Flower budget and contract issues

Mallory835 · May 2012

My fiance's parents agreed to pay for all of our flowers. So, my fiance's mother came with me to the florist appointment. The florist never showed me any flowers or explained what they would costs. He basically asked what colors I wanted and said he had a "vision" for what it should look like. At the end of the appointment he handed my future MIL the contract. The cost was over $5,000! The flowers I chose were hydrangeas, dahlias, blue/purple cornflowers, purple calla lilies, orange gerber daisies, and some purple flowers that look like baby's breath. The centerpieces are just small mason jars with bouquets. (these were over $100 each) Just 1 tall centerpiece by the food tables was over $500! My future MIL signed the contract without even questioning the price. She also put down a deposit that was over $1,000. After we left I realized she was not comfortable with the price. Her and I both assumed it would be around $2,500 - $3,000. Now I'm in a predicament. I emailed and called the florist to see if I could eliminate some things so the cost would be cheaper. A week has gone by and I have not heard from him. I don't want my future MIL to pay something she is not comfortable with. What should I do? Could I get out of using this florist even though she signed a contract and gave a deposit? (Also, I went to this florist because i thought he would be reasonably priced. His son is friend's with my MOH and he told me to see his dad because he does great work for any budget.)

kmclean29 · May 2012

This is a tricky one. Because you have already signed a contract and made a deposit, you may not get that deposit back. However, I would mention that you were referred because of his ability to work wtih a budget and you need to be cautious at this time. It seems high to me, but I am not familiar with your area. Have you spoken to any other florists?

egm900 · May 2012

Average floral cost I've heard of in New Orleans is $4000, and it doesn't get you a whole lot. I know how much the couple spent on flowers at the last New Orleans wedding I went to, and what you've described sounds about right. I know several brides that have gotten their flowers in Baton Rouge because they are a lot less expensive, but they are responsible for getting them to NOLA, so that's can be nerve wracking/problematic.

Since you have a contract, if you go with someone else at this point FMIL will lose her deposit. Since she was thinking $2500-3000, that means you would be looking for someone to do your flowers for $1500-2000, which is going to be difficult to find. You might be able to get that on the Northshore, but there will be delivery costs. Petals and Stems in Slidell does good work, but no idea how much they charge.

I would try to get the florist to work with you. Can you have your MOH call her friend and say Bride has been trying to get in touch with your father but he hasn't returned her calls? That will depend on how close of a friend she is with the florist's son, she may not feel comfortable. If he won't return your calls, I would go by his shop and explain that the budget is $2500-3000 and see if he can work with that.

I had to ask my florist to show me the different flowers and then she would arrange a few stems in her hand to give me a feel for what our arrangements would look like, apparently most brides don't ask her to do that. I'm not really sure what my bouquet will look like, but after that I'm confident she understands what I want, so I don't care, but it definitely took her getting a few stems of the flowers in and demonstrating for me to feel okay.

I would also post this on the New Orleans board, the girls getting married in New Orleans may have a recommendation for a budget florist.

fallbride1109 · May 2012

Look at the contract--my contract stated that I had up to 2 weeks before the wedding to make any changes, up or down, as long as I stayed within 10% of the original quote. But on $5k, that would be $500 that maybe you could shave off. Your terms may be different, but read it carefully and see what it says.

Maggie0829 · May 2012

Well the first mistake you made was not telling your budget to the florist at the start of the appointment. If a florist isn't given a budget they of course are going to have this "vision" for you and not really have any regard for the price.

I think you and your FMIL need to look at the contract to see if you can cancel within a certain timeframe and get your deposit back. If you can't get your deposit back then your FMIL needs to decide whether to cancel and lose the money and hopefully find a florist that is cheaper or stay with your current florist.

The flowers you picked are definitely on the higher end of the cost spectrum. If you are unhappy with the costs you can always talk with your current florist and see if there is anything you can do to get the costs down (like using less expensive flowers or just do half your tables with centerpieces and the other half with candles). Instead of emailing or calling I would go into the store and talk to someone directly...with email and phone calls they can tend to ignore you.

IMO, I know that flower prices vary from region to region but the costs that you listed are a bit high for what you are getting.

ElisabethJoanne · May 2012

You're not obliged to do anything. The contract's on your future MIL, who's an adult and must have understood the implications, but you're smart to be trying to do something about the situation.

The lawyer in me says your future MIL, as the contract holder, may have to do something that tells the florist to cooperate with you. After all, technically, she's the customer because she's paying.

Has the deposit been cashed? Was it on a credit card? Because they're not responding to inquiries, you could tell your future MIL to challenge the credit card charge or stop payment on the check. That'll get their attention and maybe allow you to go back to square one in negotiating the contract. Though that's a bit extreme after just a week. How many e-mails/phone calls are we talking about?

Mallory835 · May 2012

To answer a few things: I did mention that their son reccomended I use them when I called and made the appointment. My fiance and I tried researching some of the avergae costs of florists in the area. Most florists seem to charge $2500-$3000. I also read that flowers should only be about 6% of the total wedding budget. So, in my case it seems the ammount the florist is charging me is over 4 times the percentage it should be.
The florist did not ask about a budget, and I made the mistake of assuming he would eventually ask that. I had no idea which flowers were more than others. I did mention that I love freesias and he told me those were costly. So, I told him not to use those. I'm flexible with the types of flowers that he use. I only wanted certain colors. My future MIL paid with a check because the florist said he does not accept credit cards. I read over the contract she signed and I did not see anything about cancellations. When I asked the florist at the appointment if I could lower the costs any sort of way he said I could maybe shave off $500 but that would take away from his "vision." He never made any suggestions. In my email to him I asked him about doing half of the table centerpieces. This would go from 12 to 6 and hopefully take off around $600. I also told him I would do away with the tall centerpiece which was over $500. I also called and left a message asking him to return my call. I didn't want to seem like a pain, but at this point I don't know what to do. I would go to the shop but they only go there when you make an appointment. It is just a husband and wife that run the place. I'm not sure if they cashed the deposit yet. Also I really hate cutting back on the flowers so much.

