I think it’s interesting when florists reveal what’s in their toolbox. When working with fragile, perishable things on a time crunch in sometimes brutal weather, things MAY go wrong. But thankfully, with flowers, there is always a way to make it work. With my 5 1/2 years of wedding experience, I’ve built an arsenal of tools to resolve potential, floral snafus. Here they are:

For peace of mind…
1. floral pins, tape, glue and corsage bands - to repair corsages or boutonnieres looking less than perfect
2. water pitcher - to refill vases (flowers drink a lot of water, especially during the summer or sometimes there are spillage)
3. extra ribbon in the wedding colors - to rope off the aisle so guests don’t stomp on any aisle decor
4. ribbon scissors
5. extra vases
6. extra flowers/greenery - A few may wilt or get damaged during transport, so it’s nice to have extras to patch things up
7. floral knife
8. floral shears
9. bobby pins
10. safety pin
11. lighters for candles

If we’re doing large-scale floral work (like ceremony arch, floating installations, aisle runner decor, etc.)…
1. wire cutter
2. cable ties (assorted sizes)
3. rubberbands
4. water tubes
5. chicken wire
6. ladder
7. twine
8. fishing line
9. bindwire (Oasis)
10. adhesive dashes (Oasis)
11. gaffer’s tape
12. tarp with drawstring
13. pop-up reusable trash can - for floral waste to be composted

To clean up after ourselves
1. dish towels
2. glass cleaner
3. small trash bags
4. broom and dustpan
5. mini lint roller - to quickly pick up any flower bits that fall off the centerpieces onto the linens

Other
1. bottled water/snacks - no one needs to see me hangry!
2. mini first-aid kit with gauze, antiseptic towelettes, burn cream, ibuprofen, band-aids, sting relief
3. toothpicks - this is what I use to insert flowers into the cake (I avoid sticking stems into the cake)
4. pen
5. camera
6. business cards - sometimes, a guest or another vendor ask for one to connect in the future

Let us know if you have other tools that would be helpful on wedding days!