Birdsong Blooms Event & Floral Questionnaire
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! DIY flowers from Birdsong Blooms are a great way to bring a creative, personal element to your wedding and to keep within a tighter budget. Whatever your reason for choosing DIY, you’ll be getting expressive, original and timeless fresh flowers from our fields and can feel good that they’re locally and organically grown.
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The Basics
DIY flowers are sold by the bucket, with each bucket containing seven to ten bunches (generally 10 stems/bunch) of focal flowers, accent flowers, and foliage – the perfect balance you need to make great arrangements. The specific types of flowers/foliage in each bucket will be chosen by Birdsong Blooms farmers and, if desired, by our lead floral designer to ensure that you get the best flowers from the field for your wedding day or special event.
Focal Flowers
Focal flowers are easily the most important component of any arrangement or bouquet. Blooms such as our heirloom peonies, lilies, hydrangeas, pollenless sunflowers and dahlias all qualify as the focal flower.
Filler & Line Flowers
Filler flowers consist of small sprays of flowers such as queen anne's lace, nigella, statice, dusty miller and lisianthus. They are used to fill in spaces among the focal flowers within the framework of a floral design.
Greenery
Greenery is essential when creating a bouquet or arrangement because it is the foundational layer of your design. Examples to consider are eucalyptus, ferns, native grasses and plants, bupleurum, herbs and smilax.
Are DIY Flowers right for me?
Well, that depends! There are lots of things to think about when choosing whether to go DIY for your wedding flowers. Consider things such as your budget, whether you’ll have enough time, helpers, and workspace to do your own flowers, and your skill/confidence level. Also think about if you’re comfortable with not knowing exactly what flowers you’ll have for your wedding, and can do without extra support and advice. With DIY flowers, we’ll provide you with buckets of beautiful, vibrant flowers, but everything else is up to you!
Frequently Asked Questions
1.Can I buy DIY buckets for my centerpieces but have you create the bridal bouquet (or other pieces)? Yes. Lots of brides are really excited about DIY flowers but are understandably nervous about making their own bouquet. Bridal bouquets generally range in price from $175 – $400. We can also make other specialty pieces for you such as boutonnieres and corsages. Ask for our ‘A la Carte’ menu for items and pricing.
2.How many buckets of flowers should I order? There isn’t a straightforward answer for this because it depends on how big your vases are, what size you make your bouquets, and your personal arranging style. In general, one bucket can make 5 – 7 arrangements in wide-mouth quart mason jars. Use this as a guide, and remember that if you over-order you can always find more room for flowers at your wedding! Be sure to complete the floral questionnaire. This will guide you in making an imformed decision regarding quantity.
3.Can I buy a bucket or two to practice with before my wedding? Certainly, this is highly recommended! Let us know that you’d like to purchase practice buckets at the time you place your wedding flower order. We recommend getting your practice bucket(s) two weeks before your wedding so the types of flowers will be similar to those you’ll be working with for your wedding or special event.
4.What kinds of flowers might be in my buckets? The flowers in your buckets are all grown right here on our farm and the types and colors available will change with the seasons. Unexpected weather, pest, and disease problems make it hard to say exactly what will be in season when. Rather than be frustrated by this, we fully embrace it and love the surprises the seasons bring. There are some flowers that we usually have all season long, like zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, and snapdragons. If you have a mid-June wedding, you might find the gorgeous poppies, delphinium, and peonies of early summer, but if you’re getting married in September you may find long-awaited lisianthus and dahlias in your buckets.
5.Where can I see pictures of your flowers? Check out our Instagram (@birdsongbloomsfloral), Facebook (Birdsong Blooms), and Pinterest (birdsongbloomsfloral) accounts. Also, check out the seasonal crop preview! While we fully intend to grow what is listed, we are an open field organic operation and are at the full mercy of mother nature. Always check with us to confirm availability.
6.Can I choose the types of flowers I want in my buckets? No. In order to make sure you get the best and brightest flowers from the field that week, Birdsong Blooms' farmers and, if selected, lead designer work together to choose the ideal flowers and foliage for your buckets. We reference your floral questionnaire to ensure we meet your needs as closely as possible with seasonal and that week's availability.
