We like to think of flowers as the icing on the cake at a wedding, that last extra layer making everything a little more special.

So, there's a lot to bear in mind when it comes to choosing the right florist, and to help you get there, we've put together a list of questions you can ask to make sure your big day has the flowers it deserves.

Which flowers will be in season for my wedding?

You’ll want to think about which flowers will be available for your date. If you’re having a spring wedding, consider cherry blossoms, peonies and dahlias. For summer, lilac, hydrangeas and chrysanthemums are a great choice. And for an autumn wedding, consider amaranthus, orchids or chinaberry to create a beautiful fall colour palette. An experienced florist can guide you on seasonal flower choices and help expand on your ideas.

If your preferred blooms aren’t in season for your wedding date, ask your florist about substitutes that could achieve the same style. For example, roses are often used if peonies aren’t available, and hydrangeas if it’s not the time of year for sweet peas.

What type of arrangements do you provide?

If you haven’t organised a wedding before, you’ll probably be taken aback by just how many options there are for arrangements. When it comes to the bouquet alone, you’ve got hand-tied, crescent, single stem, pomander, composite and many, many more options, and that’s before you even think about the set-piece arrangements. Ask your florist to take you through the options and then make sure they’re able to provide the options that appeal to you the most.

Can you work with my colour scheme?

If you want to have a colour scheme for your wedding, we’d recommend choosing it before engaging a florist as this will help steer their flower suggestions to you.

What lighting do you recommend?

The lighting of a room can drastically alter the look and feel of flowers, so your florist should be able to advise what will work for your venue. A fun trend combining flowers and lighting is to wrap fairy lights around your bouquet to make it look even more spectacular when it’s thrown!

You can send images of your venue to a potential florist via the Feast It platform to give them ideas of what they’re working with.

Have you worked at my venue before?

It’s a nice advantage, but not essential, if your florist has worked with your venue before. Ask if they have, as this will make it easier for them to work out the logistics and create a vision for the event, but if they haven’t we’d recommend introducing them to either the venue owner or someone who knows it very well. This is by no means essential and we’d recommend choosing the perfect florist for you over experience with a venue, but it’s a nice bonus.

Which flowers will best suit me?

The flowers you choose are an expression of who you are as a person and you want to make sure that you’re representing all that’s great about you in your floral choices. Explain to your florists who you are as a person, what motivates you, what you like to do in your spare time, what brought you and your partner together, and they can recommend the flowers that might suit you as a person.

Are the flowers organic and pesticide-free?

If you’re working with a Feast It approved supplier it’s highly likely this will be the case, but you might want to make sure that your flowers are pesticide-free.

What happens to the flowers after the wedding?

It would be a shame to waste beautiful flowers so you might want to ask your florist what their plans are for them after the event. Many couples look into getting the flowers rearranged for the morning after, and some give them out to guests as they’re leaving the wedding.