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Did seeing the centerpiece for the other wedding make you realize that it was closer to what you envisioned? (Perhaps with a little tweaking to make it color-coordinated with your event?)
Talk to your florist, and explain that you love the work he/she has done for you so far, but when you saw the other centerpiece you realized that you hadn't given him/her a precise enough vision of what you wanted for centerpieces. List exact things you had liked about the other centerpiece and how you would like something similar. Stick to the positive.
If you want to have another sample, I'd suggest offering to pay for the materials or the whole thing, just in case, but at least you'd love the flowers for your wedding day completely. Good luck!
I agree, I think you should love your centerpieces. Did you tell him your concerns at all? I haven't gone to a florist yet, but was this a mock-up, where you can tell him what you like or don't like about the centerpiece? I don't think you are being unreasonable, it is your wedding and if you just don't like them at all then maybe you should tell him what you don't like about them so that he can get more of a feel about what you do like. Can you take a picture of it and post it? Maybe some other opinions might help.
I don't think it is wrong of you to want to love every aspect of your wedding; I think every bride does! And, if I reacall from your past posts, you have been working overtime to make your dream come true! I would think that it is definitely in the best interest of both you and your florist for you to love your centerpieces.
However, I think it is all in the approach. I might say something to my florist along the lines of, "I like what you did here(point out what you like about the existing centerpiece), but my overall vision was something more like this (show several pictures here). Do you think that you can accomodate that? In an industry that thrives on word of mouth, I am sure your florist will help you out
Also, it would be great to follow up with a thank you card or a reference letter when the finished product is delivered according to the changes to show your appreciation.
Good luck!
Onlysupernova is right. You need to say something but let him know you are happy otherwise and just feelt hat you did not give him enough direction. Perhaps you can find pictures of what you want. Also, make it clear to him that you don't want any white flowers and why. Do this as soon as possible because the florist will need to order your flower for delivery.
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You should have what you want, at whatever price you pay weather it's $2 or $2000.
I would find something you want in a magazine and hand it to him. Also let him know you don't like the purple because it's not a part of your theme. If you can give him a picture and simply say "Change the colors" you're going to get what you want.
He can't read your mind, so as much help would be best for him. I design phot cards and such and it's one of my biggest pet peeves when customers would say "Do whatever you want" and then I do and I get back a laundry list of things they didn't like/want. And then they would show me a sample of mine and say "Like this..." Well why coulnd't you do that in the first place and save me 4 hours of work...lol 
Anyway - yes I do think you should love them, maybe a meeting to decide what you can afford (flowers and vases) would make you picking it out better for you. But get some samples and head in, set up a meeting and talk. I'm sure you're not the first person to be disappointed in his vision. He's a professional - he can take it, just be polite about it.
I was in the same situation! When we walked into the florist, the sample was so disappointing....but I didn't want to come out and say it since the florist has been nothing but sweet (and given us flowers to keep every time we visited). We also gave my florist free reign and no instructions except color scheme. Finally, my then-FI said, "I'm not crazy about it". The florist then proceeded with changing up the design and flowers and everything worked out fine. Go ahead and call them and ask for another sample...definitely give them more instructions. It helps a lot.
I agree with the others. Part of the point of this consultation is to have a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic">sample of what you're going to get. If you're not pleased with it, you have to direct him.
I'm a lot like you where I say, "Everything's up to you," but then I have major opinions when I get something back...If you can communicate well enough with him to point out those things that worked well for you and those that didn't, you'll get something closer to what you want.
If you want another sample made, I, too, would offer to pay for the materials.
I don't think you have to feel bad to want something else. But if you can find some pictures to bring him, that's going to help both of you. Burgandy can be a hard color to convey with natural botanicals. Unless you do all blood-red (what, Black Magic??) roses or those eggplant calla lilies, a lot of florists bring in purples to balance it out. There are plenty of floral guides out there that can show the range of color certain flowers provide. Also pay attention to textures you like.
