Engagement Guide:
Your first Wedding Planning Steps
A Fine Art Florist's Advice for Couples Beginning their Journey
1: Celebrate before you plan anything
Proposals and engagement rates go way up between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. Between twinkling holiday lights, the excitement of seeing friends and family again, and cozying up next to the fireplace on a cold winter’s night—it’s a joyful and romantic time of year. Especially for couples saying “yes” to forever together.
And chances are, if you have stumbled across our small business, you might be one of the lucky couples who just said “yes” to forever with your partner.
Congratulations! This first chapter of your wedding planning journey should feel full of possibility.
The rumors are true:
At Canary Fine Art Florals, we believe having clarity, intention, and emotion makes for the best wedding planning experience, long before you choose your colors or specific flowers.
If you’re newly engaged and wondering where to begin, here are the first steps you should take to make your planning process as smooth as possible.
2: Choose your vibe before you choose your colors
3: Choose your venue before thinking about florals
As tempting as it might be, you don’t have to launch right into spreadsheets and vendor searches. Yes, planning and organization are important, but so is taking time to celebrate this new chapter in your life! Take a moment to bask in the excitement.
When people ask you if you’ve set a date or started planning yet, smile and tell them, “Nope, we’re going to enjoy this time together for now,” and breathe a little easier knowing that you don’t owe anyone more explanation than that right now.
From a florist’s perspective, couples who take time to enjoy the excitement at the beginning of their engagement tend to enter the design process more grounded and inspired. This is the perfect time to reconnect with your partner and reminisce over your love story together.
Ask yourselves:
- Do we want our wedding to feel romantic or more playful?
- Is our style sleek and modern or timeless and elegant?
- Do we prefer color-forward designs, or a minimal palette?
- How do we want to feel when we walk into our reception?
- How do we want our guests to feel when they arrive?
- Is our style sleek and modern or timeless and elegant?
- Do we prefer color-forward designs, or a minimal palette?
- How do we want to feel when we walk into our reception?
- How do we want our guests to feel when they arrive?
Starting with these questions will help you figure out your vibe, which determines everything from floral structures to scale and textures. Specific colors can come later, and they usually emerge more naturally once you know the feeling you’re trying to create.
Your venue is the canvas of your wedding day. The architecture, lighting, and environment all shape what types of floral installations will feel at home in the space.
As fine art florists, we take into consideration all aspects of your venue during the design and planning process. We look at ceiling height, focal points, whether the venue has natural light, the interior color palette, seasonal surroundings, and so much more.
Choosing your venue first allows your floral designer to create with intention. It ensures that your florals complement the space rather than compete with it.
5: Inquire early with your top vendors
4: Start with a Pinterest board...and then refine it
When Pinterest was launched in 2010, designers, artists, cooks, makers, and more rejoiced. And with good cause! Pinterest was and still remains one of the best and most accessible visual planning tools. Creating moodboards is simple and fun, especially with the new collage maker tool!
One thing to keep in mind is that your Pinterest boards should be treated as inspiration, not a shopping list. It’s very easy to fall in love with the gorgeous things you see online, but the rise of AI generated content means it’s important to remember that what you’re looking at might not actually exist or even be possible.
Next Steps: Begin Your Floral Journey with Canary
- Step 1: Save anything that catches your eye. Don’t overthink it.
- Step 2: After a few days, revisit the board and edit down to the images that truly represent you and your vision.
When you scroll through your inspiration, watch for repeating themes. Did you save a lot of deep reds and pale blues without realising it? Maybe you pinned more cascading bouquets than posie styles.
These patterns hint at what you’re most drawn to without overthinking. Remove the items that don’t speak to you or the theme you’ve created. This new board becomes an amazing planning tool for your floral designer and wedding planner.
Spring and fall dates continue to book early in the wedding world. This remains especially true for fine art floral studios. More often than not, fine art florists are required to take a limited number of weddings per year to protect the integrity of their designs and give every event the attention it deserves.
Even if you don’t know every detail yet, reaching out early means better chances of your date being available and gives you more time to receive personalized guidance from a professional designer. Connecting early also gives your floral designer more time to work with your wedding planner to ensure everything is cohesive from your guests’ arrival to the last dance of the night.
You don’t even have to know exactly what you want before approaching your designer. You just need your venue, your vibe, and the desire to create something beautiful.
Canary couples receive:
- Priority date consideration for early inquiries
- A refined, artistic design process rooted in story and emotion
- Guidance on vision, palette, and floral structure
- A seamless planning experience from first conversation to your big day