How Much Is Reasonable For Flowers?

mochapj · June 2011

Hi there,
We are having an intimate wedding for 60 at Langdon Hall next year and I just received a quote back from a florist to outfit it.

We are doing 6 small centrepieces, lots of tealight candles on each table, 4 small bistro tables and 2 large vases flanking our ceremony area, along with my bouquet, but have no wedding party.

What would you consider a reasonable price point for flowers for a wedding of that size? Our colors are tangerine and watermelon, no roses, just orchids, dahlias, pincushions and some veggies to accent.

The quote I got back was a little surprising (over 4K) so I just want to know what is realistic for a wedding of that size.

Thanks in advance knotties!

samanthadonoghue · June 2011

I'm paying 700 for everything, 6 bouquets (including mine) with roses and orchids and hydrengia's (sp?) 8 boutineres 10 corsages. the bouquets are all roses and hydrengias though.

unplainjane · June 2011

i don't know that much about flowers but from what you describe 4k seems like a lot. ek! do you have a budget in mind? maybe go back to them and say well this is my budget what can you do with that?

i have a friend who had a much larger wedding and was quoted over $1000 for her flowers. she thought that was too much and went the diy route instead. though from what i hear $1000 seems average-high. i'm having a similar wedding size to yours and my budget for flowers is very small around $300. i thought no florist would do my wedding but i asked a couple and they were willing to work with my budget though i would get very minimal flowers especially for the centerpieces. so with some offers to help from family i'm diying as well. though if i didn't have help from people that know what they are doing i would've gone with a florist.

ring_pop · June 2011

Did they itemize your list? It's hard to tell just from your description. The vases and bistro tables might be very expensive, or they might have used expensive flowers in your quote. (Certain types of orchids can be expensive.)

Also, did you actually give them a budget to work with? If this is way outside your range, you might want to consider approaching it differently, i.e. "What can you do with $xxxx?"

Littlin · June 2011

That does seem high - my wedding was more than double yours and I paid much less than that, but as Ringy mentioned above, you should look at the itemized list and decide where changes can be made. If they won't break it down for you, I would not go with that florist. My florist had everything down to the cent for me to review.

mochapj · June 2011

Hi ladies,
Thanks for the feedback.

The bill was itemized as follows;
$160 bouquet
$12 boutonniere
2 x $475 ceremony florals in large vases
4 x $75 small arrangements for the bistro tables
6 x $350 reception centrepieces

We didn't give a budget up front, but I was very specific in that I wanted smaller arrangements and minimal florals because I am not much of a flower person. I was expecting at most the centrepieces to be around $200/per and for the types of flowers I'd asked for (didn't really care what type, as long as they were pink/orange) it just seems really high. Also, in my head I had figured that for a wedding of our size, 2K should have more than sufficed for beautiful flowers.

Thanks,
p.

ring_pop · June 2011

The bouquet and boutonniere sound reasonable. (I've heard cheaper, but they're not outrageous.) The ceremony arrangement sounds OK assuming it really is large.

The prices of the bistro table arrangements and centrepieces sound ludicrous though. You described both the bistro arrangements and centrepieces as "small" which makes me think $30-$150 range. Especially since the large ceremony vases are $475 each... are the $350 CPs comparable in size?

Maybe I'm missing something? Idunno... my CPs were DIY so maybe I'm way off??

dixie1337 · June 2011

For comparison here's my quote on these items:

$160 for a bridal bouquet
$10 per boutonniere
$220 per ceremony florals in large vase
$55 per reception centrepiece

We're also renting pillars for the ceremony florals for $10 each and candles for the tables at $2 each (bigger than tea lights), and buying vases for the centerpieces for $10 each.

If you want more info, PM me.

mochapj · June 2011

Hi Ringy,
No, I'd say I think they are pretty ludicrous.

For the ceremony florals, it was to be 2 vases which were being rented, as well as manzanita branches which would be rented that would be minimally draped with flowers.

The centrepieces were to be low to the table in wooden boxes that were about 8x10 in size, accented with candles in tiny mason jars. I definitely can't fathom what about that would make it nearly the same price as the ceremony florals, since they aren't even close to the same size.

I've sent the quote back with a request for more details, as suggested.

Thanks!

Littlin · June 2011

Wow - my centerpieces were only $60 each I believe! That's a HUGE price difference!

StephieBow · June 2011

Yikes!

Here is a rough breakdown of mine of a few of my items (before tax):

$100 for a bridal bouquet
$50 per BM bouquet
$22 per centrepiece

I've seen my florists work at other weddings and it's gorgeous so I think she just might be VERY reasonably priced.

Honestly, I think the people who quoted you are ripping you off.

mattycam · June 2011

Way to high; I would look around and compare prices. I used Frankda Floral Designs. Glenda is very reasonable and can be found online.

naomikb · June 2011

Wow, those ceremony and reception arrangements are expensive!

For comparison, here are the prices I have for those items. All of my flowers, including my bouquet, 4 BMs, 12 bouts, 5 corsages, 14 centerpieces, and 2 ceremony arrangements is $1100 including taxes and delivery. I told her the amount up front that I wanted to spend ($1000) and she worked within that budget.

$150 bouquet
$9 boutonniere
$75 ceremony florals in large vases
$30 reception centrepieces

Centerpieces weren't that important to me - I said "What can you do for $30/table?" and she gave me a square vase with a leaf wrap and a mound of fresh flowers including hydrangeas, spider mums, roses, and delphinium. I'm happy with that, but if centerpieces are important to you then maybe you want to spend more money on them.

APW2010 · June 2011

Whoa, your CP prices seem way off base. You can definitely find cheaper, especially if you aren't picky about what type of flowers are used.

My venue supplied candles for free - is that driving your cost up? Ask around for options on that.

amymcleod01 · June 2011

That is WAY too expensive!
Try an independent florist, not a flower shop. That's what I'm doing, and I'm getting tons of stuff (My guest list is 175) for $1800, taxes and delivery in. Just make sure you see some photos of their previous work, because some independents are shotty.

princess0711 · July 2011

that sounds like a lot!

I would talk to the ceremony site, ours was at a catholic church and for a donation they used our wedding colours for the Sunday flowers and put them out on Saturday

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