My reception is in a barn that is really bare. It really needs flowers to dress it up.

Mallory835 · May 2012

Does anyone know which flowers are cheaper and which ones are higher? My wedding will at the end of November, so I also had to stick with what will be in season.

egm900 · May 2012

When you were getting an idea of average cost for a florist, did you give them any idea of the space and what you were going for? Flowers are really hard to price unless you know a lot of details, so what you want may not be average for the people you talked to. I'm guessing you're not in New Orleans by the things you've said, so if that's the case, then $5000 is high, unless of course the florist is in NOLA, and then I still think it sounds about right considering what four friends I've talked to in the last 6 months said about NOLA florists.

Daisies tend to be inexpensive, hydrangeas are expensive. Roses are usually fairly inexpensive, dahlias tend to be expensive. Whether a flower is expensive or not can depend on the florist and their source. When I thought I was getting married in April, I wanted lilacs. One florist had a local source, so it was one of the least expensive flowers she could get, but every other florist I talked to didn't have a local source, so they were getting theirs from Holland, so it would be one of the most expensive things I could pick.

The florist's vision doesn't matter, it's all about what your vision is. For my florist visit, I had photos and knew the colors, she figured out what I wanted, priced it, and then we switched things out to bring it down to budget. I would try to stop payment on the check, and ask to redo your meeting. It's nice of you to try to fix this, but your FMIL really should have asked to think it over or said what she was thinking of spending. It's ultimately going to be up to her on if she tries to stop payment and gets rid of anything since she's paying. Have you sat down and talked to FMIL to see what she wants to do?

Mallory835 · May 2012

The florist said he was familiar with my chuch and venue. He was even decorationg a wedding at the venue (a barn) the day after I spoke with him. The barn is very plain and fairly small. Also, I am in New Orleans, but the venue is in Destrehan. I forgot to mention that I have a really small bridal party as well. (only 3 bridesmaids, 3 groomsmen, a flower girl, and a ring bearer) When I chose Dahlias I asked him if those were expensive and he said "not at all!" So, I was under the impression that he would tell me if one of the flowers I chose was expensive. I brought photos to the meeting and made sure he knew I brought them to show which colors I liked. If I was the one that paid I would have stopped the payment, but unfortunately my fiance's mother paid the deposit. I discussed everything with my FMIL right after the meeting with the florist. This is when I realized the price was way more than what she had anticipated. I told her I would see if the florist would change some things and let her know what he says. I feel horrible about the whole situation, and I really wish I would have never even met with this florist in the first place.

Maggie0829 · May 2012

Honestly, I think if your FMIL was so upset with the price she would have said something right away, or would be taking it upon herself to speak with the florist directly. You are doing everything that you can to work with both her and the florist but since she is paying she needs to get involved. Remember you can only do so much and in the end this is not your fault but your FMIL for not speaking up.

But, to help decorate your barn with minimal costs, have you ever considered buying potted mums? They are definitely in season at that time of year and come in a variety of sizes and will add a punch of color for minimal money.

Mallory835 · May 2012

Thank you; I've been feeling so bad about this whole situation. I really wish she would have spoken up, but she said she had no idea what the average costs should be. Also, after the appointment she kept saying "I just want you to be happy." I tried explaining that I will still be happy if some things were eliminated to fit her budget. Also, I did tell the florist I'd like some potted mums. That is what he wants to decorate the outside of the barn with. However, he wants to charge $600 for the mums and some mason jars with candles. He is also hanging a curtain for the doorway. This price seems so high to me!

Maggie0829 · May 2012

How many mums is going to decorate with?

As for your FMIL, she shouldn't be basing her budget off of what is the average cost, she should base it off what she can afford.

Honestly, I would, just for your benefit and the benefit of your FMIL, go to another florist and get a quote. If the quote is in the same range as your current florist then I guess that is the average price in your area, if it is a lot lower then you really need to look over your contract and maybe even take the lower prices to your florist and ask why his prices are so much more expensive. I just have a funny feeling that since you already signed the contract and paid a deposit you will either have to lose the deposit to go with someone else or your FMIL may have to suck it up, realize that she made a mistake, and come up with the cash.

Mallory835 · May 2012

I'm not sure how many mums he was planning on using. That is one of the things I wanted him to clarify. I do want to compare the cost with another florist, because I do think he is overcharging in a lot of areas. I was also hoping he would provide me with a breakdown of costs for each type of flower. I'd really hate for my FMIL to lose the deposit because it was over $1000. He told her the deposit had to be 1/4 of the total costs. So it doesn't seem fair that she should lose the whole deposit if back out. I don't have the contract in front of me (my FMIL has it), but If I don't hear from the florist by today I was going to see if he is at his shop tomorrow. If he doesn't let me change the flowers/costs or let me out of the contract I was thinking of having an attorney at my office look over the contract. I also kept copies of the dated emails showing when I tried to contact the florist. I'm just hoping something can be done to fix this situation.

Flower budget and contract issues

Re: Flower budget and contract issues

Choose Another Board

Search Boards