What to Expect When Hiring a Wedding Florist

A behind-the-scenes look at the process — from first inquiry to your wedding day
By Penny Hoffman, The Gilded Garden — Somerset, PA



Hiring a wedding florist is one of those things that sounds simple — until you actually start. Suddenly there are questions you didn’t know you had. How far in advance should you book? What happens at a consultation? Do you need to know exactly what you want before you reach out? How do you even describe your vision?
If any of that sounds familiar, this post is for you.
We’ve walked hundreds of couples through this process from our studio in Somerset, PA — designing florals for weddings across Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Bedford, and all of Western Pennsylvania. Here’s exactly what working with a florist looks like, step by step, so you can walk into the process feeling confident rather than overwhelmed.

Step 1: Reach Out Earlier Than You Think
The most common thing we hear from brides who’ve been through the process before? “I wish I’d reached out sooner.”
For a boutique studio like ours, we intentionally limit how many weddings we take each season so that every couple gets our full attention. That means our calendar fills up — especially for Saturday dates in spring and fall, which go fast. We recommend reaching out 9 to 12 months before your wedding, and 12 to 18 months isn’t too early for peak dates.
You don’t need to have everything figured out before you inquire. In fact, most couples who reach out are still in the early stages. All we need to get started is your date, your venue (or a sense of where you’re leaning), and a general feeling for what you’re hoping for.



A note on timing
If your date is sooner than 9 months away, don’t let that stop you from reaching out. We do take a limited number of shorter-lead bookings when the timing works, and we’d rather have a conversation and help you find the right fit than have you spend time wondering.


Step 2: Your First Conversation
After you submit an inquiry, we’ll send over our services and pricing guide so you can review our packages and investment levels before we ever get on a call. We believe in transparency — you should know what working with us looks like before you give us any of your time.
If it feels like a fit, we’ll schedule a consultation — either in person at The Gilded Garden or virtually, whichever works best for you. This isn’t a sales meeting. It’s a conversation.
We’ll talk about your venue, your aesthetic, your wedding party, and the moments that matter most to you. We’ll ask questions about how you want your day to feel, not just how you want it to look. That distinction matters, because the best florals don’t just decorate a space — they shape the atmosphere of the whole day.
Come with inspiration if you have it — a Pinterest board, photos you’ve saved, a color palette you love — but don’t worry if you don’t. Part of what we do is help you find the words for what you’re imagining.

Step 3: Your Proposal and Package
After your consultation, we’ll put together a detailed proposal based on everything we discussed. This outlines your recommended package, the specific pieces we’d create for your wedding, and your total investment.
Our wedding floral packages start at $5,000 and are built around three levels of scope:

#
Package
Starting Investment & What’s Included
1
The Garden Gathering
Starting at $5,000. Bridal bouquet, bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnieres, 10–12 garden-style centerpieces, sweetheart table florals. Beautiful and complete.
2
The Signature Garden
$8,500–$10,500. Adds ceremony florals, full tablescaping with bud vases and candles, and a statement focal feature — arch, drapery, or backdrop.
3
The Bespoke Garden
Starting at $12,000. A fully custom, high-design experience. Statement installations throughout, layered ceremony and reception florals, full creative direction.


Every package is a starting point, not a fixed list. We customize the composition based on your guest count, venue layout, and what matters most to you. If something in the proposal doesn’t feel right, we adjust — that’s the whole point of building it together.
Once you’re happy with the proposal, a 20% deposit holds your date. No design work, ordering, or planning happens without it — and that’s actually a sign you’re working with a professional who takes your booking seriously.

Step 4: The Mock Bouquet
This is one of our favorite parts of the process — and one that not every florist offers.
Before your wedding, we create a sample version of your bridal bouquet. You come in, hold it, see it in person, and tell us honestly what you think. Too loose? More structured? Different color balance? This is the time to say so.
It’s also just a beautiful moment. For a lot of brides, holding their mock bouquet is the first time their wedding starts to feel real. We love being a part of that.
We’ll make any adjustments based on your feedback, so that by the time we’re building your bouquet for real, we know exactly what we’re creating.



Why this matters
Your bouquet will be in almost every photograph taken of you on your wedding day. It deserves to be exactly right — not a surprise you see for the first time on the morning of.


Step 5: The Weeks Before Your Wedding
In the weeks leading up to your wedding, we’re busy behind the scenes — ordering your flowers, conditioning them as they arrive, and building everything by hand in the days before your event.
You’ll hear from us as your date approaches to confirm final details: delivery timing, venue access, any last-minute changes. We coordinate directly with your venue so you don’t have to play the middle person.
All flowers are clearly labeled — bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres — so distribution on the day is easy and stress-free. (Several of our brides have mentioned this specifically in their reviews, and honestly, it’s one of those small things that makes a big difference on a big day.)

Step 6: Your Wedding Day
On the day itself, we handle delivery and setup so everything is exactly as designed when your guests arrive — and so you never have to think about it.
We work across Western Pennsylvania — Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Bedford, Somerset, and beyond — and we’re experienced at working with venues of all kinds. Delivery and setup are always quoted separately based on distance, so there are no surprises there either.
Once everything is in place, our job is done and yours begins. We want you to walk into your ceremony and reception and just feel it — the atmosphere we created together — without a single logistical thought in your head.

What to Look for When Choosing Your Florist
Before we wrap up, a few things worth knowing when you’re comparing options:
Ask to see full wedding galleries, not just editorial shoots. Editorial photography is often highly styled and doesn’t reflect what a real wedding looks like. Ask to see photos from actual weddings the florist has designed.
Look for transparency about pricing. A florist who won’t share starting prices or package ranges before a consultation may not be a good fit. You deserve to know generally what you’re getting into before you give up an hour of your time.
Notice how they listen. The first conversation tells you a lot. Does the florist ask about how you want your day to feel — or do they jump straight to floral trends? The best fit is someone who designs around your vision, not their portfolio.
Understand what’s included. Delivery, setup, and breakdown are sometimes additional and sometimes included. Always ask. “Full service” means different things to different studios.

Ready to start the conversation?
We design full-service wedding florals for couples across Western PA — Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Bedford, Somerset, and beyond. Packages start at $5,000. We take a limited number of weddings each season, so if your date is on the horizon, we’d love to hear from you.
→ Inquire at thegildedgardenluxuryflowers.com/contact




The Gilded Garden | Penny Hoffman | Somerset, PA | thegildedgardenluxuryflowers.com