If you get to attend events with your parents or your older siblings like birthdays or wedding anniversary parties, you might notice that staging a successful one involves a variety of elements. Not many of you may notice, but a principal part of these events are floral arrangements, especially when it’s a debutante’s party, an engagement party, or a wedding.

To create intricate floral arrangements that compliment the occasion or in line with the theme takes a great amount of art and expertise. If you are thinking of a career as a floral designer, read on for essential information that can help you get on the on the track.

Floral Designers – What You Need to Know

Floral designers or florists as most people refer to them are responsible for doing flower arrangements, performing tasks that include cutting live, dried, and silk flowers and greenery. Most people think that floral designers only work in flower shops and are therefore occupied only when there are national holidays or special occasions. However, floral designers are mostly busy throughout the year as they also work hand in hand with event managers or event management companies for a wide variety of large-scale functions.

For these events, they conceptualize the floral designs according to the client’s needs, timelines, and budgets. They must ensure that their floral displays meet the style or sentiment of their clients. In most cases of weddings and engagement parties, the clients themselves already have the types of floral displays in mind so there is no need for floral designers to envision a design, unless requested.

However, bringing to life what the clients have visualized is for sure a challenging task. It is therefore a must for the floral designers to ensure it’s realized. To do this, they will often have to scout for the flowers themselves and it can prove to be difficult if the flowers requested are native to a particular area or region. For example, suppose a bride requests a Toronto-based floral designer Red Columbine to be part of an intricate centrepiece for their reception venue. It is now up to the floral designers to contact growers or suppliers where this flower is available (British Columbia) and make the shipping arrangements. They also have to purchase the necessary embellishments.

Salary

According to PayScale.com, florists can earn as much as $24,106 -$40,435 a year. In some cases, they are also entitled to bonuses.

Skills

To be a floral designer, you have to have a high school diploma or equivalent and learn the specifics through private floral schools, vocational schools, and community colleges. You can also expand your skills and knowledge in different aspects of the business.

Completing a degree in Fine Arts can enhance your sense of aesthetics and design, while a degree in Botany can arm you with knowledge related to ensuring the proper growth of flowers and plants. If you are looking into owning your own floral shops or being a self-employed florist, you can complete a degree in business which can help provide you with marketing and management skills.

Pros and Cons

The biggest advantage of being a floral designer is being one of the main contributors to staging successful events or functions. You get to meet with different types of clients and you can always look forward to something different everyday. Even when you are working solely at a floral shop, every customer has their own needs and requests, so there is a promise of excitement at every new task.

For some, it can be incredibly tedious to meet with various types of clients all the time. As they have varying needs, when it comes to challenges and demands, they have varying degrees as well. It will be up to you then to ensure you remain committed to meeting their requests and ensuring that your floral designs meet their expectations.

SOURCES:

http://www.npsbc.ca/photogallery9.html

https://www.truity.com/career-profile/floral-designer

https://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Floral_Designer/Hourly_Rate