word blush came up during our first consultation. A girl after my own heart! Her florals ended up being a little outside of the box for me (gotta love that) as we went a little wild an organic with the feeling. It turned out spectacular and I can't get enough of Ashley and Tyler from The Herrinton's work from this one!
I put together a few of my faves!
I just love her!
Seriously the most fun bunch!
Favorite!
That succulent though!
Congratulations again Kir and Ben!! It was an honor to be a part of your gorgeous day!
Vendors
Venue- Veralum Farm/Photography and Virdeography- The Herrintons/Florals- One Sweet Day in May/Hair and Makeup- The Spot Beauty Shop/Cake- Pearl's Bakery/Catering-Harvest Moon