Here comes another post I love from the Brown Bag and it is exactly what I love to share with all brides to be. =P
This entry is a response to many of our potential clients and vendors who ask the proverbial question…
{“Can you give me a price list for flowers for my wedding?“}
or
{“What should I budget for wedding flowers?“}
These are the most frequently asked questions and I’m not at all surprised because information is not as easy to find as you might think.
Why aren’t many wedding floral designers and florist able to provide a price sheet on their website?
Why is it so hard to determine how to budget for wedding flowers?
The answer is not so simple as we discovery. As consumers, we are accustomed to seeing flowers at our local grocery stores like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Safeways(Vons). We often see “bucket shops” with pre-made flowers with clear pricing. We can buy flowers at BULK warehouses like Costco. However, in those instances, flowers are sold as COMMODITIES or PRODUCTs not as a custom designed ARRANGEMENT.
A floral arrangement is a hand crafted, custom product and it varies in price.
What are the components in pricing wedding flowers?
- Creativity
- Quantity and Quality
- Seasonality of flowers
- Color of the flowers
- Holidays – the demand of certain flowers during peak holidays increase – price could escalate
- Fixed Costs of a Business
- Labor and Design Costs
- Delivery and Setup
- Materials
- Props, Rentals, Containers, Supplies
- Customer Service
- Exclusivity of a Designer
- Travel Costs
- Location
I’m sure I’ve missed a few but in general you get the message…right?
What is the salesperson at a floral shop thinking when you ask how much wedding flowers costs?
1) When is the wedding? i.e. Weekday? Holidays weekend?
2) What color is the wedding?
3) How many floral pieces do they need? i.e. Ceremony? Reception? Bouquets? Boutonnieres? Food Stations?
4) What containers? What props? What rental items do they need?
5) What is their style? i.e. Modern? Simple relaxed? Country rustic? Formal, Black Tie?
6) Is this a complex setup? How many floral installers will it take? What is the distance between ceremony site and reception site?
7) What flowers do they like? Is there additional cost to import? Can we source locally?
When is the breakdown of this event?
9) How much lead time will we have to create this wedding?
Do you see why it’s a very difficult question to ask any floral designer or florist about pricing? It is almost as general as asking how much is a car? (Do you want a sports car? A sedan? What are the options? A/C, navigation, leather seats? Do you want a luxury brand? Is it a 2 door, 4 door?
What year? What make?)
BOTTOM LINE: There are many options for wedding flowers. What is important is to do some INDEPENDENT research. We are so lucky that we have great online floral delivery services at our finger tips.
Websites like bbrooks.com, ftd.com,1800flowers.com, teleflora.com can give you GENERIC pricing on a range of pre-made, pre-designed flowers. If you have designer tastes, you know that you will have to pay above such prices.
There are many quality vendors who do show pricing on floral arrangements through their websites. One of the best in LA is Eric Buterbaugh who has a fabulous collection of flowers.
Remember, when you do your research, these sites show prices for single arrangements and all floral have added delivery costs so DO NOT be surprised that for wedding flowers, you too should also expect DELIVERY, SETUP, BREAKDOWN, DESIGN costs. This is industry standards and completely justified.
- DO YOUR HOMEWORK – research is important.
- Be Specific with your questions. AVOID sending lengthy emails. If you ask a generic question, you will probably get a very general answer back .
- Pick up the phone. Make a floral consultation. Make a connection.
- Review the vendor’s website and see if they address your questions.
- Go to wedding related websites for general PRICING answers but do not expect that it will fit with your wedding needs.
-Ask if your vendors have a minimum.
Above image of Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway from Bride Wars
Second image courtesy of Eric Buterbaugh Floral Design
Middle image courtesy of Vera Wang Flowers by FTD.com
Bottom image courtesy of bbrooks.com
