Are Your Wedding Vendors Hands On?

Being as close as we are to one of the biggest fresh flower markets in the world, it would be a crime to not get into Los Angeles from time to time and get hands on while picking our stock of flowers.  Sure, there are wholesalers that ship gorgeous blooms straight to My Little Flower Shop for our wonderful parties and weddings, but there’s no substitute for getting in there and looking at the riot of color on offer in the Los Angeles Flower District.  So Greg and Al make their way there at least once a week to stay in touch with what’s in season, the latest trends, and the best suppliers.

Greg at the LA Flower mart with a cartload of beautiful arrangements-to-be

When choosing wedding vendors, don’t forget to ask how each one keeps up with industry trends, and makes sure they are in touch with what inspires them.  When it comes to your wedding, you want all the hands you can get – and you want people who are willing to get in there and get ’em dirty. If your designer is doing a lot of gesturing and pointing, but hasn’t laid a hand on anything organic, time to say “hands off my wedding!”

be well, and love well!

-Dinah

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When A Wedding Vendor’s Reputation Precedes Them

Our fearless leaders Greg and Alan were in LA recently, and stayed at the Biltmore, a legendary and elegant hotel in the heart of downtown.  The Biltmore is a popular wedding venue, and has beautiful ballrooms that, should you visit them, would probably look familiar due to the number of films and television shows that have been shot there.

The service Greg and Al received was, to say the least, sub-par.  Thankfully, they’d gotten an internet deal and weren’t paying the normal rate of between $300-600 a night.  But, it proves a point.  You can check in to a world famous hotel, and get well below world-class service.

The wide aisles at the LA Flower Mart

Don’t hire vendors, or choose a venue because of their “legendary” reputation, or because they did a certain celebrity’s wedding.  In fact, if someone is billing themselves with a list of celebrity clients, you should ask for three non-celebrity references to make sure they received the same level of service.  Appearances (and sales people) can be deceiving, so make sure you’re getting service that lives up to your expectations.

Did I mention why the boys were at the Biltmore? So they could be close to the LA Flower Mart when they woke up at 1:00am to source peonies (out of season) for a bride who loved them.  They need to watch it with the super-attentive, every-bride-is-special thing.  They’re going to develop a reputation.

Flowers - beautiful even just arranged by accident in buckets at the Flower Mart!
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