Destination Weddings and Honeymoons

Lauren with her florist, Julie

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It came with great irony that two weeks before Tim asked me to marry him (!!!), I was in Richmond Hill, Georgia, at The Ford Plantation (20 miles from Savannah) for our DWH fall photo shoot. During the shoot, I fell in love with Savannah all over again — but just as importantly, I fell in love with Julie Driscoll of Garden on the Square, the florist who designed and created the flowers we used both on our cover and in the interior story.

DWH's September/October 2011 cover.

After the shoot, I called my mom and gushed about the flowers, "Sigh … if I ever got married in Savannah, we'd already have a florist." So of course, when Tim and I decided to tie the knot in that very place, we had already crossed off a huge item on our to-do list.

If you remember from a previous post, I mentioned Gram, my beloved grandmother who died last year. She was a retired florist, and before her death, she sat me down with a stack of bridal magazines (DWH included!) and told me the things she wanted me to have (and not have!) at my wedding — in particular, the flowers. One of my favorite flowers of all time is the calla lily — but unfortunately, my grandmother didn't think calla lilies were the appropriate flowers for my (nonexistent-at-the-time) wedding. I am too tall, and they aren't "spiky enough" (whatever that meant). She never had a problem speaking her mind!

Gram and I when I was a toddler (left) and celebrating her 80th birthday (right).

When we sat down with Julie and tons of picture albums, she asked if I had seen anything that would be of inspiration for our wedding day. I brought in a DWH flower story, and we discussed the color scheme of our wedding. Julie had some amazing ideas, but more importantly, she wanted to hear what I wanted. She was so excited to help with our wedding; she had no ego, just pure love and enthusiasm! Exactly what you want on your wedding day from your vendors.

After we left, I felt refreshed and encouraged. I finally see our wedding vision coming to life — we picked our flowers, which will be spring colors with the perfect amount of spike (which, according to Julie, is actually "depth and texture"). She helped us navigate every piece of the floral puzzle while also incorporating some incredible ways to bring my grandmother's influence into our day. It's amazing working with someone you feel "gets you" so quickly.

Meeting with Julie in Savannah.

Currently, I have six friends planning their weddings (holy wedding season!), and a few of them have told me what a struggle it's been working with their florists. My pals each have a specific vision, but their florist has a completely different one. Now, brides, we choose our vendors for a reason — we trust their eye and their experience. But your (and your groom's) personality should shine through their craft.

I know most of you won't have the exact experience I did when petal purchasing (my search was easy — I knew immediately I wanted to use Julie), but the key is looking for a florist who shows a real ease with clients. I encourage you to find (or form!) those bonds with your vendors. Even from a distance, I've found people who squeal and congratulate me like an old friend when I tell them I'm recently engaged, and they're just as thrilled for me as my closest pals.

Miss one of Lauren's blogs? Click here for more from DWH's very own destination bride!

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