10 Things Retail Florists Get Wrong When They Start Doing Weddings

Learning from Others' Mistakes

Every retail florist who transitions into wedding work makes mistakes in the first year. The difference between florists who build a thriving wedding business and those who burn out is recognizing these mistakes early and correcting them. At CHIC Flowers, we made most of these mistakes ourselves before building the systems that now allow us to serve weddings across San Diego and Southern California.

Here are the ten most common mistakes we see, and what to do instead.

1. Treating Weddings Like Big Retail Orders

This is the number one mistake. A wedding is not just a large version of a regular order. It involves design consultation, custom proposals, sourcing specific varieties weeks in advance, coordinating with other vendors, and an entire day of on-site work. If you approach it with a retail mindset, you will undercharge and overwork yourself.

Fix: Create a completely separate workflow for weddings with its own pricing, timeline, and client communication process.

2. Not Using Contracts

In retail, a handshake and a receipt are enough. In weddings, you need a legally binding contract that outlines your scope of work, payment schedule, cancellation policy, and liability limitations. Without one, you are exposed to last-minute changes, payment disputes, and scope creep.

Fix: Have a lawyer review a wedding floral contract template. Require a signed contract and deposit before ordering any flowers.

3. Underpricing Because You Are Afraid to Charge

Retail florists often feel uncomfortable quoting $5,000 or more for flowers because they are used to $50 to $200 transactions. But $5,000 for a wedding includes twenty to forty hours of your team's time, thousands of stems, and complete event-day execution. That is entirely reasonable.

Fix: Break your pricing down on paper. When you see that your actual hourly rate at low prices is below minimum wage, you will feel much more comfortable charging what the work is worth.

4. Skipping the Consultation

Some retail florists try to take wedding orders over the phone or by email the way they take daily orders. This does not work. Brides need to trust you, see your work, and feel heard. The consultation is where that relationship is built.

Fix: Require an in-person or video consultation for every wedding. Use this time to understand their vision, walk through your portfolio, and set expectations about process and pricing.

5. Not Charging for Setup and Breakdown

Many retail florists quote flowers only and plan to personally deliver and set up. Then they discover that setup at a venue takes three to four hours, and breakdown adds another two. That is an entire workday of labor they gave away for free.

Fix: Include a line item for delivery, setup, and breakdown in every proposal. This should cover your team's labor, vehicle costs, and travel time.

6. Saying Yes to Everything

When you are eager to book weddings, it is tempting to say yes to every request, even things outside your expertise. Custom lighting? Sure. Linen rentals? No problem. Furniture? Why not. Suddenly you are a full-service event company with the infrastructure of a flower shop.

Fix: Stay in your lane. Refer clients to specialists for non-floral elements. Your reputation is built on doing flowers exceptionally well, not on doing everything adequately.

7. Not Doing a Venue Site Visit

Designing flowers for a venue you have never visited is like decorating a room you have never seen. Dimensions, lighting, access points, power availability, and existing décor all affect your design and logistics planning.

Fix: Visit every new venue before the wedding, ideally during a similar event setup. Take photos and measurements. Note loading dock access, elevator availability, and temperature conditions.

8. Ordering Flowers Too Late

Retail florists are used to ordering from wholesalers two to three days before they need flowers. Wedding-quality flowers, especially specific varieties and colors, often need to be ordered two to four weeks in advance. Some specialty items like garden roses from Japan or specific peony varieties need even longer lead times.

Fix: Build a flower sourcing timeline into your wedding workflow. Place pre-orders with your wholesaler and confirm availability well before the event.

9. Going It Alone on Event Day

In your shop, you might work solo or with one helper. A wedding requires a team. Trying to do delivery, setup, adjustments, and breakdown alone is a recipe for exhaustion and mistakes.

Fix: Budget for at least one additional person for small weddings and two to three for larger events. Train them on your standards or hire experienced freelance floral assistants.

10. Not Building Vendor Relationships

Wedding work lives on referrals. If you do a great job but no one knows about it, you are leaving bookings on the table. The planner, photographer, venue coordinator, and caterer are all potential referral sources.

Fix: Send a thank-you note and a few stems to every vendor you work with after each wedding. Tag them on social media. Build genuine relationships, and the referrals will follow.

The Common Thread

Every one of these mistakes comes from applying retail thinking to a fundamentally different type of work. Weddings are custom design projects with complex logistics, high emotional stakes, and long planning timelines. Once you shift your mindset from flower seller to wedding floral designer, everything changes.

Want a complete system for avoiding these mistakes? Chic Academy covers every aspect of transitioning from retail to wedding floristry, with templates, checklists, and real-world examples.