Farmer-florist weddings are becoming more and more popular, and for good reason! Weddings are one of the most profitable sales outlets for farmer-florists. If you enjoy design and growing high-end flowers, this could be a great fit for you. It should be noted, though, that the high price tag often comes with an immense amount of work that is usually fast paced, high pressure, and requires intense attention to detail.

That said, there are a number of ways to structure weddings as a farmer-florist based on the level of service you’d like to provide. It can be as simple as bulk buckets for DIY brides or as complex as full-service weddings, with À La Carte weddings falling in between. Let’s look at three of the most popular farmer-florist wedding options.

When we first started our flower farm, I had no idea we would do weddings. In fact, “farmer-florist” was a brand-new term to me. Our first season, I received a request to make a bridal bouquet (and provide bulk buckets for the wedding), and I agreed.

In hindsight, I had no idea what I was doing. Thank goodness that first request was small and the bride was flexible. I watched videos and practiced and a bridal bouquet was made. New to bridal bouquets, I was insecure with my work, but hoped the flowers would make up for any lack in my design.

The photographer from that wedding reached out saying they were the most beautiful flowers she’s ever seen. It was such a confidence boost, and my interest in wedding flowers increased. More requests came in and I quickly realized I needed a streamlined process.

I invested in systems and design courses and created a solid communication plan and process for our weddings. We offer DIY Bulk Buckets and À La Carte wedding flowers, and when a request comes in, the process is now streamlined and efficient. While I’ll occasionally take requests to do installs onsite, the majority of our wedding business is not onsite (and that’s intentional). Let’s look at each one below.

Farmer-Florist Wedding Option 1: DIY Bulk Buckets

DIY Bulk Buckets are a low-pressure way to dip your toes into the farmer-florist wedding world. Essentially, a couple can order buckets of loose stems that they can then design themselves. Typically, these are “Grower’s Choice,” meaning that you (the grower) choose what blooms, foliage, and fillers are included in the bucket. The flexibility means that the couple gets beautiful blooms at an affordable price tag.

I’ve learned that the key with bulk buckets, and weddings in general, is *solid* communication. You must be clear on what you’re providing and why. This is how you book the right clients for your business and repell those that could be challenging. Here is our exact communication when someone requests bulk buckets (we call them “DIY Bulk Botanicals” because I like the way it sounds🙂 ):

DIY Bulk Bucket Communication

“Bulk Botanicals are perfect for DIY-savvy couples with a flexible style and color palette. DIY Buckets cost $100 each, based on availability. They contain a seasonal assortment of 50–65 loose stems of blooms, foliage, and fillers.

These are ‘Grower’s Choice,’ meaning we pick what’s at its best for your date. We cannot guarantee specific varieties or color schemes, but if you have a color palette and style in mind, let us know, and we’ll certainly do our best to accommodate when possible.

While we aren’t able to provide specific design advice, each bucket will make approximately 5–6 small, mason jar arrangements depending on how you arrange them.”

I keep this as a canned response in gmail, so any time we get a request, it’s automatic and I don’t have to think about it. Hopefully you can see that the communication is simple, but very clear on expectations and the type of client this option is for: flexible folks who do not have specific requirements.

DIY Bulk Bucket Requirements

Many growers have a minimum order (typically around $500). I’m fairly flexible on this, as most of our couples are choosing a combination of À La Carte and bulk buckets, almost always exceeding this. If someone only wants a bucket or two, we only offer them during our regular Friday deliveries.

Most growers also allow a color palette choice. We do too, but I want the language to be indicative that we’ll do our best (i.e., I’m trying to repel the type of person who wants to discuss 9 different shades of “soft pink”–there’s nothing wrong with loving the nuance of color, but this isn’t the right option for that person).

Bulk Buckets also do not include design advice (this is what makes them a great, affordable option), but we try and provide guidelines. While we do not guarantee specific varieties, I’m also a big believer in under promising and over delivering. If a client loves a certain flower or style, I won’t guarantee it, but I’ll do my best to make it happen. If they question it, I simply explain that we don’t guarantee any variety because we would hate to disappoint anyone. I also always provide more flowers than they order, explaining these are extras in case any stems get sad or broken. Ultimately, I think it’s worth it for people to feel taken care of.

Bulk Bucket Details

I aim to include a combination of focal flowers, fillers, and foliage. As noted earlier, if they have specific requests, I will do my best to accommodate when possible. If they have a very particular request, I’ll explain that we can bring it in wholesale, but there are likely minimums and I cannot guarantee that the flowers will get here (and in what condition). Some growers provide custom estimates based on requests, but for us it’s easier to keep it simple. I’ve found too many options increases communication, and time is hard to come by on a farm!

