Michigan-Detroit

Follow-up to LindsayTiz's Florist Post

Wow!  My quotes have been almost double what you ladies are talking about in this post.  I haven't signed a contract yet so.....who are your florists?  I don't think that most of you have bios (and I don't either).

Re: Follow-up to LindsayTiz's Florist Post

  • edited December 2011
    Most people have bios. The sucky thing is you need to look at the married ladies bios and there aren't too many here.

    Who have you been looking at for flowers?
  • edited December 2011
    The most important thing is what kind of flowers you want. If you are looking at rather expensive flowers, then your quotes are going to be much higher. My florist is Bakman Florist in South Lyon. He has been great to work with. Included in my $1200 quote is the use of pilsner vases (25), 5 votives per table, 25 CP, my bouquet, 7 BM bouquets, Corsages (I lost count), 10 bouts, a memory table bouquet, something for the church, some loose petals scattered around the escort card table, and I think that's it. Originally, he had quoted me about $84/BM bouquet! I told him I was not willing to spend that much on my girls' bouquets. So what I decided to do (and this was Taryn's suggestion) was have each girl hold one particular flower. My bouquet is made up of 2 types of roses, gerber daisies, lilies, and alstromeria. I have two MOH so they will get smaller versions of my bouquet and each of the BM will have a flower from my bouquet made into theirs. It cut down on cost and now I'm paying about $35/bouquet. If you want flowers that are not in season, that can also affect your price as well.
  • mink492mink492 member
    Sixth Anniversary 1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    My florist was April Oboza who works out of her house http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1161221022&ref=ts

    We spent around $600 for my bouquet, 4 BMs bouquets, 5 GM bouts, DH bout, 5 addl bouts, 3 addl corsages, FG petals & 20+ minimal centerpieces. (wow, that was a memory workout & it's only been 4 months) We had a mix of roses & gerbera daisies. Pics in bio.
  • jodyk23jodyk23 member
    Eighth Anniversary 1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I am using April too!

    Highly recommended!
  • edited December 2011
    Hmm, my last post did post. Anyways, I'm also using April. I'm using pretty cheap flowers except for the dahlias, ranunculus and hydrangea.

    Bride - hand-tied bouquet of green hydrangea, jade roses, green spider mums, green micropoms, green hypericum, white dahlias, white ranunculus and seeded eucalyptus; $85

    Bridesmaids - hand-tied bouquets of white football mums, white button mums, white spider mums, and premium white roses; 3 @ $27.50 each

    Groom's boutonniere - green hydrangea and white ranunculus; $9

    Groomsmen boutonniere - white button mums and seeded eucalyptus; 3 @ $6 each

    Corsages - green micropoms, white spray roses and green hypericum berries; 2 @ $13 each

    Father's boutonnieres - white button mums and green hypericum berries; 2 @ $6 each

    Stepmother corsage - white spray roses, white button mums and seeded eucalyptus; 1 @ $13

    Stepfather boutonniere - white button mums and seeded eucalyptus; 1 @ $6
    Centerpieces - guest tables to each have (1) tall and (1) short compote (provided by bride) each composed of 3 white  football mums and 2 white spider mums; (1) short juice glass filled with white button mums; 14 @ $26 each
    Subtotal                     $615.50
    Tax                             $36.93
    Delivery & Set-up   $30
    TOTAL                     $682.43
  • edited December 2011
    I have one quote at $1,700 and one at $2,700 and that includes my bouquet, 3 bridesmaids, 7 corsages, 10 boutonniere's, 8 cocktail tables centerpieces, 18 reception table centerpieces, 4 vases for head table, cake floral and delivery. 

    I thought these were OK prices since we just ordered a $60 funeral arrangement and I couldn’t believe how chintzy it was.  But now I see your prices and I’m blown away.  I have to nail this down as our wedding is in just a couple of months.
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_follow-up-lindsaytizs-florist-post?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:b28a2c2d-f34e-4755-b780-61796d5f31e0Post:12adb09d-7c57-45ad-8a49-2f0feda60110">Re: Follow-up to LindsayTiz's Florist Post</a>:
    [QUOTE]I have one quote at $1,700 and one at $2,700 and that includes my bouquet, 3 bridesmaids, 7 corsages, 10 boutonniere's, 8 cocktail tables centerpieces, 18 reception table centerpieces, 4 vases for head table, cake floral and delivery.  I thought these were OK prices since we just ordered a $60 funeral arrangement and I couldn’t believe how chintzy it was.   But now I see your prices and I’m blown away.   I have to nail this down as our wedding is in just a couple of months.
    Posted by kristinandbill[/QUOTE]

    Those quotes could be good but it is completely dependent on what kind of flowers, how many, and the arrangement.

