When Should You Book a Wedding Florist for a Mammoth Lakes Wedding?
This guide is written for couples planning May–October 2026 weddings in Mammoth Lakes, Convict Lake, June Lake and surrounding areas.
October wedding at Convict Lake, bridal bouquet features a Cafe Au Lait Dahlia. Photo credit Eureka Photo.
For weddings in the Mammoth Lake area, during May through October, I think that most couples benefit from booking their florist 8–12 months in advance, especially if they want locally grown flowers. In this blog post I am going to explain all the reasons I believe that the more notice the better, based on the patterns that I have seen in the past 5 years. While our farm is based in Bishop, we deliver weddings beyond Mammoth Lakes, including Convict Lake, June Lake, and most of the major destinations in the Eastern Sierra.
Timing matters more in Mammoth Lakes than other places
While many of the venues can host weddings almost any month of the year, the most popular months to wed are May through October, which happens to align perfectly with our main harvest season. However the combination of lots of weddings in a high demand location, a small window of time, and fewer local florists than other mountain towns in the country, means we often have to turn people away for the most requested weekends of the year if we’re contacted too close to the date.
Early September bridal bouquet, with a “wildflower” vibe, featuring Cosmos, Zinnia, goldenrod, feverfew, and love-in-a-puff vines. Photo credit: Desert Paintbrush
As a flower farmer and wedding florist, going into my 7th season custom growing flowers in Bishop, California, I have experienced every weather pattern from super hot and dry drought years, to really cold and wet years with record rain and snowfall. I have tracked our harvests and fine-tuned our planting schedule to provide the best flowers for each month of the wedding season. Even with my experience, passion, and skill the growing constraints we have here at elevation dictate that all of our planting happens for the most part between March and October. Ordering bulbs, and other plants such as Peonies is often done a year in advance on a farm scale. Most of our garden planning happens during winter when we have the time to schedule all of the flowers we grow, order seed, and be ready for spring. Many of our crops take more than a year to bloom from seed. All of this too say, as a flower farmer, the more notice we have the better we are able to custom grow your favorite flowers in your preferred color pallet.
Sourcing “last minute” wedding flowers looks different in Mammoth Lakes than in big cities - there is no local wholesaler, no Trader Joes, Costco, other high end grocers or even farmers markets, which we can run to for flowers. As a florist, I have tried ordering in flowers to be flown in, and I am always disappointed at how many of them arrived dead or damaged. The quality of fresh cut flowers may be intangible in the distant photos, but in real life, in memories, there is nothing quite like them, they have an magical quality to them, much like the freshest fruits you would find at a farmer’s market in Ojai.
A realistic booking timeline for spring, summer and autumn weddings featuring custom grown flowers.
12+ months out
Ideal for peak weekends, and really all of May, June and July due to the longer lead time we need to grow the flowers starting the year before.
9–12 months out
Still great options, especially for October (one of the most popular months), since we grow most of the varieties that bloom at this time in spring, we can usually order the seed in time with 9 months notice.
6–9 months out
August and September are really abundant months in the garden, and we grow many flowers during this time starting later in spring.
Under 6 months
We are able to book with less notice but may not be able to custom grow specific colors.
How flower seasonality affects booking
White bridal bouquets in July, and bridesmaids, made their own bouquets using our Craft-Your-Own package. Photo Credit: Faith Hysell
We grow more than 150 different types of flowers and foliage each year, many of those in multiple colors, yet no two weeks of harvest ever look the same. With so much variation in day and night time temperatures, day length and the needs of each variety, the selection is constantly changing. If you have your heart set on certain types of flowers, and love the idea of them being locally grown, vs flown in from the equator, then you might want to choose a wedding date when those flowers are naturally in bloom.
While there is definitely and overlap in what blooms from one month to the next, check out our Pinterest boards for each month to get a clear picture. Or get a more general idea by looking at our seasonal galleries for spring, summer, autumn and winter.
May: Bachelor’s buttons, California poppies, Peonies, bearded Iris, & Lilac
June: Roses, scabiosa, snapdragons, Larkspur, yarrow &
July: Lavender, Daisies, Phlox, Queen Anne’s lace, Sunflowers
August: Lisianthus, Celosia, Asters, Zinnias, Sunflowers
September: Dahlias, Cosmos, Zinnias, Scented Geranium, and Asters
We have designed weddings outside of these months, and while we use some of our homegrown bloom, naturally dried flowers, and evergreens, we have to order in from farms on the west coast of California for weddings November through April.
What happens when couples reach out early
You don’t need to have everything figured out to contact us during your research phase. I am always happy to talk flowers with other flower-lovers, to help you shape your dates, around your floral vision and share ideas for the various times of year and venues you are considering.
If you’re dreaming of a spring, summer or fall wedding in Mammoth Lakes, Convict Lake, or June Lake and want to understand what’s possible with seasonal, locally grown flowers, I’d love to hear from you.
Hi it’s me, Farmer Jacky, harvesting your wedding flowers at sunrise. Photo credit: Jennifer Whitney.
FAQs
Is it ever too early to contact a florist? Never!
What if I don’t have a venue yet? Not a problem, we can give you ideas for a few venues during a short call.
Can I book before choosing a date? While we won’t take a deposit without an exact date we’d love to get to know you and help you choose a date based on your favorite flowers.
