Hi. My husband and I got married November 14th of last year with a ceremony at the WP and a reception at the BW (SBP for CH, Promenade East for Dinner/Dance).
I researched and got quotes from several floral vendors including Disney, Raining Roses, Charming Events, and Carly Anes. I ultimately chose Raining Roses for the following reasons:
1) Their work is absolutely amazing. The designer Jonathan talks big and definately has an ego which might turn some people off. But when I met with him (for over 3 hours on Mother's Day) I just felt deep down that this guy was more of a perfectionist than I was and would not give me flowers on my wedding day that he considered less than perfect.
2) Included in his services is a sample centerpiece which you approve way in advance of the actual wedding day. No other vendors I met with included this at no charge. This was a major selling point to me because it gave me complete peace of mind. I will still amazed by my flowers at the wedding - seeing everything come into place - but there were no unpleasant surprises and I did not risk being disappointed. Also as I said, Jonathan is such a perfectionist that I felt really confident with him anyway.
3) He was willing to work with my budget. I spent less than I would have with Disney, the same or less than I would have with Charming Events and more than Carly Anes. But my centerpieces were gorgeous and huge - each had 6 -7 dozen roses in them, my bouquet was gorgeous and lush - and my bridesmaids bouquets had between 18 - 22 roses in each plus other florwers. Each piece was gorgeous and everything worked together to create a beautiful whole picture. I told Jonathan around where I wanted to spend - and we managed to work out my designs to fit that #. But he did give me a "package price" which was based on my original list of what I needed. Had I cut anything I wouldn't have saved money (basically to give me the price he had to purchase a minimum number of flowers - had we cut the arrangements just would have been bigger). If we added anything, it would be at his retail price. But in the end this was not a problem because we had the same number of tables as was included in our budget.
If you use Raining Roses, I highly recommend you get quotes from other vendors to have a realistic idea of what it costs to have what you want - but give him a budget or at least a range you know you can afford.
Our floral was one of the elements about our wedding that made me the most happy. I was ecstatic when I saw everything come together!
Here some pics of my floral:
If you have any questions send me a PM or an email.
Good luck with your planning session!
