FLoating flower and candle centerpieces

knottiea80c13881918e885

So I have a budget for my wedding and it is in the summer. I went to a florist and I have been really interested in the floating candles and flowers look. I was thinking maybe three cylinder shaped vases and like one calla lily and candle in each or another type of flower for more color. When the upscale florist lady quoted me 125 each for the pieces my mouth nearly dropped to the floor. She put like one flower in the tall one, a rose in another one with a candle and some CRUSHED UP orchids. It took her about 2 mins to make that and it didn't even look good. Is this a reasonable and average price for this kind of arrangement or am I just so out of touch.

ahoywedding

So part of the florist's costs are wrapped up in growing/maintaining the flowers, transporting & setting everything up, understanding which flowers fit which decor style, etc etc. If that price isn't in your budget and you don't want to DIY, you always have the option to shop around or ask for something that would be in your budget.

However, the floating flower & candle look is fairly easy to replicate with silk flowers, if you're so inclined. You can get hurricane-style vases & floating candles at most dollar stores, and silk flowers are often on sale at places like Michael's. The biggest pain will be getting all of them to you venue, and you'll want to make sure you venue will set them up or hire someone to take care of that. Also make sure you'd have access to water near the tables, so no one has to carry heavy vases full of water too far. Of course, you'll also have to bring everything home, and then deal with having like 20 of the same vase, but you may be able to sell them on Craiglist or something. 

lovesclimbing

I would think that would be not terribly difficult to  do on your own. That does seem expensive, but I'm also cheap. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Fwiw, calla lilies are an expensive flower. 

We did floating tea lights in cut glass bowls with flower petals scattered in the bowl. It was simple and cheap. The florist who did the bouquets provided rose petals, and we borrowed the bowls from a family member. So we only paid for whatever tea lights cost (cheap) and whatever the pretty cheap fee for rose petals was. 

ahoywedding

One other thing: make sure your venue allows "real" candles. More and more places are only allowing the LED candles. I think they make floating LEDs, but they may be more pricey. 

MesmrEwe

Replicate the look in silks for 1/3 the price - js...  But really, you can skip the centerpieces entirely or just do them on the parent tables and call it golden.  

I also agree with the PP - make sure you can have regular candles!!  LOTS of venues do not allow them anymore..