The Wedding Florist
PODCAST

Episode 6 | Important Clauses for your Wedding Florist Contract  

Ever come across Bridezillas who are demanding, controlling and perfectionists! Wedding planning can be a stressful experience for many couples, and your bride may show these behaviours due to a variety of reasons, including high expectations, family pressure, or personal stress. Handling these situations with patience, communication, and empathy together with a robust contract can help mitigate the challenges associated with a Bridezilla.

We all work hard in our businesses and In this episode I will be going over 5 must have clauses to have in your contract so you and your wedding flower business are protected and you can create and nurture a beautiful relationship with your clients.
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Event Details and Scope of Services 
 The idea here is to clearly outline the full details of the  specific services you will provide as a wedding florist.  This should include details such as the types of floral arrangements including colour and style, the number of arrangements, details of delivery and setup logistics, and any additional services agreed upon (e.g., floral design consultations, any site visits and mocks ups). The more detail you can provide and the more you are clear about the process the better really so that you avoid misunderstandings later on in the journey or even on the day.  

Payment Terms
You have to be really upfront about the total costs of your services. Be clear on deposits  and instalment plans and outstanding balances and dates they are due. Be sure to add dates for all payment instalments including the amount required for confirmation of the booking and due dates for all other subsequent payments leading up to the wedding.   You need to also make it as easy as possible for them to make the payment so include the payment details at each step of the way. I have never really had the need to charge any penalties for late payments so I think I’ve been really lucky and all my brides have paid on time.  But you may wish to include a clause on late payment penalties - especially the last and final payment before the event. I usually make sure this is all communicated at the beginning and I put reminders in my calendar and by doing this I make sure that I collect all my payments 1 calendar month before the event. This way I know you can focus on the event rather than chasing money.

Substitutions and Variation of Services
Moving on lets talk about substitutions and variations of services after the contract has been signed.  Have a clear and defined process for making changes because ultimately fewer arrangements can lead you with a lower revenue figure and more arrangements could mean making sure you get extra help and could impact logistics and timings too which can affect costs considerably. I normally meet with my clients 6 weeks prior to their event so that we can go over their final event details, numbers, colours, possible flower substitutions, and this gives me a chance to upsell any of the other services that I can to help increase order value.  All this should be confirmed in writing so that you manage expectations and share consequences and there are no surprises on the day.

Cancellation Policy
Next you need to get across your cancellation and refund policy. This includes cancellations by you or the client. When the client signs the initial contract they need to know about how by them cancelling the flowers and event can impact your ability to secure alternative bookings. Be sure you have timeframes for cancelling. In my contract I have a tiered structure for cancellations where they get back a certain percentage of the total value after certain time frames.  So the closer they are to their wedding date the less they get back because it’ll be harder for me to secure a new client booking.  

Liability and Force Majeure
The Covid-19 pandemic was a lesson for a lot of entrepreneurs when they realised they didn’t have the force majeure clause in their contracts.  Force majeure is a clause that excuses your performance inn certain and specific unforeseen circumstances beyond their control making the performance impossible (like covid 19 when the world was in lockdown). Some other circumstances can include natural disasters, wars, strikes and of course pandemics. Make sure these are specifically  stated in your contract. Don’t just assume they will be included because you’ll find yourself stuck if legal issues arise later. Your clause may also include provisions for rescheduling or adjusting services especially in cases like pandemics.  Make sure you understand the laws and regulations in your country and a local legal professional can provide guidance tailored to your country if needed. Clear, well-drafted contracts and open communication have been key in finding mutually acceptable solutions during these challenging time

That's a wrap and I hope you found these insights helpful in cultivating contracts that ensure both you and your clients enjoy a beautiful and stress-free experience and you can avoid any bridezilla moments.   If you've enjoyed listening to my podcast please show me the love and give me a review on i-tunes and take a photo of this podcast and post it on your stories tagging me in and I'll be sure to share some love back. If you think this podcast will help your biz bestie then be sure to share it with them.  

There are various ways you can work with me.   I have free resources to help you in your business - I have a guide to creating proposals and the ultimate social media kit with a social media calendar, florist specific hashtags and strategies to grow your audience.  I have various digital templates and resources that you can use in your business and these are available for instant download in the Etsy Store  

I have a free training on how I went from handties to installations and grew my wedding flower business to a 6 figure profitable business.  The links are in the show notes if you want to take a look.  

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 care.  

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Hey there Wedding Florist

I'm Sarita B 

I'm the founder of Wedding Florist Academy. After qualifying in City and Guilds level 2 in 2014, I started my wedding flower business and learned how to sale my designs from hand ties to installations and grew a 6 figure business. I now enjoy helping other florists do exactly the same thing.