Another way you can think about it is the flowers sit on the table for a few hours, only to be seen again later in the photos. People will get an initial sense of the flowers when they walk in the door, but that time will quickly get swept up into eating, conversing, and dancing. If it's "close enough" to what you want, you can let it be. Otherwise, do call or email your florist and share your thoughts.
if you spend the money you should at least be pleased.
don't feel bad! basically you are telling us you gave him no direction. so its fine not to be happy with the result. ddo as the others above say and go to an online gallery of centerpieces, the Knot, Brides.com, and several others have extensive ones. go thru them and pick out elements that you like and ones that you dont. then sit down with the florist so you can express to him the feel you are going for, show him fabric swatches or other elements in your day. that way he can put together something you will be happy with.
he can only help you as much as you tell him so you've got to speak up in order to be happy.
You need to guide your florist to create the centerpiece of your liking or provide him your opinions on the centerpiece he created (he probably doesn't know what you're "loving" and "not loving"). Don't feel bad for wanting something else or modifying his creation to fit your taste. (Do it nicely)..Tell him what it is about your centerpiece that you like and dislike, if you hate the purple flowers, ask him if he can replace it with another flower. Chances are, he'll be happy to make the pieces that you love than one that you don't. I do floral design on the side and I ALWAYS ask whether my clients if they're happy with the arrangements, if not, then what i can do to make it better.
As for the white thing, I know what you mean. My mom is giving me grief about my dress being "white" and her false argument is that "no one wears white for her wedding." The last time I checked, I've NEVER been to a wedding where the bride wear anything but white. I have no idea what she'll do (i'm hoping she won't chuck it in the trash) when she finds out my bouquet will have quite flowers in them...=)
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Thanks for the helpful ideas on approach. Unfortunately, none of my pics seem to be loading properly so I can't show you all what I'm talking about. My florist called me earlier this morning and I went over in detail the "changes" I'd like to see. In regards to the mock up he made for me, I assure you while it would be fantastic for a housewarming, it's not exactly a wedding showpiece. Well, I emailed him some more pics and ideas of what I'm looking for, now that I've seen what he has done and not only is he not charging me any more than the original quoted price for the previous centerpieces, but he's going to create another mock up for me, free of charge and continue to make changes to that if I am not thoroughly pleased. He truly is an amazingly patient florist and did not make me feel bad for my lack of direction to him, but encouraged me to speak my mind if there was anything else I saw that I like/dislike.
So I guess the bottom line is, I will def take the idea of writing him an extensive thank you note and will refer him in my encounters to come! Thank you hive for your wonderful suggestions and if anyone needs a rec for a florist, I'm all over it! Thanks again!
I was going to write a response, but I see everything has already worked out! Glad to hear it!
And definitely don't feel guilty, this is the whole point of getting the mock-up in the first place! Sounds like you found yourself a great florist.
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So FI and I went to see a sample of our centerpiece on Saturday and while I love my florist, the centerpiece just didnt' come out as I'd imagined. To be fair, I did not give my florist much direction as to what I wanted, rather I gave him the sense that our wedding would be burgandy wine color....so yeah, it wasn't much help. I told him I wanted roses for sure, but everything else I would leave up to him. Well I saw what he created on Saturday and I feel terrible. He had two centerpieces on the table when we went...one was ours and the other was for another bride to be. After seeing them side by side, I realized the other one was nice and classy and mine looked like a piece you would bring over to your grandma's for a holiday dinner. It just didn't look like a wedding centerpiece. He did keep the piece low as I requested because our room has low ceilings and tall centerpeices would just look silly to me. FI stated he like the piece, but I think he's truly trying to be nice since the florist gave the item for us to take home. But as it sits on my dining room table, I just don't love it. It feels too busy and I have no purple in my wedding, but there are purple flowers. So here is my question to you all....is it wrong of me to ask my florist to create a totally different piece and give him more direction? It is now 3 weeks till my big day and in about a week I will have to finalize everything with him. Oh did I mention that my parents flipped when they saw white flowers in the piece? They are very tradition and feel everything should be bright red. I had to remind them that I'm having a western wedding for that very reason. They were even upset my wedding gown was white, but that's a whole other story.
I guess my question is, shouldn't I love my centerpiece if I'm paying for it? And am I being unreasonable to have him redo a sample for me? Fi's making me feel really bad and I don't know if I'm asking too much. As a background, my flowers are going to run me about $2000 and the centerpieces are about half of that total.