Here’s some news that won’t surprise you — weddings are expensive. And wedding flowers can eat a big chunk of your budget. Here at Joy, we do everything we can to help you find ways to cut costs (hence the fact that a Joy wedding website and app is 100% free). So when we discovered Bloomerent, the online service that lets you share your wedding floral arrangements with other couples, we knew right away that this was something we had to share with our users and readers. So we sat down with Bloomerent’s founders, Julia Capalino & Danit Zamir, to learn more about this amazing way to save money on wedding flowers and help make a green wedding in one simple step.
Photo credit: Bloomerent
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR BLOOMERENT?
Danit: I was planning my wedding in 2014 and couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of spending thousands of dollars on flowers that would be thrown out in a few hours. I searched for alternative options that would allow me to still have fresh flowers, still work with a great florist, but save some money and reduce the waste factor and nothing that hit all those points existed. It was when I saw my flowers being thrown out after my wedding, 5 hours later, that I decided to start Bloomerent.
Julia: I met Danit about two years before I began consulting for Bloomerent. Danit has experience in sales, and handles all of our florist relationships, and I have experience in marketing and growing audiences, so the decision to work together was very easy.
WHERE IS BLOOMERENT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE?
As of October 2016 we serve couples in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Colorado (Denver/Colorado Springs), Southern California (Los Angeles / Orange County), Dallas, Texas and Madison, Wisconsin.
However, we are always adding new florists in new and existing areas, so we are adding new areas all the time! We’re launching in areas like Chicago, San Francisco/Napa and Florida, to name a few, in the very near future.
Photo credit: Bloomerent
HOW DO YOU SELECT FLORISTS TO PARTNER WITH?
We look for florists we want to partner with in the same way we would personally find a florist we would want to work with for our own events. We don’t work with any and every florist we meet on purpose — we want to be very thoughtful about who we choose. We look at things like reviews, websites, past work, customer service and communication, social media, etc. We’re lucky we get to work with so many amazing florists who are just as excited about Bloomerent as we are.
DESCRIBE THE PRICING STRUCTURE FOR BLOOMERENT.
The best part about Bloomerent is that are pricing is flexible so we can work with almost any budget. Like with any other wedding florals business, prices depend on the types of wedding flowers you want, the number of arrangements, what kinds of arrangements (in the world of wedding flowers, centerpieces usually cost more than boutonnieres, for example), and other details. When our system finds a match for two events, both parties save money, but the exact cost is dependent on the spend for each event.
Bloomerent benefits everybody because customers get to save some money without sacrificing quality on their flowers and florists gain new business and reduce floral waste. Both parties get to make their wedding more eco-friendly – it’s truly a situation where everybody wins and we feel really good about that.
Photo credit: Bloomerent
IS BLOOMERENT JUST FOR WEDDINGS?
Most people use Bloomerent for wedding florals, but you can share floral arrangements amongst any event.
WHO IS THE IDEAL BLOOMERENT COUPLE?
The ideal Bloomerent couple is anyone who wants to have flowers for their event and wants to save money and/or have a greener wedding. We don’t disrupt the process for choosing flowers, we enhance it by allowing our couples to easily find and work with the best florists in the business while also saving money and reducing waste – just for sharing.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT WEDDINGS? WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO FOCUS ON WEDDING IN PARTICULAR?
Julia: I love how weddings are a reflection of the couple. You can really see what’s important to the bride and groom by what they focus on during their wedding.
Danit: I started Bloomerent because of my own wedding experience, so it was an easy decision to focus on weddings first. Your wedding is the only time you can have all of your loved ones in one room and it’s all about celebrating the love between you and your significant other. There’s no greater feeling.
Photo credit: Bloomerent
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING OR UNIQUE WEDDING FLORALS YOU’VE SEEN AT A BLOOMERENT WEDDING?
We’ve seen some truly unique centerpieces but the majority of our couples are looking for similar styles – one of the many things that makes our business work. We see a lot of couples choosing cream and blush centerpieces or white blooms with lush greenery and even more looking to opt into similar styles. Low, rustic centerpieces are trending right now and we’re seeing a lot of those, too, which we love.
DO YOU HAVE OTHER MONEY-SAVING TIPS FOR COUPLES PLANNING WEDDINGS?
Julia: Choose two or three aspects of the wedding to focus on but also have items you’re willing to compromise on. If you’re a big foodie or you’ve always pictured an extravagant wedding dress then make sure you splurge on those items but maybe don’t have elaborate decorations or opt for a DJ instead of a band.
Danit: Consider your venue options and compare them. For example, if you marry at a venue with most things in-house, including food, you’re actually going to save yourself a lot of time and money by not having to find and pay outside vendors for things like linens, plates, menus, chairs, tables, etc. Some venues will even include things like your custom wedding cake and a custom ice sculpture for your cocktail hour. If you opt for a more unique venue where you have to bring in outside vendors for everything, it can add up fast (and involves delivery fees).
Photo credit: Bloomerent
DO YOU HAVE ADVICE ON WEDDING FLOWERS TO HELP COUPLES MAKE SURE THEY GET THE BEST WEDDING FLORALS POSSIBLE?
Choosing a florist is a very personal decision and you have to pick someone you’re confident will respect your budget and translate your vision into reality. We suggest having a few conversations, reading reviews and, if possible, speaking with a few past clients. When we onboard florists into our community, these are some of the practices we adopt to make sure the florist is a good fit for our community as well.
Our florists have been so helpful in teaching us about choosing the best wedding flowers for your big day.
One suggestion that we love is sending your florists three pictures of arrangements you love and three arrangements you don’t love.
Finally, knowing what you want to spend is key. Many customers don’t realize flowers are expensive for a good reason and therefore have an unrealistic vision given their budget. If you are extremely budget-conscious then let your florist know immediately and be open to suggestions from them. (You won’t be the first person they’ve talked to looking for wedding flowers cheap!) Using seasonal blooms is a great option if you want to keep the cost low and it’s also more sustainable.
Photo credit: Bloomerent
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE WEDDING FLOWER TRENDS RIGHT NOW?
Julia: A trend I am loving is the floral table runner as opposed to traditional centerpieces. This looks incredible with long communal tables and creates a really intimate setting.
Danit: I love the rustic look with neutral-colored flowers and a lot of greenery. Setting up low centerpieces side-by-side on a longer communal table is trending right now and it always looks stunning.
AT JOY WE BELIEVE THAT EVEN THOUGH A WEDDING LASTS A DAY, JOY SHOULD LAST FOREVER. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
Weddings last longer than the few hours of celebration (like flowers!) and you’re always looking back and reminiscing on the biggest day of your life. However, your long-term happiness doesn’t come from the wedding itself – it comes from being with each other.
Photo credit: Bloomerent
HOW DO YOU THINK AN APP LIKE JOY CAN HELP MAKE WEDDINGS BETTER?
In many ways Joy and Bloomerent are aligned in their mission. We both want to ease the process of wedding planning for couples. Joy centralizes the different aspects of planning a wedding into one place which is a huge help when it comes to planning a wedding. Bloomerent gives couples a one-stop destination to find an amazing florist, save money and go green.
IF YOU WEREN’T GROWING BLOOMERENT, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
Julia: Either event planning or building another tool to make event planning easier. It is something I really enjoy doing and I know that it can be stressful for other people so a lot of my energy is geared towards reducing stress for others.
Danit: I’d still be somewhere in the startup industry.
Photo credit: Bloomerent
Ready to save money on your wedding flowers? Visit Bloomerent.com today to get started!
