Blook - not a typo
It's a hybrid of Blog and Book.
This is where we keep our fun to read articles on wedding planning.
Stress less, smile more: our guide to wedding planning
Your day, your way
Our biggest piece of advice as you start down the wedding planning path? Remember, this is YOUR day. Your bestie may have entered their reception via hot air balloon, or your great aunt may be insistent you include every religious reading ever made, but this does not mean any of this is right for you. So before you do anything, sit down with your partner and share what the perfect wedding day looks like for each of you.
Summer garden party soiree? Ultra-chic urban cocktail situation? Wintery wed-fest complete with open fires and a moody jazz ensemble?
Hopefully, you’ll be on the same page, but if not, this is the time to prioritise what is most important. Maybe you’ll agree to go large on the catering and bevies, or perhaps stunning style is your sweet spot. Whatever direction you go in, listen to each other, create a plan, and then do your best to stay true to this when making decisions.
Tip: get your hands on a planning tool! Whether it be a simple excel spreadsheet or a physical planning guide (we love this stylish little gem by our friends at Ivory Tribe), getting your ideas organised will make the process so much smoother and lower your stress levels.
Date decisions
Many factors may influence the date you choose, from availability of venue or vendors to the season you prefer. If your style is vibrant summer vibes or sweet spring romance, keep this vision in mind when selecting your date and venue.
A big tip from us: be flexible! Perhaps narrow down a time of year or season, then work with your venue and fave vendors to land on a date. Don’t be afraid to consider a mid-week or Sunday wedding – it can be the perfect way to open up a whole lot of options for otherwise booked-up vendors.
Vendor vibes
We cannot say it enough – the talented team you surround yourself with can have a major impact on the vibes of your day. You want people around you who get you, who lift you up and who you know will make you feel like a million bucks on the day.
Once you’ve worked out a time of year for your sweet celebrations, get browsing, scrolling, and booking. Venues, photographers, celebrants and, of course, florists, all book out super fast (especially the good ones!). Soak up all the recs from friends who have been married, check out real weddings you love on Insta, then follow the tagged suppliers and start making contact.
But how to choose between all the wedding superstars out there? Pick those that you feel most comfortable with, that make you laugh, and that will be real with you. Trust your instincts and once you’ve made the decision, don’t second guess yourself. You’ve got this!
Pretty pieces
Then it’s on to the truly fun stuff: your colour palette, styling selections and floral fabulousness. We’re here to help you make these sweet choices every step of the way, so don’t be afraid to reach out and let us realise your dream day vision!
Check out some of our dreamiest days here on our Instagram.
The cost of perfection – why your wedding florals are not cheap
There’s a saying we often hear (too often, in our opinion!) that the minute you put the word wedding in front of anything, you need to add a few extra zeros to the price. Unsurprisingly, we have some THOUGHTS on this!
So, let’s be clear. It is true that weddings can cost a lot. There are so many reasons why this is the case. Still, we’re going to stick to our lane and attempt to enlighten you as to where those precious dollars are going when you order your wedding florals and why they are a solid investment in a day you’ll remember, reflect on, and smile about for a loooong time to come.
What you see on the day – a delightful dream of artfully arranged blooms in the exact hues that elevate and enhance your stunning style – is the result of a long process.
From a practical perspective, there are the hours on the day to load up, travel, construct your fab florals, deliver bouquets and buttonholes, move arrangements between the ceremony and reception, troubleshoot as required and finally, pack down, clean up and dispose of everything. Often, this day starts first thing in the morning and finishes early the following morning
But that doesn’t even consider the hours in the lead-up to the wedding: sourcing the exact blooms your impeccably imagined vision requires, visiting the flower markets at 4am to ensure we get only the most perfect, pristine florals, then cutting them back, removing extra foliage and laying those sweet stems safely in our refrigerators until it’s time to craft your beautiful bouquet and epic arrangements. We won’t even go into the admin required to run our own business because, well...we are creatives and tackling admin requires at least one glass of bubbles and a long nap!
But in our minds, the most important thing you are investing in when you
engage us is our creativity, artistic skills and experience built over many
years, on hundreds of weddings in different venues, where every single couple deserves their own exceptional experience.
When we create your mood board and craft your arrangements, it’s not only the
hours it takes to put it together you are paying for. It’s our in-depth understanding of colour balancing, layering texture, and working with negative space. Our knowledge of what is currently working in terms of trends and styles, and our inherent understanding of what will take your venue from beautiful to breathtaking, elevate your look from glam to goddess, and make your memories aesthetically incredible.
So basically, if you want your florals to look amazing and picture perfect –
don’t expect them also to be economical!
If you want to invest in breathtaking beauty, stunning style and a talented team that will make sure you have a fantastic time along the way – chat with us. We’d love to meet you.
Check out some of our dreamiest days here on our Instagram.
Dreaming of an outdoor ceremony? Read this first!
Dreaming of a sun-drenched ceremony in stunning surrounds is the vision for many Victorian couples. And we completely agree that the combination of perfect weather with lush leafy gardens or sweeping coastal vistas can set the scene for an incredible celebration.
However.
Let’s have some real talk now.
We are talking about Victoria, the land of completely unpredictable, changeable, four-seasons-in-one-day (LITERALLY!) weather. So, what can you do to ensure your ceremony is all styling perfection and blissed-out fun without the last-minute weather worries?
Planning Essentials
Obviously, you know it’s always a possibility, no matter what the season or time of year, that there will be inclement weather on your dream day. So, our biggest piece of advice – be a little bit realistic and a little bit flexible early on. Select a venue that has a fab indoor option for your wedding ceremony, or consider factoring a clear-span marquee or sperry tent into your budget from the very beginning. That way, you know you’ve got all bases covered and that, no matter what, your ceremony will look incredible.
Rain, wind, and blinding sunshine; these are all things that can affect your florals, your styling and your photos. So, be mindful of the position of your ceremony, and chat with your vendors about how to overcome these elements. It may be that a stunning low-to-the-ground floral arrangement will hold up best for those super windswept spots or weighted pillars instead of a high set, freestanding floral creation. The last thing anyone wants is for your groomsmen to spend the ceremony holding up an arbour in high winds (trust us, we’ve seen it happen!)
Comfort Factor
Look. We know your day is all about you. You’re the VIPs of this wedstival, after all, and your wishes and dreams are super important.
However, please consider this.
If your guests are freezing in cold winds, sweating through their Shona Joy gowns or feeling their blow-wave frizz out in the drizzling rain, no one is going to be feeling the love.
And you deserve to be feeling all the love!
There are a few things you can do that will make your guests so much more comfortable on the day and escalate the fun levels for everyone involved. A bunch of clear umbrellas, pretty paper fans, bottles of water in ice, shade from the sun and some beautiful blankets are all sweet little additions that can make a huge difference to your guest’s comfort. Perhaps hire some heaters if the temp is going to drop, or consider shifting the ceremony to a more shaded spot if the sun is on full blast for your dream day.
Trust us; you’ll enjoy yourselves far more if you know your Nana in the front row isn’t about to melt in the heat or freeze in the cold!
Trust The Experts
There is a reason wedding planners and stylists are such creative, calm and all-around-amazing humans. It’s because they have to deal with a thousand variables for every celebration they work on and still create a dream day for every one of their unique couples. So, if an alfresco ceremony is top of your vision board, we highly recommend engaging a stylist or planner to ensure your day is low-stress and high- impact – for all the right reasons!
Our final piece of advice? Surround yourselves with a talented team and trust their experience, creativity and wisdom. With all that done, pour yourself a congratulatory glass of champagne and get back to thinking about all the fun, darling details of your special celebration!