How to Prepare Before the Meeting
You do not need a giant mood board. You need a few honest references that show how you want the flowers to live in the space.
Start with wide venue or room photos. Ceiling height, wall color, table spacing, and natural light all affect floral scale. If you are planning weekly floral services, photos of the home or office are just as helpful. Clients often feel relieved once they hear that the design can be tailored to the actual setting, not forced from a template.
Bring what you already have, such as:
- Room or venue photos, especially wide shots
- Color references, like linens, invitations, fabric swatches, or brand guidelines
- A priority list, so we know where floral impact matters most
- A working budget range, which helps shape realistic options early
- Guest count or quantity estimate, if the project is event-based
- Strong dislikes, including flower types, colors, scents, or styling cues you want to avoid
This prep matters because flowers do not live in isolation. They sit inside a room, next to materials, light, people, and movement. That is also why a wedding florist consultation guide or a broader floral design consultation guide can help you arrive with better questions.
The best prep is not more inspiration. It is better inspiration. A few clear references tell us more than a crowded board with six different styles.
Season matters too. Seasonal flowers usually look more natural, hold better, and make more sense within the budget. They also tend to pair more convincingly with the rest of the materials in the room.
Prep looks different for different clients
Wedding clients often need to think visually and emotionally. What feels romantic, relaxed, modern, quiet, or dramatic to you?
Corporate and event clients also need practical clarity. Will the flowers appear in photos? Do they need to hold through a long program? Are they supporting a product launch, a dinner, or a guest arrival moment?
Weekly floral clients usually benefit from thinking about the room itself. Where will the arrangement sit? How formal should it feel? How much variation do you want from week to week?
That real-world fit matters. One client described an in-person consultation that helped tailor vessels and design to the space itself. Another said the florist personally measured tables at the venue. That kind of care gives clients peace of mind before a single flower is ordered.
The First Discovery Call
The first call is where ideas meet logistics. It should feel calm, focused, and useful.
We start with the basics, date, location, type of project, and broad priorities. Then we listen for the language behind your taste. If you say you do not want anything fussy, that may mean you want more movement. If you say dramatic, you may mean scale, contrast, or shape.
A discovery call often covers questions like these:
- What is the occasion, and what does the setting look like?
- Where should guests or recipients feel the floral impact first?
- Do you want the flowers to blend into the room or stand apart from it?
- Are you drawn to airy, sculptural, gathered, or fuller garden forms?
- What do you already know you do not want?
A good consultation does not pressure you into instant decisions. It helps both sides understand fit. By the end of the call, the goal is to have a clear read on the project frame, the visual direction, the practical constraints, and the next step.
For clients planning recurring flowers for a space, our weekly flower delivery guide can also help clarify what ongoing floral planning involves before you inquire.
The Design Session and Mood Board Review
Once the project moves forward, the design session is where the concept becomes more precise. This is when loose inspiration starts to turn into a working design system.
We look for patterns in what you saved. Maybe every image you love has branch movement. Maybe you keep choosing low centerpieces, but the room also needs height at the entrance or bar. Maybe you think you want neutral flowers, but the images you keep returning to all carry rust, moss, or plum.
A mood board is not there to decorate the process. It is there to filter it.
In this session, we usually define:
- Palette direction, including warmth, depth, and softness
- Shape language, such as loose, linear, gathered, sculptural, or cloud-like
- Texture balance, from petal-heavy to branch-driven
- Scale, across bouquets, tables, entry moments, and focal pieces
- Vessels and mechanics, based on the site and the design intent
If you need help organizing references before that meeting, a set of mood board templates can make the review more useful.
