I'll be the first to admit that flowers are not cheap, unless you grow them yourself in your garden. Most brides and grooms getting married for the first time have no idea about the price of wedding flowers, & why would they, how often in your life will you buy so many flowers in one go. The price of the arrangements you love in your inspiration images can come as a real surprise (if only Instagram & Pinterest had price tags on their floral imagery!).
Here I hope to help explain why professional wedding florists charge what they do. We're not trying to rip you off just because you are getting married, but rather want you to have the most beautiful flowers that you and your guests will reminisce about for years to come. We also want you to have an amazing experience working with us and feel completely at ease trusting us to create your dream.
Quality
If you are looking for beautiful blooms in specific colours, not just a random supermarket bouquet or bruised flowers from the garage, you will need to pay more. Professional florists source their flowers from the best growers (local & worldwide) who in turn need to be compensated for growing, processing, packaging and shipping the flowers in perfect condition direct from their farms to the wholesalers whom we purchase from. Our flowers arrive from Holland, South Africa, South America, and Italy just to name a few. Yes, there are British growers & local flower farmers who we will always work with in preference to importing, but not all flowers can be sourced locally; and the grower, wholesaler and delivery driver all need to be compensated for their role in producing and delivering immaculate blooms for your big day.
It is also worthwhile to note that individual flower costs vary. If flowers are rarer, harder to grow or have limited growing seasons they are often more expensive. This is why peonies, when in season, are still quite costly; much more so than your typical rose; and out of season are often ridiculously priced. Also, a floral design or bouquet that is larger with more blooms will be more expensive than a smaller version; size is a factor. A quality, professional floral designer will know what proportions of flowers and size are required to create in a given space at your ceremony and reception. It is possible to downscale a look, but the quality of the arrangement in regards to composition and proportion could be compromised.
Experience
Most professional florists specialising in weddings will have invested in formal studies and/or paid workshops to hone their skills and techniques. It takes years to master the skill of floral design, just as it takes many years of experience and schooling to specialise in other careers. Not all florists are equal, not everyone does invest in their training and education and this can be seen in the quality of the flowers they use and the overall design of their arrangements. Professional florists need to be compensated for their skills, especially if you value a seamless service and beautiful floral designs for your wedding day.
Wedding floral design is also a form of artistry. As wedding florists we are offering you a unique floral creation made by hand which is uniquely yours.
A qualified, experienced florist will ensure the structure and mechanics of each floral design are safe and secure. We have all heard stories about bouquets falling apart right after the ceremony or wedding arches falling over at the ceremony because they weren't arranged or set up adequately.
Time
It takes time to offer quality floral design services to our couples as well as extending great customer service. First, there is the initial consultation, then communications to revise the floral proposal/quote, then time for sending the contract, making revisions to the contract and floral order. There is not only the administrative proposal and email writing tasks, but also the time involved in ordering the proper quantity of flowers. This is so that you have enough centrepieces, boutonnieres, etc. on your special day and don't end up short on flowers because your florist didn't know how to properly order what was needed.
Then, 3-4 days before the wedding actually happens your florist receives your flowers and has to process each flower by hand, making sure leaves and thorns are trimmed off. Each flower needs to be properly cut and placed in a bucket of water so that they hydrate properly to look their best on your wedding day. After the flowers are hydrated there are hours of work that go into separating the flowers for each arrangement and creating each bouquet, boutonniere, corsage, flower crown, centerpiece...you get the picture; all of which is done by hand. Yes, everything is created artisanally by hand and takes time and experience to achieve the desired look.
There is the time that goes into boxing and preparing the flowers for pick up or delivery which also needs to be accounted for. There are delivery and set up fees to help cover the time and staffing needs of your professional florist.
They need to package and deliver the flowers to your event and successfully unload and set the flowers in their proper place before the ceremony and reception begin. There are often large installations that need time to be designed on site like mantel arrangements, stairway flowers and large arch arrangements. You need someone who is reliable and knows how to unpack a centrepieces correctly and who will show up on time to your event; someone who makes sure everything looks amazing before you and your guests arrive.
Let's also not forget about the time it takes to clean up after the wedding, including washing all vases and buckets and cleaning up the studio!
Hours upon hours are spent on each and every wedding and this time needs to be calculated into the overall cost of your wedding flowers.
Overheads
Keep in mind a few other expenses that wedding florists, like all business owners, also have. We must pay our taxes, qualified staff, bills for water, electricity, floral coolers, florist tools, websites, vases as well as accounting fees, liability insurance, commercial vehicle insurance, delivery vehicle fuel and maintenance...well you get the idea. We also need to provide for our own basic needs and make a living, just like in every other profession.
As you can see there is a lot involved with designing quality wedding flowers. It is not as simple as showing up at your supermarket, grabbing a bunch of daisies and tying a ribbon around them.
Quality, experience and time are all things to remember when booking your wedding florist. Remember, your family friend may be offering flowers at a great price, but will the flowers be of a high quality, will the design be consistent, do they have actual experience creating the arrangements you are envisioning, in the volume you require, do they know how to allocate time for processing, designing and delivering your flowers on time, do they have commercial and liability insurance if something goes wrong? In some cases your friend might just be an incredible floral designer who is offering you a discounted price as a wedding gift, but more often than not we hear the sad stories that confirm you get what you pay for.
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