Help: Bargaining with Florist

laurmd

We have a florist and have sent in a deposit, etc. When we met, FI and I were undecided about the exact centerpieces we wanted so she gave us several options and said we don't need to decide until 3 weeks prior to the wedding. Our second payment is due next week, so I'm starting to think about things more...

The option for centerpiece that we like most is $40 each, which doesn't sound so bad, but all it is are light blue hydrangeas and 3 mini-sunflowers. We're supplying the bowls, so the cost is the assembly and the flowers themselves. Deliery and set-up is a separate cost, so that is not factored into this price.

Here's my thing.. when we first met at her shop, she had several full vases of light blue hydrangeas set up all over the office. She made a comment about over-ordering for a prior wedding and these were all the extras.

She is definitely the most reasonable florist around my area (we met with 4) and she beat them all out by a few hundred dollars in the end. I'm just worried by getting these blue hydrangeas, we will be decorating her office. Is it appropriate to use this as a bargaining tactic to try to lower the price by $5-10/centerpiece? If so, how would you tactfully phrase this to her?

On a side-note -I fired my make-up artist and have to start from scratch with 63 days left

cgyvhu

$40 doesnt sound that bad, honestly, especially for those flowers. That, and you already agreed to pricing, so I would be really hesitant to bargain.

I might call and say, something like: "I know you quoted us $40/centerpiece but did that price take into account we are bringing our own vases?"

But that's about it.  GL with the make up artist search!

xos0inlove

Have you already signed a contract saying you agreed that the selection of centerpieces offered would each be X amount of dollars? If so, negotiating may be tough. If not, you may want to call/e-mail her and say something like "We really like this centerpieces the best out of all of them, but the price is making us cut it pretty close on our budget..seeing that we're providing the bowls, can we work anything out on the price?" Right after my florist sent the proposal we realized that we'd gone over budget on a few things and needed to scale back in other areas. I e-mailed her back and said I really did want to work with her, but I had to adjust my budget to X amount of dollars, what could we do? She took almost $400 off the original quote, and I still have the same flowers. If she wants your business, she should be willing to budge a little bit. $40 isn't a bad centerpiece price, but I don't think it's asking alot for her to come down on the price seeing that you are providing the bowls.

bridalgal50

What do you mean that you are afraid that "you will be decorating her office" with the hydrangeas?  The florist should only charge you for the flowers she actually uses in your bouquets, not the amount she orders - if she over orders, that's her cost to 'eat'.

laurmd

So I emailed the florist despite replies I got.... and it worked! She is willing to work with me and to reduce the price by $10/centerpiece. I guess despite having a contract, it never hurts to ask!