Designing the Perfect Dinner Party

If you want to become a professional floral designer, you need to prepare for possible projects beyond weddings and special events. Many people seek the assistance of local floral designers for smaller projects as well, like creating unique table setting décor for a dinner party. Getting started, here are some crucial things you should ask a client who’s looking for your help with a project like that:

• What is the date and time of this event?
• Where will it be held? – If possible, you might want to make a visit to the place where the party will be held. If it’s in a client’s home for example, getting a good look at the paint color on the walls, dining room furniture, dinnerware, etc. could serve as some really helpful inspiration moving forward with your design proposals.
• How many guests will be there?
• Are there any additional areas you could design? This is also something you could suggest in your aforementioned visit. If there will be a bar cart, for example, on which guests are able to prepare their own cocktails, you might consider adding some floral décor in that space to match the table setting as well.
• What looks do you love? Consider asking a client to check out some magazines or blogs, and have him or her show you a few pictures of looks he or she is generally drawn to. This will give you a basic understanding of their taste as you develop a corresponding look you can be confident they’ll be happy with.

If possible, you could save these questions as a brief questionnaire to email potential clients as a pre-consultation formality. This will not only get you the information you need to start brainstorming, it will help keep you organized with an e-paper trail of your clients’ info.

Want to learn more? The New York Institute of Art and Design offers an online floral design course that can teach you how to become a floral designer. Request your free course catalog today!