Lessons Learned from the “Big Pieces” – the Caterer and Florist
Last week we got to hear about (and see!) MaryAnne’s beautiful paper . This week she is back with a few lessons learned…
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I knew even before I was engaged that I would put a *lot* of thought into the food that would be served at my wedding. When it came time to plan my wedding, visions of passed hors d’oeuvres and signature cocktails danced in my head! I relished the opportunity to meet with a caterer and customize a dinner menu. Though I met with two caterers, I ultimately went with the first with whom I had communicated, because she was able to do something I considered amazing: keep costs down AND offer options to my guests!
I had researched various possibilities for seated dinner offerings, and knew that I wanted my guests to be able to opt for chicken or steak entrees. I had assumed that I’d need to require my guests to make that selection weeks in advance in order to keep my catering costs manageable. However, my caterer introduced me to the possibility of duet entrees — and I never looked back! In a duet entree, each guest receives a hearty serving of both items. This way, no one regrets his or her choice (or suffers entree envy!), and everyone leaves satisfied. I absolutely adored the tasting experience, and am hopeful that my guests’ dining experience will be as lovely as my planning experience has been.
Of course, not everything has been as easy for me as finding a caterer. One of the aspects of wedding planning that I had originally cared about least – and therefore dreaded the most – was floral design. Unlike many brides, I don’t know a thing about flowers, and am generally indifferent to most floral arrangements I see. Flowers don’t even make their way into my inspiration boards! (Okay, full disclosure: I may be the one bride in the country who never made an inspiration board.) So when I told my husband-to-be that i didn’t really care whether we had any flowers at our wedding at all, I just assumed he’d feel the same way.
Not quite! I learned that he definitely didn’t want to forgo floral design, but because neither of us knew beans about what we were looking for in flowers, our search for a florist gained a new dimension. We weren’t just looking for a florist; we needed a mindreader. Our first visits with potential florists left us feeling as though something was missing. Certainly, we had a budget in mind, but some florists seemed to leap to designs so simple that I felt I could do nicer ones myself (and obviously, that’s not saying much). Others seemed so accustomed to couples who had extremely precise visions that they relied too heavily on us to dictate what we wanted. We had done plenty of research, but we wanted to leave the professionals a substantial amount of leeway!
I began to feel a bit desperate to secure a florist, but I insisted on holding out for someone who would leave me feeling confident in my choice. When Chris and I met Gerry Rogers at Petal’s Edge Floral Design, we knew we had met The One. She had an extensive portfolio to show us, but she didn’t ask that we select from a book of existing designs. She understood and respected our budget, but she didn’t make us feel unduly limited by it. She spoke in a language of color, texture, and structure — and, based on our vague descriptions of our likes and dislikes, was able to present stunning, beautiful conclusions.
In these two experiences, despite feeling confident about food and clueless about flowers, I learned an extremely important lesson that has continued to hold true throughout my wedding planning process. While it’s important to be informed before meeting with vendors, I made peace with the fact that I don’t need to be an expert in every aspect of my wedding. Instead, patience, and willingness to trust my instincts, have proven more valuable than any research I’ve done.
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