It used to scare me to talk through our wedding terms and conditions with our clients. I thought our clients would see right through me and call me out for not having a clue about what I was talking about.
I was afraid of getting called out. Of being told we were doing it wrong.
Cause the truth is, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I didn’t have a clue why wedding terms and conditions mattered or how to structure a florist wedding contract template.
That is until I had my first client cancel their event. This was back in 2018. On an otherwise-uneventful Thursday afternoon in September. We received the heartbreaking update that the couple were not going through with the wedding. The event was being called off.
I still think back to the day, talking to the bride’s mother. She called just to let us know Stephanie and Tom had decided to call off the wedding.
She was in tears. The bride's mother could barely get words out. It was had to console her. I didn’t quite know what to tell her so I said, “I’ll send you an email so you have the formal confirmation from us.”
Of course, I was heartbroken. Yes, my heart goes out to the couple, to the family navigating this experience. I don’t want any human to have to navigate this experience.
But I also know, as a business owner, I have an obligation to do right by my business. That’s part of what we are required to do when we start a business.
Being a Human vs Being a Business Owner
It’s the ultimate tug of war: the experience of being a caring human and the experience of being a flower boss. Sometimes, the two things don’t perfectly align.
As a human, I was heartbroken. As a flower boss, I knew I had to say the uncomfortable thing.
Emotionally, I find these situations very challenging. I care a lot about my business and I care a lot about our clients. I don’t want to go through these experiences. It has to be sunshine, rainbows and lollipops for me. All. The. Time.
Here’s the most amazing thing about being a business owner: you are the authority. The biggest downside of being a business owner? You are the authority.
As a flower boss, we have to make hard calls, unpopular decisions and do the best thing for our business. Many times, that might mean saying the unpopular, uncomfortable thing.
In this case, I was heartbroken for our clients. And I advised the family in writing, the 25% payment made is non-refundable (as per the wedding contract terms and conditions they signed).
It’s not about having to decide between one thing or the other. We can feel sad AND stand our ground.
And, in my experience, this is where the real value of florist wedding contract terms and conditions come into play.
Mapping out a formal set of booking terms and conditions for your clients requires you, as the flower boss, to think ahead, to decide now what you’re going to do if the wedding gets called off, postponed or rescheduled.
Do that in the cool calm light of day and then when shit hits the fan, you already have a plan to follow. And then, all you need to do is follow the plan.
Florist Wedding Contract Terms and Conditions - The Basics
Why create florist wedding contracts? There are three main reasons to have clear wedding terms and conditions in place:
- To get clear on what your plan is when things don’t go to plan
- It helps protect your business
- It also protects your clients
Yep. You read that right: your florist terms and conditions are of value to your business and to your clients.
Technically the word “contract” comes from the Latin contractus, meaning ‘drawn together’. As in, ‘two things tied together’.
Your florist wedding contracts aren’t created as a defence mechanism.
Booking terms and conditions aren’t something we need to use to intimidate or bully our clients. It’s not about threatening a lawsuit and being aggressive.
In fact, in my experience, I found the exact opposite to be true: walking our clients through our booking terms and conditions is an amazing opportunity to demonstrate our professionalism and care. To educate our clients and show them how methodical we are in our approach.
It shows your clients you’re looking out for their interests and demonstrates that your business has a plan in place should things not go to plan.
As a result, your clients walk away feeling reassured, cared for and know they can trust you.
An added bonus, when you take the time to walk your clients through your wedding florist booking terms and conditions, the trust factor increases. Better yet, this increased trust leads to more creative freedom on the day.
This is the most surprising outcome of having a set of terms and conditions: when you take the time to talk your clients through your wedding terms and conditions, they trust you. That increased trust leads to more creative freedom. What an amazing outcome for all involved!
Florist Wedding Contract Template - Start Here
I know exactly how overwhelming and intimidating the world of booking terms and conditions can feel.
We’re here to help. We’ve created a set of booking terms and conditions for you to follow. For FREE.
Yep. Our wedding florist contract template is inside our Big Ass Folder of Free Shiz #ForFlorists.
👉 CLICK HERE TO GRAB YOUR FREE FLORIST WEDDING CONTRACT TEMPLATE
Use these florist wedding contract terms and conditions as your foundation. Be sure to engage a contract lawyer who knows the laws in your state.
Hire a professional contract lawyer to help you formalise your agreement and account for the laws in your area. They will help you navigate the ins and outs of the details.
I know the idea of talking to a contract lawyer feels scary. But I promise it’s nowhere near as intimidating an experience as you think. And it’s nowhere near as expensive as you’re imagining (particularly if you start off with this free template – click here to grab it).
Focus On The Future
If you don’t have a formal set of terms and conditions in place, you’re not alone. Don’t waste a minute beating yourself up or wishing you could turn back the clock.
As Maya Angelou once said, “When you know better, you do better.” This is precisely how I think about wedding florist contracts.
All that matters is that you know you can adjust your approach today. Stop stressing about what you did (or didn’t do) yesterday and get to work on making things better.
Today is a great day to get yourself sorted.
Jump in and grab our free wedding event booking terms and conditions (click here) and get to work on implementing them in your business.
Your future self will be so grateful that you did the uncomfortable, boring thing today.
Do you struggle to show up with confidence in your flower business? Check out my Flower Boss Bootcamp – it’s the only program available to floral designers focused entirely on the business of flowers. Click here to learn more.
Want More Help?
Want more guidance when it comes to florist terms and conditions? I recorded a podcast episode all about it – jump in and listen to it today.
