Elegance with Attitude: 10 Questions with Angela Hines

Florist - Angela Hines

Business: Elegance with Attitude
Location: North Richland Hills, Texas TX
Experience: 12 Years
Profile: Elegance with Attitude
Website: elegancewithattitude.com

1. Introduction: What's your story?

I'm Angie Hines owner and lead designer at Elegance with Attitude. I have always loved working with flowers from roses to wild flowers and creating anything floral (both real and silk), but my true passion for flowers started when my own daughter got married 12 years ago at the beautiful Robert Carr Chapel at TCU.

We had invited 300 people and when we started pricing flowers, we were amazed (and a little terrified) at the costs. I had a crazy 'Mother of the bride' idea - i would do all of the flowers! Thankfully, my talented mom and a sweet friend both volunteered to help. The week of the wedding was full of beautiful chaos, with buckets of flowers everywhere and bridesmaids coming in and out for a lingerie shower that needed to be changed to our home at the last minute. It was a crazy time but full of happy memories and laughter. We received so many compliments on the wedding flowers and decor that soon friends, family, TCU students and schools were calling me to see if I would consider doing their wedding flowers, event or prom……and Elegance With Attitude was born.

2. What's your experience as a wedding florist business? How many weddings are in there in your portfolio?

We typically do 45-55 weddings per year (for the past 10 years) and only take 1 wedding/event per date so we can give each client our undivided attention.

I have a business/marketing degree but for the past 10 years have concentrated on enhancing my knowledge of floral design, local flowers and color blocking. Each year new styles and fads appear but the classic elegant and fun contemporary styles are still some of our favorites and most popular.

3. How far in advance do couples need to secure your services?

Many of our couples book 6-9 months ahead of their big day. This is highly recommended as we usually only take 1 wedding/event per date. We do occasionally have couples call that had a florist cancel or some unforeseen problem arise, and we will do our best to accommodate them, if possible.

Most couples have their venue when they come to us, but it is not necessary to begin your search for the perfect florist. We recommend you talk to several florists and choose the one you are most comfortable with - this is a big decision and one you have dreamed about for a long time. You deserve to have the perfect floral partner for your big day!

4. How do you price your floral arrangements? What are the different packages that you offer and which one is your most popular package?

We work with each client to design a package that best meets their needs and budget. Each package is custom and based on their overall vision. As we get to know each client, we can best determine the types of flowers they prefer, the size of arrangements and styles they are leaning towards and then help determine if these are in their budget or offer new suggestions and ideas that will have the same overall beautiful look they've envisioned but be a little easier on the budget.

We are unique to most other DFW florists in two ways -our minimum to deliver is lower -$2000.00 (with most of our weddings in the $3,500-$5,500 range). And, we also offer a pickup option with a minimum order of $1,250.00, With these crazy times, many people are on tight budgets and we understand this, so we give our couples the option to pickup their order the day before. Everything is beautifully packaged and ready to travel - bouquets are in vases with water, bouts/corsages etc are boxed and fit easily in any refrigerator.

We also offer a free toss bouquet with all bridal packages and if table arrangements are in your package, we include a free low bridal table floral to enhance your table.

5. How many meetings will you have with the couple, and how will they be involved?

We offer free 'in person' consults that usually last 1-1.5 hours, where we discuss color palettes, flower types, bouquet shapes, table arrangements, etc. We encourage brides to start a pinterest and/or bring any pictures that reflect their dream wedding. This gives us an idea of their overall vision and helps us add details and suggestions to take it to the next level.

We also offer free telephone consults for those with hectic schedules or feel more comfortable meeting this way. We will go over the same details and send examples via email or text so they can make the best decision for their vision and budget.

After this initial meeting, we will send a detailed proposal with each item we discussed. Many times, we will show them several options that will work with their budget. Once a proposal is chosen, all the contracting paperwork is sent to book with us. Once booked, clients are welcome to reach out to us any time to make changes, additions, etc. About 30 days prior to wedding, we will reach out to client to go over everything for the wedding and the last payment is due at this time. This allows us to order the flowers and get everything ready for the big day!

6. Who else is in your team and how many people on your staff will be at the wedding?

Elegance with Attitude is a family owned business and we all love what we do. I'm blessed to have my mom, sister, daughter and daughter-in-law as part of my team.

Because we only take 1 wedding per date, i handle everything from start to finish 99% of the time. In the event, i am sick or unavailable to deliver/set the day of the wedding - you will be in good hands with one of my trusty team members. They are all talented and knowledgeable and love working with bridal couples and their families.

7. How would you describe your design style? (e.g. traditional, modern, rustic, organic)

We love so many styles but i would say our design style is elegant classic with a contemporary flair. We love it when brides want to try something new or have a different color palette than the normal wedding colors.

We try to make each wedding unique but always stay with a classy elegant look. It's fun to add fruit like lemons or limes to a summer wedding, grapes to a vineyard wedding and veggies (like artichokes & colorful peppers) to fall weddings. Adding things from nature will help keep your wedding timeless and still look unique but beautiful in years to come.

8. Who will handle setup and delivery? What other services do you offer?

Since we only do 1 wedding/event per date, i am usually the lead designer and point person for delivery and set up. Most weddings require 2-3 people for delivery and set up and for most large weddings, we plan 1-2 hours for set up and delivery. Smaller weddings require less time (usually).

We do offer breakdown after the wedding - this is always shown at the bottom of the proposal. We have found that some families want to handle the breakdown themselves since there is always so many family members and friends available to help after the event. This is a great way to save on the overall budget, we just ask that all rental items be returned no later than the Wednesday, the following week, if we are not breaking down after the event.

9. What happens to the flowers after the wedding?

All of our flowers are made to be taken home after the wedding. All of the bouquets are made in vases to be repurposed on tables in the reception and then taken home, as well as many of the table arrangements.

A new trend is to have a family brunch the next day with all the in town family/friends. The wedding florals are a great way to add a special touch to these events. And many times we make low reception table arrangements in vases that can be given away to guests as they are leaving.

If the families do not want the florals - we love to take them to a local memory care facility. Fresh florals always bring a smile to people's faces.

10. What is your cancellation and/or refund policy?

Elegance with Attitude requires a $350.00 deposit fee that is non-refundable at the time of booking. This amount is applied to your total floral costs. We work with each client and provide several different payment options from 2-4 payments with the last payment due 30 days prior to event. This is all spelled out on the contract with installment dates.

All money is refundable (less the $350.00 deposit) up until 45 days prior to wedding. After this time all money received is non-refundable as we only book 1 wedding per date. However, there is a COVID clause in the contract where we will work with you, if you have to reschedule. This is all broken down in the contracting and we work with all of our clients.