As my team and I head into our 15th(!) wedding and event season, I find even more than amassing a robust collection of beautiful portfolio images it’s critical to share as much as possible about what makes our process so unique and valuable to our clients. This sharing also highlights what makes us valuable to industry colleagues so that like-minded vendors who honor the same professional integrity, creative collaboration, and vision can build relationships with us that lead to professional and personal fulfillment.
In 2019 when I made the difficult but timely decision to pivot from a full service planning and design company to one that strictly focuses on design and floral services, I knew there would be a transitional period where my services, processes, the way I talk to clients and vendors, and the way I market myself changed. Reinventing myself and my business model while keeping what I knew and loved at the core of the business was a process that required a lot of strategy and sacrifice.
Yet over the last five years as I’ve experienced an evolutionary process of expected lows, there have also been many many exceptional milestones that I hold near and dear. I’m thrilled that heading into 2025 I’m in a place where I can lead my team confidently and clearly to exceed clients expectations, create ideas that feel true to me but also fresh to clients, and where I’ve aligned with other colleagues – namely wedding planners, venue owners, and photographers – who are trustworthy, kind, and willing to put the strength of the team and commitment to the client above all else.
The work me and my team does gives me great purpose and fulfillment and that’s a really big blessing.
Now on the topic of mockups!
Very early in my career I started to offer clients tablescape mockups as a way to both showcase cumulative ideas ahead of their event but also to ensure I was prepared for every part of the execution and final presentation. While there have been a handful of professionals who’ve pushed back against the concept of a rendering – ‘I could NEVER!’ – and whether it’s due to costs involved or the idea that nuanced specifics should remain a visual surprise until the event itself, I remain firm that this part of the RBC process is pivotal to our design work, commitment to clients, and ensuring everyone involved is more than satisfied, eager, excited, and prepared.
May I share a few reasons I’m a proponent of mockups and remain so this many years into business?
• Mockups help me quote my clients more efficiently, especially as a floral designer.
While some florists and designers are very experienced at knowing what to order based on each event’s needs or are executing events so frequently they have a copy-and-paste type approach to their process, I find with the scale of events we take on and the ideas we propose that are often new-to-us and unique to each client, mockups help to maximize profit and ensure I’m not over or under purchasing product. Creating a centerpiece to illustrate a design to a client allows me to better determine my recipe and ensure I purchase just what I need for the wedding plus a little extra for padding. This helps me structure pricing in a way that is calculated and fair for both parties versus a way of pricing that feels like a guessing game or worse, like it’s a nod to my ego or perceived experience as an established business owner. I can always justify our costs and where our pricing comes from if a client needs a better breakdown, and mockups specifically help with this.
• Mockups help ensure I am meeting a client’s expectations in the most nuanced of ways.
With our full service design clients we are very involved in the selection of the aesthetics for the event but also the logistics that drive these elements, which means there are hundreds of details being proposed from our end to the client’s for consideration. While many can come across as straightforward (e.g. ‘an 8 foot table’ which is easy to picture or even measure out), some require a bit more of a description and even, in-person presentation to make sure everyone involved is on the same page (e.g. ‘a garden compote created with blush floral varieties in a gold compote vessel’; What shade of blush? What size of container? Is it footed or flat bottom? Are we talking a brass, brush, or mercury glass gold? What floral varieties are being used and how will these selections impact the shape and feel of the arrangement? What is the ratio of foliage to flowers?).
I liken this school of thought and preparedness to why gown shops offer alterations, caterers and bakers hold tastings, and stationers send virtual proofs and often, physical samples for a client to hold in their hands. Our goal as designers and providers is to ensure we are delivering what our client will love in order to meet their expectations, and if we can do everything possible in advance to ensure we meet expectations, then we’re going to do just that. And yes, this is especially true when working with a perishable product like flowers that are 100% of the time dictated by the wonders of nature!
• Mockups allow ample time for me, my clients, and other involved parties to troubleshoot details ahead of the event.
This reason is probably the biggest motivator behind tablescape mockups being a crucial part of my process. Mockups help me to work collaboratively with my clients and their team of vendors to troubleshoot potential problems before they can unfold on the day of. Even this many years in, I find that every mockup allows me to catch something, even if small, that I’m relieved to have noticed with enough time to correct.
