i just posted this on the philly board, but thought I'd try for twice the advice since I'm also a March 2012 bride!
Sooo I met with a potential florist for a free consultation, and I LOVED her. She got all my ideas, had great suggestions, and made me really excited for what my ceremony/reception could be like. I got the estimate back a few days later (and while I feel the individual prices don't seem bad- the total seems daunting. I think my fiance almost choked when I told him. We are having just over 200 people, and have a large bridal party (7 girls, 10 guys) - and the estimate was $4500. That included all setup and teardown though. Thoughts? Is this crazy? I had hoped to only spend $3K, but since they will do all the setup/decor stuff I was thinking perhaps we could swing this (with some minor changes to hopefully bring the total down) by not hiring a day of coordinator. Our venue will provide a venue coordinator (I know that's not the same). Any advice on flower costs, not hiring planners, etc would be greatly appreciated! thanks