THE WEDDING FLORIST PODCAST

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Episode 21 |  How and where to source your flowers for your business  

So your bride has sent you an inspo image of what she wants for her wedding and now your task is to identify the ingredients and source the flowers.

   And then so many thoughts cross your mind, where do I get this from, how much will it cost, is it in season for the time of year her wedding is in. Whether you are at the beginning of your journey or a few years in buying and sourcing is a critical part of your business because without this you cannot fulfil your order.  

I often find this is a common question that is asked about the sourcing and availability.  So I am today going to delve into the different ways you can find and source your flowers for your business.  

Keep listening, grab a pen and paper and make notes so you can go away and apply this to your business.
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Welcome back to another episode of the Wedding Florist Podcast where I delve into all things floral, mindset and business.

And in today's episode I will be talking about sourcing flowers so you can deliver your orders to the best standards possible.

First things first, I am based in the UK and just like I have to take this into consideration, you too have to consider your location and which part of the world you are in.  Because where you source your materials from is very dependent upon this fact. And the other thing is that you need to be updating your little black book of suppliers everytime you link up with a new supplier because we are living in a world of change and innovation and there are always new companies, new growers and new products.  

As you think creatively when designing your flowers you also need to be thinking creatively when building connections through your networks and building your list of suppliers.  

BIG WHOLESALERS 

Around the world there is the demand for big wholesalers who buy their produce from flower farmers around the world ready for their customers.  They are big companies whose main function is to buy and sell flowers around the world.  To access these big firms you will need a business account with them and supply them with business details so they can carry out a credit check and other checks that are required.  Because they are wholesalers you will need to buy in bulk so bunches of 10’s 20’s and 50’s for roses, 25’s for carnations and gypsophila, bunches, bundles and boxes of foliage and more.  You cannot buy single stems and because of this you get the flowers at a good and wholesale price which allows you to then mark up your flowers when you sell so that you can make a profit. They will usually have a minimum order value.  Some of the bigger wholesalers are based in Holland where they have direct access to the flower farms and flower auctions.  

Sometimes, especially when you are just starting out you don’t have huge orders where you can meet the minimum order requirement so you should consider pairing  up with a flower friend to place your order and split the cost.  And by collaborating like this you can begin to build a network of local florists and learn the value of collaborations which is really important in business.  

LOCAL WHOLESALERS 

So next I come to local wholesalers. So near me I have Van Vliet, Flower Vision, Covent Garden Flower Market with lots of good suppliers and Tom Browns. These local wholesalers still require you to have a business account but the nice thing with this is you can go in and see what is coming in and what days their deliveries are from different parts of the world. You don’t have a minimum spend with their local wholesalers. You can go in and pick what you want from the shelves but be mindful that the flowers are still in wholesale packs so bunches of 10's, 20's, 25’s and 50’s.  Again it's really important to have a good relationship with these wholesalers because they can help and support you in your business.  Just be mindful that these flower wholesalers operate early hours of the morning at 3am and close at 10am so you need to get there early when visiting the markets.  

ONLINE WHOLESALERS   

With access to the online world you will find that online wholesalers are on the rise.  Once again they will have a criteria to join them as a business and minimum order values but you may find they may have access to more exclusive flower varieties and sundries. For example there was an increase of dried flower wholesalers in 2021 then there was a huge surge in the trend for dried flowers.

LOCAL GROWERS AND FARMERS 

Local to where you are there will be flower farmers and growers and the reason they are in that side of the business is because that is their passion.  They will grow seasonal flowers and foliages and they can help you be sustainable because you are more local so reduce the carbon footprint.  Here again i can’t stress how important it is to reach out and build relationships with these local suppliers, spend time with them and understand what they are growing and their varieties because this will help you when you are taking with your customers and taking your orders.  

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a great place where you can be cheeky and stalk other local supplier accounts. You will find that local florists are following their suppliers on Instagram and often tag them in or the hashtag the flower varieties they are using and this gives you an indication of where you can buy from and what you can use in your designs too. And you can go one step further because if you connect with them and follow them on Instagram you can either go to their website via the link in bio or reach out to them via DM. I’m sure they will be happy to assist either way.  

Another way is through Facebook Groups where suppliers are part of florist groups. Even though they may not be allowed to promote their products in the groups they are still reachable and can be found.    

So you can see that you can use these platforms to create and build relationships and the more you build these relationships the more you and your business grows.  
 
As we come to the end of this episode, let’s recap the purchasing and sourcing of your flowers and sundries and supplies in your business. Consider the different types of wholesalers from the bigger wholesalers who have worldwide connections and are the basis of the whole supply chain in the floristry industry to the online wholesalers who may be able to assist with more specific varieties of flowers. Use Google to search suppliers for sundries and silk flowers which are on the increase and may be used in substitution. Build relationships with local farmers and growers and help reduce the carbon footprint and then use Social media to research and connect with suppliers.    

As a business owner you need to be resourceful  and therefore consider as many of these approaches. It takes time and your suppliers will change as you and your business changes and evolves.    

I hope this leaves you empowered and confident to look in the right places for your flowers and helps you build good business networks and relationships with your suppliers.
 
So, here are various ways you can work with me

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So, here are various ways you can work with me.
 
I have free resources to help you in your business

Get your Complete Guide to Write Winning Proposals and The Ultimate Social Media Kit with a social media calendar, florist specific hashtags and strategies to grow your audience.

Watch the free training on how I went from hand ties to installations and grew my wedding flower business to a 6 figure profitable business.

I know how hard and time consuming it can be to have the right resources in your business and that's why I have created various digital templates and resources that you can use in your business and these are available for instant download in the Etsy Store

That’s it for now - if there's a topic you want covering in the future let me know and I'll get it sorted for you. So until next week, stay blooming and take careBuilding a strong network  Wherever you are in life it is really important to build a strong network and this is really important for wedding florists too. You can really get a lot of emotional support through the rollercoaster of your business journey but also open up opportunities for growth and collaborations. You can share ideas and learn from each other and help each other on projects.  So how can you do this? One of the ways I have done this is going to networking events and attending workshops and also connecting with like minded professionals on social media to get more of a global reach. I have a facebook group for wedding florists to connect with each other and the link is in the shownotes. The idea is to be part of a support and uplifting community.

Hey there Wedding Florist

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