flowers- budgeting

amarie1979

What do you think a decent amount is for very simple/only in season in April flowers.  I'm not using flowers in centerpieces  and doing those myself anyway.  Just need flowers for a wedding party of 10, 2 sets of parents and one grandma.  Very minimal decorations for the outside since we are getting married in a garden(Florentine) but something like ivy around the columns of the dome.

 Is a $600 budget enough?  Flowers are at the bottom of my list of importance for the wedding.

smw42

Try meeting with someone from Whole Foods or Wegmans if you want to save some money on flowers. April should be an easy month to get some great flowers inexpensively.

mbcdefg

Yes, I think you will be fine if you don't have your heart set on anything outrageous.

We paid about $700 for all our flowers for our April 2010 wedding:

- one bridal bouquet (roses, orchids, freesia and lisanthius)
- two bridesmaids' bouquets and one bouquet toss bouquet (gerbera daisies)
- one groom boutonniere plus one spare (roses)
- two groomsmen boutonnieres (gerbera daisies)
- two fathers' boutonnieres (orchids)
- two corsages for MOB and grandmother (orchids)
- one boutonniere and three corsages for readers (carnations)
- 20 low centerpieces (hydrangea, gerbera daisies and wax flowers, plus the purchase of the glass cube vases)

We asked specifically for my bouquet, the rose boutonniere for MH and the bridal party flowers. For the family/reader flowers and centerpieces, we just said, "We want to spend no more than $700 and we need XYZ, so what can you offer us in that price range?"

The gerberas and carnations are cheap flowers; roses are usually not that expensive. Ditto for hydrangeas and filler flowers (wax flowers, stock, greenery, etc.).

This was from AW Flowers in Kearny.

amarie1979

thanks...makes me feel A LOT better...I' ve heard great things about that Kearny place.  Today I am going to S K Floral Expressions in Hasbrouck Heights that I also heard great things about.

mbcdefg

Good luck!

And just remember, you don't have to go in with exact plans for everything (or anything!) that you want. If you have some ideas, fine, but it's part of the florist's job to accommodate your budget and your needs.

If you tell them what you want to spend and how many arrangements you need, they should be able to help you ... Adam at AW didn't bat an eye when I asked what he could do for $20 per centerpiece (I thought a florist would laugh at me for that price, lol), and he had an idea for me that very minute.