So I was poking around on this board and reading the thread about average flower costs, and realized that my original flowers budget (under $1000) was ridiculously low for a New England wedding. My dream was yellow tulips for the bridesmaids, yellow tulips with blue irises for me, red tulip boutonnieres for the groomsmen, and red+yellow tulips for the centerpieces during the reception.
To scale back on my costs, I started looking into wholesale flowers and found that I can get enough tulips (100 stems) to do the centerpieces for $200. But for the bridal and bridesmaid's bouquets, I think I need someone professional to actually make the bouquet because I can't just grab a bunch of stems and call it a bouquet - right?? There's some work involved in securing the flowers together and arranging them, correct?
Well I e-mailed a few florists, and two responded. They had very different responses. One said they could not guarantee tulips because it would be too late in the season (this would be 14th June 2014). The other said sure, I can do tulips, for the bridesmaid's bouquets that will be $50 each "including a vase". I don't get what she is selling me, though - if it's in a vase, then is that just going to be the same thing as me ordering the wholesale flowers and sticking them in a vase?? How is that a bouquet? And why is she happy to provide tulips when the other florist says they're not in season at that time? I'm just trying not to get ripped off here. I'd rather go DIY and save money, but I thought there was some special bouquet-making skill that I didn't possess and would be paying for. Thoughts?