    What kind of flowers are you talking about?
  • edited December 2011
    I told both florists that I'm not picky about the type of flower - that I'm more concerned with overall look.  I didn't think that I had anything too expensive.  I did have hydrangia but I also had carnation as filler.

    Honestly, I don't even know what some of the flowers are - I just gave samples and said "I like this" or "I like that" and let them take it away. I don't know about flowers and didn't have much of a preference. '

    Humph. Flowers are hard!
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_follow-up-lindsaytizs-florist-post?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:b28a2c2d-f34e-4755-b780-61796d5f31e0Post:eed5605a-a2e3-4584-bb96-f670f318a97e">Re: Follow-up to LindsayTiz's Florist Post</a>:
    [QUOTE]I told both florists that I'm not picky about the type of flower - that I'm more concerned with overall look.  I didn't think that I had anything too expensive.  I did have hydrangia but I also had carnation as filler. Honestly, I don't even know what some of the flowers are - I just gave samples and said "I like this" or "I like that" and let them take it away. I don't know about flowers and didn't have much of a preference. ' Humph. Flowers are hard!
    Posted by kristinandbill[/QUOTE]

    Okay, well that might be the problem! I would get some quotes but give them a budget to work with and they can suggest flowers that fit in your budget.

    I would really suggest giving April a call or Michelle Nonis (I think that's her name). April is really sweet and she will sit with your for hours until you get exactly what you want and for the right price.
  • sunkissed212sunkissed212 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    ditto Mordacious. It truly truly depends on what kind of flowers you're getting.

    The amount I'm paying for my flowers may seem high for the quantity of what I"m getting but I chose expensive flowers (mango calla's and cymbidium orchids) therefore overall everything is going to cost more. If I had done less expensive flowers, my quote would have been significantly less. A good florist will not hesitate to tell you what the expensive flowers are versus the inexpensive ones. If they try to push the expensive stuff on you, I'd move on to someone else. When I met with Liz, before she even showed me the quote she told me over and over that if, when she figured the quote, it was more than I wanted to spend, that we would play with different flower choices until it came into a range I was comfortable with. Lucky for me, it was fine the way it was but I was pleased to know that she was willing to show me cheaper options if needed.
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  • edited December 2011
    The two lowest quotes I got were from Flowers by Amore in Southfield and Viviano's in Shelby Twp.

    I agree with PP that it helps to have an idea of the flowers you like, or at least pictures of ones you like- if they are out of season, the florist can recommend something similar.

    I would also give them your budget and let them work around it. I told people mine was $1,000, and while most came in $300-$400 over, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated.
  • edited December 2011
    Another tip: use the same flowers throughout the quotes. That may be why you're seeing such a difference in price. If you got quoted carnations by the first person, but roses by the second, that will definitlely make your price quotes fluctuate.

    I was also overwhelmed by all of the different kinds of flowers and what color they came in. The florist should have a book for you to look through so you can get some kind of idea on what you would like. But just to stay consistent, when you go to Florist A tell them the same flowers as you will Florist B. Then you can really compare them.
  • edited December 2011
    We used Michele Nonis but I seriously have no idea what we paid for flowers. We used all of the same flowers though to keep the cost down (garden roses)
  • edited December 2011
    I would add to that list Bridget O'Brien (botanicaldesign@gmail.com).  She also works out of her house, and gave me a quote of $1060 for 15 CP's, 4 bouquets, 6 bouts, 2 corsages...there might have been more, I honestly can't remember what all we came up with.  And I wanted mainly roses, which aren't cheap!  
    I definitely second the advice about giving them a budget to stay under.  I told Bridgette my budget was $1,000 and she found a way to make it work!  (although honestly, I kind of pulled that number out of my a** -- I had no idea what a typical flower budget was)  If you don't like what they come up with, you can always change it later.  But I'd start with a low estimate -- you can always go up in price, but it's hard to bring them down. 
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