A few examples of some things that could come up at a mockup helping you to avoid disaster on the big day? A new vase you’re hoping to use for a wedding requires a liner because the material seeps water. Or the container is MUCH bigger than anticipated and you need to rework your stem counts. Or a linen you’re dying to incorporate which looks beautiful online needs an underlay so the table underneath doesn’t show. Or perhaps the centerpieces you’re creating are actually too big for your tables given that your client is having a family-style dinner. A mockup in this circumstance would allow you to see if there is adequate room for platters of food on the tables or if you’ll need to consider a different table size or arrangement altogether.
I could likely build a list of dozens if not hundreds of ways the mockups I have executed have helped me deliver a better more polished product on the day of a wedding but you’ll have to take my word for it. Being a proactive professional instead of a reactive one is always a fool-proof way to leave clients satisfied.
As my pricing has changed over the last 14 years and we’ve established minimums for both our local and destination contracts, I’ve learned to incorporate the average cost of a full design mockup into the investment these full design clients make with our company. This helps eliminate a nickel-and-dime feel, which is what usually happens when a separate invoice is prepared solely for the mockup cost of goods (although we will satisfy this stand-alone mockup request for our floral only clients should this be their wish).
Including mockup costs in our services fee also helps solidify RBC as a high end, all inclusive boutique business with a clear vision of professional values, an excitement for the work we do, and a desire to really execute care for the people we work with. I WANT my clients to have the luxury of a mockup experience and the priceless peace of mind knowing what they can expect on the big day.
Since the cost of a mockup can add up very quickly when you consider the cost of the goods, plus the time and effort required for conception and execution, I’m happy to share a few of the things I’ve learned along the way that have maximized my efforts, reduced waste, and allowed me to be a smarter businesswoman.
01. If I can swing it, I love to schedule a mockup around another similarly designed event so I can order product more strategically or around a milestone where I can utilize the flowers, linens, candles or even the rentals a second time. Hosting a dinner party? Reuse the candles that were only lit for 45 minutes at the mockup. Did new neighbors just move into your neighborhood? Repurpose your mockup centerpieces into a welcome arrangement for the newbies.
Additionally, in the past I’ve had mockups where I’ve had to order more florals than needed for the tablescape so I’ve used the leftover blooms to make a bouquet for my bride or an arrangement she can bring home with her as a surprise that goes my efforts to go above and beyond. Or I’ve scheduled mock ups around a holiday and offered pop up shop arrangements using the flowers I would otherwise toss. If you think creatively about your mock ups you can make them worthwhile.
02. Communicate the benefits of a mockup to the other visual vendors playing a part in the wedding and invite them to join you. Chances are they will be willing to be involved in some capacity either at cost or for a discounted rate. When I can’t host a mockup in my garage studio I instead bring everything to the rental company hired for the event, where I am graciously offered space in their showroom and complimentary access to the rentals for the mockup. This gives me a chance to show my clients everything to scale but also allows them a chance to see different rental options should they feel indecisive about their choices. Many times I myself have used the time at a mockup to play around with charger patterns, linens, or different chair options and the final outcome has changed drastically from where my clients and I started design-wise!
03. Consider having your mockups professionally photographed. The blogger and pre 2010’s businesswoman in me wants to really undo the urge to turn every part of business into content but this is a smart and strategic move I still make whenever possible. Professional images allow you and your client to see how your designs will look from the eyes of a photographer who often capture things differently than you can on your iPhone. It also allows the photographer to get a feel for the wedding ahead of time and to think strategically about how they might approach photography differently. Finally, the professional pictures from any mockup are an awesome way to share your capabilities on social media, network intentionally with vendors, and add to your portfolio.
A special thank you to The Fourniers who captured an intensive mockup we executed last spring for our first 2025 wedding coming up in a few short months. Together over the last few wedding seasons, Lindsay of Paper Hat Weddings and myself have had a very fulfilling time building a professional relationship (and inevitable friendship!) as we’ve worked in tandem together serving our clients in the unique ways we do. We cannot wait to get back to Black River Barn this year and bring in unexpected elements and ideas! We’re so grateful the BRB team allows us the space and time to make this mockups possible in their space.