Six Questions to Answer Before Contacting a Paper Florist

You need paper flowers. Be it for a wedding or a gift, you’ve decided that paper flowers are the right choice for you. 

(Great choice, by the way. I wholeheartedly agree!)

Now you just have to place an order. If you’re purchasing a piece that’s already made and listed online, then all you have to do is pull out your credit card and put in your shipping info. 

But that’s not how most paper flower orders work. Let’s talk about commissions and what you need to do before contacting a paper florist.

What Is a Commission?

Due to the handmade and creative nature of our craft, paper florists typically don’t have a lot of inventory on hand. Some might have blooms ready to ship that are listed on their Etsy page or personal website, but the selection will be limited to what can be produced by one person and what they find sells. 

Your tastes differ from the next customer’s, and that’s great! Especially for a big event like a wedding, you probably want something very specific. Certain colors, a particular flower, the perfect size of arrangement for the cocktail tables at your venue. 

These special orders are called commissions, and I love making something unique and perfect for my clients.

How to Prepare for a Special Order

So you’ve found a paper florist whose work you love, and you’re ready to place a special order. Before you click that contact link on their website, make sure that you can answer these questions. 

1. Do you have any special flowers that are a must have in your bouquet?
2. Have you decided on your color palette?
3. What kind of bouquet vibe are you looking for—loose and modern, country modern, rustic, round and traditional, etc? 
4. How do you want to incorporate the paper flowers in your wedding? Just the bouquet and boutonniere? Or wedding arch, sweetheart table, floral crowns, bridesmaids bouquets, etc. 
5. When is your event? Make sure to reach out as soon as you set your date. Most paper florists are booked six months or more in advance.
6. Finally, how soon will you need the flowers? The day of the event, or sooner? Keep in mind that depending on the paper florist, expect at least a two week turn around, if not longer, for orders to be completed.

Taking the time to think through and write down all of these answers has several benefits. By giving this info up front, you’ll save a lot of time communicating back and forth with your florist, and you’ll ensure that you get exactly what you want. 

On top of that, I always appreciate when a prospective client shows that they know what they need. That demonstrates to me that they are serious and won’t be disappointed in my work. They’ve given me enough direction to get to what they envision. A paper florist is more likely to politely turn down your order if you can’t answer the questions above.   

A Real Life Example

Let’s dive into an example of how this commission process works.

Megan reached out to me last year to create a one of a kind paper flower bouquet for her wedding. She had found me by watching my TV appearance on King5 news from 2019! Here’s the link to see me: here https://youtu.be/y5ft99KWdZU and here https://youtu.be/B8XaFkIo00Y.

She went to my website and contacted me to see if I was available. We had a wonderful email exchange. After a bit of back and forth, I understood what kind of wedding she was going to have and how the paper flowers were going to play an important role. We talked about the flowers she wanted, and also what her fiance Bryan wanted, too. We discussed the color theme and where her wedding was going to take place. It gave me a great vision of what her special day was going to look like. It inspired me to create unique paper flowers for her bouquet and boutonniere. 

Later on, she placed another order for individual stems for each of her guests. Because I already understood her vision and what the entire event would look like, this wasn’t difficult to get right. Each stem was an echo of Megan and Bryan’s personal pieces. We attached a little tag with a hand-written calligraphy note thanking each of the guests that showed up for their wedding. A perfect, personal touch. 

If you can clearly envision your event and answer these questions like Megan could, you’re ready to contact a paper florist. You’ll be able to work together to create the perfect pieces for your event.