Wedding Planning Tips for Florals
Photo: Faye Gedik
Weddings can be very expensive - period. But florals are a huge factor in driving up costs for a wedding. I believe that brides can achieve a similar (perhaps edited version of the) floral aesthetic or look that they want and stay on budget, if they take into consideration key factors as to not get one’s hopes up and be able to manage expectations better.
Having working in the wedding industry alongside florists, photographers, planners, videographers, caterers, DJs and more - what may look easy to put together or execute is actually a lot of effort and labor in planning, creating and delivering (and sometimes breakdown dependent on venue). For florists, there is an immense amount of time that goes into planning the quantity and type of flowers and greenery that can be used for a wedding, dependent on the season as well as what materials go into creating arrangements and bouquets (because it’s not as simple as placing into a vase - unless you only want very minimal or simple arrangements). Placing orders, picking up florals and arranging in an appropriate amount of time to keep the florals looking fresh is all apart of the process and costs. And of course delivering and placing the arrangements at the venue and direct to the wedding party for bouquets and boutonnieres.
I worked quite closely with my dear photographer and florist friend Shawna Henrie, and learned very quickly to manage my expectations for flowers for my wedding, especially since I had a tight budget like most brides. And I also have a (not at the time) funny story regarding my floral arrangements on the day of the wedding that I will include at the end.
Key Factors to Consider for Wedding Floral Planning
Type of Flowers - certain flowers like roses, orchids, and hydrangeas or flowers that are out of season will cost significantly more. So if you have even one arrangement filled with the high-cost flowers that will drive up the overall costs and most likely exceed your budget. You can work with your florist to find alternative flower types. There are also flower types that are more high maintenance than others, meaning the florist will need to spend extra care and effort to ensure the flowers are in the right conditions to stay fresh for your wedding day (such as having to use a refrigerated environment, going to the flower market morning of the event date to get just those flowers so they are as fresh as possible).
Location of Wedding - if you have the option, book a florist that is in proximity to your venue or even better, has experience working with/at your venue. The further away your florist is from the destination that they have to deliver to/set up larger scale arrangements, the more the services and labor will cost. This also means the florist would have to spend more time prepping your arrangements and ensuring that they they stay pristine prior to traveling with the arrangements (keep in mind travel means they also may need to rent a transport vehicle if they do not own one).
Complexity of Arrangements - you may just want one large arrangement, but just because it is one arrangement does not mean it would cost less than having say several small arrangements in a vase. If the arrangement itself will require an expensive type or out of season flower, a large quantity of flowers or an internal structure needs to be created to keep the arrangement stable (and this could require assembling or finishing the arrangement at the venue), then those factors will drive up your cost. Arrangements like arches may seen simple, but dependent on how full or the shape of your arch, this could cause more labor and prep for the florist. Having arrangements that hang, are suspended or of that nature will also play into labor costs - especially if assistants and extra hands will need to be hired to create your arrangements. I have seen 3 people work on what looked like a simple floral arch before - and that is just an arch.
Bottom line and takeaway is have your floral inspirations and budget and be upfront about it with the florist, you will have to anyways so the florist can quote you. Manage your expectations by knowing that a smaller budget with the intention of having more flowers, out of season flowers, the more expensive flowers or complex arrangements will eat up most of your budget. But with that information in mind, be open to working with the florist on modifying your arrangements.
Some ways you can still have the type of flowers or arrangements you want can look like:
Prioritize the floral arrangements that you absolutely have to have such as a bridal bouquet and groom’s boutonniere - then modify or simplify other arrangements and eliminate the need for florals if you absolutely don’t need it on certain tables or aspects of your wedding decor.
Multi-Use Arrangements: bridal party bouquets can be converted to table arrangements. Or having ceremony flower arrangements moved into your reception space.
Simplified Table Florals: if you know you want a certain floral look, you can have a select amount of arrangements made for just the sweetheart and or wedding party tables so those arrangements can be photographed, then do simpler arrangements incorporating flowers from the more elaborate arrangements to tie in the other reception tables.
So I actually had this tall, dramatic arrangements for each table, and before the ceremony started, my florist was alerted by venue staff that due to wind the vases could fall over. Because she didn’t want any mishaps during the reception, all of the original table arrangements ended up being placed all around the venue space. So in retrospect, I didn’t even notice where the arrangements had gone (I was told that they needed to be moved) and the tablescapes still looked full because I had a variety of bud vases and hurricane glasses. Although I personally wanted to have more florals on each table, that is a cost I could live without and put into another part of my wedding day.
If you’re really struggling with being able to pull together sufficient funds in your budget to cover the wedding florals you want, but you don’t want to have to sacrifice having flowers - you can look at ordering flowers from a local flower market (sometimes they offer event arrangement services) such as the LA Flower Market (which has numerous flower vendors), OC Wholesale Flowers (which I’ve purchased flowers, greenery and plants for events and shoots before) or a place like Costco! Even a few bud vases on each table with a handful of greenery or a more consumer type flowers that can be found at the store; dried flowers ordered wholesale online (where you don’t need a “wholesale license” and over a period of time you can try to use coupon codes and accumulate what you need) or forage for flowers and grasses can be impactful. If you’re looking vases or vessels, look in your kitchen cupboards first! Many jars or glass containers you already own may work for what you’re looking for, also look to Facebook market or wedding-oriented groups that may be re-selling, and if you want to buy new Dollar Tree is a great option for bulk containers and vases. Happy Wedding Planning!
Photos taken by Bleudog Fotography & Faye Gedik / Florals by Bleudog Floral