When chatting with your florist, one important thing they will certainly bring up is where you would like for the flowers to be delivered. A florist may suggest your ceremony location so that the flowers can stay in a cool fridge for as long as possible. However, I would highly recommend asking them to drop these items off wherever the bride will be getting dressed, about 30 minutes before photography is scheduled to begin. Your flowers will still be fresh and we will be able to use them from the moment I arrive meaning you get even more images with those gorgeous bouquets you planned in thorough detail!

For each wedding day, I always arrive one hour before the bride gets in her dress — this allows me time to meet each of her bridesmaids, take a few pictures of them getting their hair and makeup done, and photograph all the details, including: jewelry, invitation suites, the dress, shoes, and whatever else is important to my bride. One thing I also love photographing during this time is a bride’s bouquet! Bouquets are often part of the wedding color scheme and pair perfectly with all her complementary details — it’s a way to start tying the day together before it even truly begins! 

Once the bride is dressed, we often move into a few bridal portraits. Nothing pairs as well with a bride as her bouquet does! 

From there, most of my clients opt for a first look! When that happens, we are able to get all of your couples and wedding party portraits done before the ceremony, in which case, you and your girls will certainly want their bouquets and groomsmen their boutonnieres. Even if you decide not to share a first look with one another, we will still try to get as many wedding party portraits done as possible to save time on the back end. 

If you explain this situation to your florist, they will typically offer to just leave the vases with you and your girls so that anytime the bouquets are not in use, they can be placed in water — that way there is no need to worry about your flowers dying before you get to the ceremony! Flowers, in general, are pretty resilient and I’ve never seen them not last all the way until you arrive for your reception! Chat with your florist and see if early delivery to your hotel is a possibility!