?Budget: Knowing your budget for flowers before going to the florist is always the best way to go about it. That way you can ask your florist, what wonderful things can you do with $ _____? Flowers will typically run about 8-10 percent of your wedding budget.

?Before looking at flowers and decor you should know what your wedding party will be wearing. That way you can coordinate the flowers and colors to go with your attire.

?Try to reserve your florist 3-4 months in advance and even earlier if you are using a very popular florist or getting married at a busy time.

?Flowers are a major part of your decor and reflect who you are you should always select flowers based on how your feel about them.

?Finding a florist: Ask yourself how much of a part do you want in the designing and preparation of your flowers? Depending on how much you can spend you can have the florist do everything from design to setup to tear down.

?Consider the location that your decorations will be going into and take some pictures of it to your florist. Is the location a empty room, does it already have a lot of decoration, does it have a large green wall? These are things you and your florist need to look at and consider.

?You should have some idea of how many people are going to be attending your wedding and reception. That way you will be able to determine how many table center pieces and other decor you will need.

?Most florists have several people on staff so the person you talk to may not be the one making your arrangements. Ask the florist if they will be creating the arrangements and if not how involved in the process they are. You should look at a portfolio of live wedding they have done to see how they work together as a team.

?If you want to preserve your bouquet after the wedding make sure to ask your florist if they provide this service. If not ask for any recommendations they may have for people that do.