One of the most important elements of any wedding is the flowers — from the bouquets to the boutonnieres to the centerpieces at the reception. Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, which means it probably will be the only time you’ll ever need to purchase flowers on this type of scale. That makes working with your chosen wedding florist extremely important. You’ll need to obtain a lot of information before deciding which florist can help make your wedding day memorable and stress-free.

There’s far more to choosing a successful florist for your wedding than finding the most affordable option (or the most expensive, for that matter). You need to be confident that the florist you choose for your special day will be able to deliver exactly what you want, and do so without adding any unwanted surprises that would distract from the wedding. Your wedding is a momentous day, and it’s too important to leave anything to chance. When you walk down that aisle, the last thing on your mind should be mentally preparing for an argument with your florist over why the bouquets are so small.

Hiring a florist for your wedding should be handled with care, and you shouldn’t leave it until the last minute. Like all other elements of a wedding, proper planning and cooperation with your vendors is essential to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible. That means you need to come prepared when you start looking at potential florists.

Besides the obvious questions about what they can provide and how much it will cost, you need to ask your potential florists a lot of other questions before you can determine which one is right for you. Often, a simple question such as, “Have you done many weddings before?” will help you make a determination about a florist right away, before you get bogged down in negotiations. Although there are plenty of florists out there with extensive portfolios of wedding arrangements, there are others who don’t have as much experience. You have to ask yourself whether you’re comfortable trusting your wedding day experience to someone who only does a handful of weddings each year. On the other hand, you also need to ask experienced florists how many other events they’ll be handling on the same day as your wedding. You might not want to be the third or fourth event on the docket for that florist — no matter how much wedding experience he or she has.

In addition, there are other concerns, such as which types of flowers will be in season, and who handles setup and breakdown, that should factor into your decision. The accompanying checklist has many of the most important questions you should ask your prospective wedding florists, including some you might not have thought to ask. Review this list before you meet with florists and you’ll be sure to leave nothing to chance.