You’ve set the date and booked the venue. You might have picked the dress. Now it’s time to think all things floral… Floral budgets to be more precise.
Yes I know, pretty boring. But believe me: you’ll be glad you are reading up about it now instead of being unpleasantly surprised later.⠀
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So let’s dive right in. What would your flower budget get you? Rule of thumb is: Reserve 10-15% of your total budget for flowers. If you want a very lush Pinterest-worthy wedding you might need to reserve more.
The €1,000 or less bride⠀
This amount usually would account for your bridal bouquet, a few bridesmaid bouquets and your buttonholes. If you are having a more intimate wedding it would pay for a ceremony piece as well. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The €1,000 – €2,000 bride⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This budget would generally do for all your personal flowers (including flower crowns, flower girls, additional family member corsages etc), a ceremony piece and pew ends. Alternatively, if your bridal party is small it may even account for a pedestal arrangement or two. Or some small table settings (bud vases) for the reception.
The €2,000-€3,000 bride⠀⠀⠀
Again all personal flowers will fit in this budget. This budget also allows for a large ceremony structure such as an arch or a floating installation, a ceremony piece and a reception piece, pew ends, pedestals and small table flower arrangements for the reception.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The €3,000-€6,000 bride
This budget allows for quite a bit. Personal flowers, a well decorated ceremony venue with a few large installations and a fully decorated reception area with large flower arrangements on the tables. This price range falls within our typical full service wedding.
The >€6,000 bride
Get ready, because this is really the ‘go crazy or go home’ budget we are gonna talk about. Either flowers for very large weddings or a starting point for a very flower rich day. We are talking big impact pieces, flower walls, real trees in your venue or to decorate the aisles, floral archways, clouds etc. As the budget is open ended the sky really is the limit.
Of course these examples are all illustrative and a bit broad spectrum. Not one wedding is the same as the next and our own pricing may be different to others. In this example we are taking price-points from our own arrangements and, as always, we are using the industry standard pricing model for wedding florals. I am aware that some florists may do it for cheaper or even for more. But any couple that comes to us we will try to help out within the pricing model we have set and the budget they are comfortable with.
To give you a few examples: I can vividly remember someone ordering a few market bouquets from me to use for her own wedding to cut down cost. And you know what: That is absolutely fine. She sent me the most beautiful pictures of her laid back day and she was so happy with it. Then another couple decided that flower overload was key to their day and they wanted everything floral, lush and perfect. And guess what: That is absolutely fine too. We are always happy to serve and love to work with any couple regardless of their budget. We are also very happy to give suggestions what way your money is best spent or give alternatives when money is tight.
Also, keep in mind that certain premium flowers cost a lot more than others. Hydrangeas and David Austin Roses or dinner-plate Dahlias are only a few in that higher price range.
Finally we arrive at the last topic of this post. A topic that is often overlooked, but will probably need a follow up in a next post as there is so much more to talk about.
I am speaking of: Cost of delivery, cost of set-up and cost of pack-up.
These are not ‘part’ of the flowers. But are oh so important to think about as they are charged separately on the final proposal. If you have planned a day full of flowers, with multiple installations and a short time frame for install and pack up, these costs can quickly ramp up. On the other hand: It is also one of the best ways to cut down cost for you as a couple. If there are no big installations to do and you want to save yourself some money, why not pick up the flowers yourself from our farm?
As you can see: Options galore, but I do hope that I have given you at least a platform that you can work from. And Let me know in the comments below: What is your flower budget?