Flowers can be one of the most beautiful aspects of your wedding and they provide the perfect opportunity to add a personal touch to make your day truly special.
As a general rule of thumb, couples spend around 10% of their wedding budget on flowers. Budgeting for your wedding flowers is important as most often it can be one of the most surprisingly expensive parts of your day. That being said flowers really add a romance and elegance to your day that you just can't find elsewhere.
Here are our top tips at nailing that floral budget.
Meet with your Florist
If possible meet with your florist to talk through your dream ideas and inspiration. If you can't meet with them for any reason then have a chat with them over the phone. It's essential that you pick the right florist for you and this is a good way of building up a relationship. Make sure your florist is being transparent with costs, to ensure they aren't omitting any extra charges in their quotes which may appear later. Once you have met with them then you should expect a proposal based your ideas and their suggestions.
Flower Crunching
When it comes to choosing your favourite blooms keep in mind that some are more expensive than others. Peonies and Lily of the Valley for example are costlier than other varieties of flowers as they don't bloom all year round and are harder to obtain and so come with a higher price tag.
That doesn't mean to say that you can't have your favourite flowers as part of your wedding. A good way of getting around this is by mixing expensive blooms with inexpensive flowers. This won't affect the overall look and your florist will be able to help guide and advise you here. With our couples we ask them for their favourite 2-3 flowers for us to include and then to leave the rest to us. We keep within their colour scheme and they end up getting the best selection of flowers for the time of year. So if you can be relaxed when it comes to flower choice, you will usually end up with the best selection.
Keep it simple and focus on the 'wow' piece
If you do have a budget to stick too we suggest focusing on one area and allocate the main part of your budget here. You may choose you can't live without having a floral archway for your vows or a statement bouquet. It's crucial to have one 'wow' statement piece, that will not only look amazing on the day but for your photos also.
If you are opting for an installation design, see if this could be moved from the ceremony to reception so it is used throughout the day. Having one focal point will have more of an impact than lots of little designs that often go unnoticed. Even though it may sound more costly to have a few large, dramatic pieces such as floral archways and chandeliers, it’s more impressive to your guests as they often stand out more than smaller designs.
Be honest and open with your budget
Let your florist know from the outset your budget for flowers and how much you are willing to spend. By being honest from the start your florist will be able to suggest designs in your price range rather than wasting yours and their time looking at designs that are out of your price range. If, as you get nearer to your day, you find you have more budget to spend on flowers, then designs can be added on.
Choose designs that can be moved
Opting for design that can be moved from the ceremony to the reception room is a great way of reusing flowers for later in the day. For example-
A long and low ceremony/register table design that can be moved over to the top table
Plinth and urn designs to decorate the front of the ceremony space which then can be moved to the reception area, either to welcome guests or sit behind the top table for a statement piece.
Floral archways are becoming increasingly popular. Think about doubling them up to be used as a photo area for your guests or as decor behind your top table.
Think about the time of year
When you are getting married can have an impact on the price of some flowers. For example on Valentines and around Christmas, the price of red flowers go up, especially red roses at Valentines! If you have opted to get married in between Christmas and New Year keep in mind that flowers can be limited, and again more expensive. Stick to seasonal flowers and let your florist guide you.
Avoid DIY
Opting to DIY your flowers yourself can seem like a good idea to help with costs but it's often overwhelming and stressful, especially if you lack experience. While there are some great 'do it yourself' flower classes out there, actually having the pressure of creating the designs yourself, often the day before, is a lot harder and can end up costing you extra money if you need to get last minute designs.
It takes a lot of skills to create those stunning designs, and you could find yourself being up late the evening of your wedding playing florist, when in reality you want to be getting a good nights sleep. Florists train for years, know their blooms inside and out and have a wealth of knowledge. They will be at the flower market while you're fast asleep, go to lengths to get the perfect palette for your flowers and will know how to deal with a flower emergency without breaking a sweat. To avoid disasters hire a Pro and leave the pressure to us!
Prioritise certain designs
If you have a budget that you really need to stick to make sure you have your essentials first before adding on any extras. Our recommended order of priority flowers are-
Bridal bouquet and Groom's buttonhole
Table Centrepiece flowers
Bridesmaid bouquets and other buttonholes
Ceremony room flowers
Statement pieces such as archways, urn designs and garlands
Hair flowers and thank you bouquets
Things to keep in mind...
Remember you are not only paying for the flowers
A lot of hours of work goes into creating your dream flowers. You will not only be paying for the stems of flowers themselves but for the time it takes for those blooms to be created into designs, installed and dismantled. Not forgetting the hours that goes in before the flowers are even ordered which include consultations, liaising with wholesalers and growers, prepping the flowers and 'babysitting' them until they are picture perfect. Make sure that your quote not only has the price of the designs but it does show the delivery, set up and dismantle fees.
If it seems too good to be true, it often is
A word of caution for quotes that seem 'just to good to be true'. Once getting in a few prices from different florists and one or two seem a lot cheaper than the rest, don't be fooled into thinking you got a good deal. There is truth in 'you pay for what you get' so go with the florist you trust and has the skills and experience to make your dream flowers. In the end it will avoid a lot of disappointment and stress.
Try out our handy budget calculator to help plan your wedding flowers.
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