7.When should I pick up my flowers? We recommend 2-3 days before your wedding or special event. Please consider your event week schedule, if you will have help, and any mishaps that may occur! It takes more time than you think to arrange, and we want you to give yourself and your party time for the best outcome.
8. How should I transport the flowers from the farm? This will depend on what vehicles you have available and how many buckets you’ve ordered. Flowers can never, never go in a trunk or in the open bed of a pick-up truck. Any vehicle that you put them in should be air-conditioned. You can usually fit 3 – 5 buckets in the back seat of a sedan, and many more in a SUV. Don’t forget to bring a tarp if you’re worried about splashing water! We recommend purchasing our transport crates to ensure your buckets do not spill and damage your blooms! Also, never leave your florals in the vehicle overnight, or sitting idle in an un-airconditioned vehicle. Remove them and store then in a cool room out of direct sunlight. Ensure they have water!!
9. How and where should I store the flowers? Any cool, shaded place will be fine. A cool garage or basement would be ideal. Refrigeration is unnecessary, but if you do have access to a cooler that reliably stays above freezing, there can be NO FRUIT inside due to a gas that is emmitted that rots the flowers. Your flowers will be super fresh and in water, so will easily last 4 – 7 days. Remember that heat and direct light cause flowers to open very quickly and wilt sooner. Also, farm fresh flowers drink more water than imports. Be sure to check your water levels daily and provide cool fresh water as needed.
10. What supplies will I need to arrange my flowers? You’ll need a workspace (preferably cool and shaded) that has a water source and can get mucked up with stems and plant debris. I recommend placing a tarp down if you are concerned about water on the floor and have plenty of trash cans. You’ll need sharp, clean clippers, since each stem will get at least one cut. Be careful, they are very sharp! For centerpieces all you’ll need are your vases – make sure they’re very clean (bacteria clogs stems and causes premature wilting). If you’re doing bouquets, you’ll need rubber bands and floral tape to wrap the stems together. Dependng on your style, consider lovely ribbons and floral pins to hold the ribbon in place. Once you’ve made the bouquet, it’s convenient to have a mason jar/vase with water at the ready to put your bouquet in until you need it for pictures or the ceremony. For boutonnieres and corsages you’ll need some floral tape, ribbon and floral pins. All of these floral supplies can be found at any craft store or online. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to order supplies as there are ongoing shortages.
11. Do you have any tips for arranging the flowers? It’s a good idea to read/watch some on-line tutorials before you get started with your arrangements! There have also been a ton of step-by-step floral design books published lately by really great designers, some of which are available at your local library. If you feel like some hands-on coaching would help, check out our workshop schedule and sign up for one of our ‘DIY Wedding Intensive’ classes, where we teach you how to best utilize your DIY buckets, make centerpieces, bouquets and more! This makes for a great brunch with all of your bridal party! Have fun with it and remember that the flowers can’t help but be beautiful!
12. Where do you list your pricing? We offer several types of DIY buckets, depending on the season and color palette. Please start by filling out the questionnaire to ensure you have the best information to determine the quantities needed. You are review our DIY Bucket Pricing under our Products tab above.
13. Attention! What else do I need to know? -Custom colors are not available during the shoulder seasons (mid May-June; Mid October-Mid November). We will review your questionnaire and do our best to match your request. Our product is seasonal and varies from week to week and season to season. We will communicate any alternatives needed with as much time as possible. -Bucket prices do not include sales tax. -DIY flower buckets are only available for pick-up from our farm shop in Leavenworth, KS by appointment. Please contact us by email for further information. - We will include clean black plastic florist buckets that do not need to be returned. If you wish to purchase transport crates, they are $20 per crate and hold 2-3 buckets depending on flower type. We highly recommend, based on experience, that you must find a way to secure the buckets so they do not spill. Your floral buckets are non-refundable. -DIY Bucket purchases are non-refundable. - Birdsong Blooms will provide fresh, professionally harvested and conditioned florals on the date listed in our contract. The receipient will assume full and total responsibility of the flowers upon pickup including transport and storage. We ask that you review and follow the recommended industry standards for storage to ensure maximum vase life. Also, always have a few extra flowers on hand.