Our clients often choose a combination of À La Carte flowers and Bulk Buckets. If this is the case, the buckets will be a very similar vibe to their designed pieces. For À La Carte flowers, depending on the season and color palette, we may bring in items from partner farms, which will also then be included in the buckets. For that reason, we note this in a card and/or print out, thanking them, while also being fully transparent.

Along with the buckets, we provide a print out on nice card stock. We have to remember that some folks ordering might be completely new to flowers. Having instructions helps avoid issues and I personally think it is a nice touch for folks to feel taken care of. Also though, we’re being very clear on expectations. You can download this in PDF format here.

Farmer-Florist Wedding Option 2: Full Service

Full service weddings may sound lucrative for the farmer-florist, because they can be, but they require an insane amount of preparation time and detail. Aside from designing flowers, they usually involve multiple consultations, coordinated set ups and take downs, and very-specific requests.

I would not recommend full-service weddings unless you have considerable experience with wedding florals and a knowledgable team to support you. From my limited experience, the amount of time and stress involved inevitably detracts from the many farm responsibilities (usually in a large and detrimental way).

On a few rare occasions, I’ll agree to be onsite to set up installations, and even these are incredibly time consuming and more stressful than I anticipate. For example, like the time we were told the arch would be assembled to find it was in boxes. Thank goodness Matt was with me and constructed it, because I wouldn’t have been able to do this! We were still attaching flowers as wedding guests arrived. These clients were dream clients, the best of the best, but this was still incredibly stressful!

Whenever I agree to do something outside of our normal À La Carte options, it’s almost always more than I bargained for (even for people I love and with the best intentions–it’s just something to be aware of).

Farmer-Florist Wedding Option 3: À La Carte Weddings

For me, À La Carte Weddings are the sweet spot of farmer-florist wedding options. Somewhere between DIY and full service, they’re just right. I first learned about this option through Floret, and I never looked back. Make no mistake though: À La Carte weddings are still incredibly time consuming and detail oriented, but you have a lot more control, so long as you structure it properly.

Essentially, À La Carte Weddings are where couples are given a specific set of options that they can choose from, based on their budget and needs. They communicate palette and style preferences, order from a specific set of pre-defined options, and leave the rest up to you.

Even the vase options are kept at a minimum, as we purchase these in bulk and they are included in the price. The reason for this is so that we do not need to worry about getting them back, nor are we involved in set up or take down. You can read more about this in our packet, linked below.

Farmer-Florist Advantage: À La Carte Weddings

Doing wedding flowers is where I learned what an incredible advantage that we, as farmer-florists, have over traditional florists. If you’ve ever tried ordering flowers wholesale, you learn how unbelievably stressful and inconsistent it can be! Flowers do not arrive on time or come in poor condition. I literally cannot imagine relying solely on ordering wholesale.

As farmer-florists, we have such an advantage because we have so many options available to us! While I’ll get into growing specifically for weddings in future posts, the access to material is unparalleled. Not only in overall quality, but also availability–for example, think about dried flowers! I am still using strawflower, globe amaranth, and grasses I grew years ago in wearables. Honestly, I don’t know how florists do it otherwise–I constantly encourage my florist pals to grow flowers!!

À La Carte Weddings: Prospective Clients

Much like DIY Bulk Buckets, communication is key. For every request, we provide a packet of information as well as an order form. You can find my exact packet and order form here.

All communication is via email. If a client insists on a consultation call, I charge for this time and put it toward their final invoice. After I explain all the information needed is in their packet, but they can still choose a phone consultation for a fee if needed, they rarely opt for this (truly, almost never). To me, this is a good indication that the information is covered in the packet. Over time, if consistent questions arise, I add more information into the packet. The idea is to keep this simple and streamlined, for both the client and YOU!

À La Carte Weddings: Booked Client

If a client books with us, I then set them up in our booking system, Honeybook. If you’re just starting out, you may not need something this robust, but I love this system. It keeps everything organized and streamlined and includes fillable contracts, invoicing, and payment options.

Psst, you can use this link for 25% off.

Also, it’s not unusual for us to book weddings well over a year in advance! Without a system, I’d freak out that I’d forget a wedding. Having all projects here keeps things organized because it has a status for everything (booked, contracts signed, payments made, etc.).

If you want to see what this process looks like, email me (maggie@petalbackfarm.com) a request, and I’ll send you exactly what our clients go through in Honeybook. It will have our exact contract and an example invoice.

On the day of their delivery or pick up, we have all the flowers ready in travel boxes and/or hydration chambers. I’ll dive much deeper into this topic on further posts, because I have learned SO many lessons here. Traveling with flowers is not for the faint of heart🙂, and it’s crucial to set folks up for success. Each order comes with a print out on nice card stock, presentation boxes, and a care package. You can download a PDF of our print-out instructions here. I find since we are not going to be onsite that the instructions offer peace of mind and help clients feel supported through the process.

What do you think of these farmer-florist wedding options? Could you see yourself incorporating one or all of them for your business?