South Asian Weddings

Mandap and Floral costs

I'm getting proposals back from different florists and I can't believe how expensive mandaps and florals are! :( They're all coming in around $8-9k total and that's way more than what we wanted to spend! Is that what I should be expecting to pay for a 200 person wedding?

For the mandap, we want to keep it simple and pretty since we're having an outdoor ceremony in Miami. Even though we thought that making a mandap using mahogany bamboo and a few florals here and there would be pretty inexpensive, the quote from our favorite florist came in at $5k!

For the rest, the quotes do seem in line.. 65 and 95 for low and high centerpieces, 90 bridal bouquet, 55 for garland. What do you think, are these costs reasonable?

I have a call with the florist tomorrow to see if she has any ideas on how we can reduce costs. What did you girls do for your weddings and was there anything specific you did to reduce your floral costs?

Thanks in advance! Any advice and tips are greatly appreciated!

Re: Mandap and Floral costs

  • edited December 2011
    That does seem high, but not ridiculously high and abnormal unfortunately.

    What kind of florals are you looking at? Are you staying in season or looking for something particular that might be out of season?

    The prices for the cetnerpieces, boquet and garlands area really reasonable, I think, so I am not sure you can do better there.
    ExerciseMilestone
  • kpwedkkkpwedkk member
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I agree with Raangoli,
    It does seem on the high side - what are your arrangements like? and centerpieces?

    To reduce costs, I didn't hire a florist LOL... instead, I created a design, and my day of coordinator had most of the supplies, and the girlpower to put it all together for me.  I had two separate types of centerpieces, since we did a lunch and reception for the guests. And I did two types of centerpieces, 3 tiered cylinders and a low bowl with different types of flowers.  I also got my flowers from costco.com, which ended up being a lot cheaper than anticipated...

    The links below has a lot of intormation and pictures from the wedding, and info about the decor.

    The cost of the flowers - even for the mandap, the jai malas (made by a friend, just needed the flowers)  and for blessings, in addition to the centerpieces was $575.  I paid my Day of Coordinator and staff $2000 for the day.  The supplies for all of the centerpieces were included in that.  I also bought additional cylinders that I gave to the DOC afterwards, for a discount.  My cousins put together the flower garlands for the mandap.  The Mandap itself and the chairs, and decor on the tables were from another team as well.  All of it was matching...


    LINK 1 - Pictures from Dinner - more explanation of flowers
    LINK 2 - Pictures from Dinner
    LINK 3 - Mandap and Tables Pictures from Lunch and Dinner
    LINK 4 - Prices of Flowers from Costco.com

    Hope that helps!

    "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." ~ Miss K ~
  • edited December 2011
    Thanks ladies!  KP, your pics of your wedding are beautiful and you did a really god job with all of your florals!

    I haven't finalized my floral choices yet but did give the florists an idea of the kind of color scheme I am interested in.  The majority of the total is from the mandap and I didn't ask for any complicated arrangements.  I hope we can get the mandap price reduced.  I do have a call with the florist next Monday to ask her ideas on how we can reduce costs and save some money.  I also want to ask her what flowers are in season at that time
  • edited December 2011
    Are you getting quotes for the mandap and the floral from two different people?  I am in the process of planning my wedding and have got some quotes with the mandap and floral back at about 5000-6000 during the initial planning stages.  The company that I am planning on uses already works with a florist and in that aspect can get better deals if you go through them. 

    I also live in Florida--what company are you using for your mandap and floral?
  • edited December 2011
    Oh wow, I would love to get the mandap and florals pricing down to $5k-$6k. I was looking into Suhaag Gardens because she does some really nice work. We also asked 2 non Indian florists and their quotes came in the same range. Which company are you using? If you have any recommendations on other mandap/florists in the FL area that I should call, please let me know! I live in NY and am planning from afar so have no idea who to contact for inexpensive mandaps. I was going to also look into Kisna Weddings too, have you heard anything about them?
  • edited December 2011
    Try this website.  They will ship flowers for the mandap and a lot of other things (jaimalas, jasmine) just days before the wedding. We haven't used them yet but are planning to for our wedding.

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