When you hire a florist for your wedding, you're not only hiring someone to deliver flowers to your venue, you are buying service as well. Florists vary widely in both the quality of the product and the quality of the service they provide.

A full service florist is one that will normally consult with you, handle the ordering of the flowers, deliver them to your venues, set them up and put them in place. Discount florists on the other hand won't do any of these things. This means you'll have to have someone else handle all of these tasks for you.

Depending on the deal you get with a discount florist, it may not make sense to go that route. The bottom line between the two is that it's a trade off between time and money. If you don't want yet another task on your wedding to do list, paying the full service florist will be well worth it. On the other hand, if your budget is tight, saving a few bucks may be of more importance to you.

Regardless of which way you decide to go, you'll want to be sure to ask these 5 critical questions and be satisfied with the answers before considering hiring a particular florist.

1. Who is actually going to be creating my arrangements?

If the person you ask this question to isn't the one who will be handling the arrangements, set up another interview and ensure that person is there. You want to talk with the actual person handling the arrangement so there are no misunderstandings.

2. Does your price include delivery and set up?

If not, find out what the cost is and be sure these charges are laid out in the contract. You don't want any surprise charges. If picking up the flowers, make sure that's spelled out as well.

3. Have you decorated my venue before?

If the florist isn't familiar with your venue, ask if they will be visiting prior to your wedding to get the lay of the land. If the answer is no, find a florist who will. You don't want arrangements that are not a good fit for your venue.

4. How long before the wedding will you deliver and set up the flowers?

Be sure they are delivered well in advance - at least by the time the photographer arrives in case you are having photos taken prior to the wedding.

5. What local flower growers do you work with?

If the florist works with a number of local producers, the chances are better that your final bill will come in on budget. This is due to the fact that locally grown flowers are far less expensive that flowers that are grown and shipped in from exotic locations.