What is a realistic flower budget?

When planning a wedding budget, one of the items on the list of “must have’s” are the flowers, but how much of your overall budget should you plan on putting towards it? There are several factors involved in answering this question.
1. What is your total wedding budget? In general, plan on spending 8-15% of your total budget on the flowers. Rank your items from least important to most important. If your flowers are ranked high, then plan on spending a higher percentage. With the average wedding budget being right around the $20,000 mark, your flowers, if you plan on spending 10% would then have a budget of $2000. If you don’t have a lot of bridesmaids and high guest list and you don’t want really expensive flowers such as lily of the valley, you should be able to get the florals you want and stay within that budget.
2. What types of flowers do you want? Flowers in general are not inexpensive and some blooms are just more than others. If you have a small budget, say under $1000 for your flowers, do not expect that a floral designer will be able to get you high quality roses, hydrangea, calla lilies and orchids when you have a high guest count and a large bridal party. The more you need, the more the cost goes up, therefore, when working with a tighter budget, think in terms of colors and not actual types of flowers. A good designer will be able to help you figure out how to get the flowers you need in the color(s) you have chosen while staying within your budget just as long as you don’t expect to get higher end flowers.
3. What time of year is your wedding taking place? There are several major floral holidays where the flowers will double-triple up from their usual cost. Avoid the week of Mother’s day and Valentine’s Day or you will find that your previous budget of $2000 will only get you perhaps $700 worth of flowers if that depending on what you want.
Now, with those factors in mind, let’s look a little closer at why flowers tend to be expensive. Many people operate under the assumption that flowers should be a relatively inexpensive commodity. They can be, but just like all other types of consumable goods, there is a quality factor involved. Think of it like this, if you go to Walmart you know that the clothing will not be designer. You know the prices reflect that and that finding a pair of Manlo Blahnik’s in the shoe department is an unrealistic expectation. The same holds true for flowers. In general, the flowers you find in a grocery store or online in certain bulk/wholesale packages are of a lower grade. They are not bred to be the biggest, the showiest, the longest lasting, or the most amazing of that type of flower that they can be. They are grown in massive quantities to meet a mass demand. Wedding floral designers specialize in buying only the best possible grade of flowers available. This translates into higher cost which is then passed on to you, the consumer. You want designer shoes, you get them. You want the best flowers possible for your wedding you can have them, but you have to know where to go to get them and you have to realize that you will spend more than at the grocery store.
Along with a higher grade comes the service factor. If you are the kind of bride who wants hands on service, high attention to detail, amazing flowers and accessories, and an award winning designer you will pay more than the bride who is just happy to have a nice bouquet, a few personal flowers and perhaps some cake flowers. There is nothing wrong with being either type of bride. What becomes the issue, is when you have a bride who wants all of that, but cannot afford it. Again, your budget will determine your overall wedding including the flowers and décor. Yes, a good designer can be creative to help you, but you first have to understand what you can and cannot do with the funds that you have. You know what you can afford in terms of the venue, food, dress, and honeymoon. The flowers go right along with that.
Does this mean that if you are on an extremely tight budget that you cannot have nice flowers? No. But, it does mean that you have to realize that a lot of the flowers you see in the magazines and online in places like Pinterest could very well be outside of what you can afford. And, you need to realize that prices go up year after year. That bouquet you saw could have been from a few years back. It would not price out the same today as it did then simply due to inflation. You pay more today for hamburger than you did two years ago and flowers are just like every other commodity. They go up in price as do all goods year after year.
In the end, you can have nice flowers, but, like all things in life, if it is outside your budget, choose flowers that are within what you can afford instead of wondering why your floral designer can’t give you the flowers you want. We too are part of the overall economy and have to pay higher prices every year for the flowers and goods we use in our business. We want to help you, but you have to first know what you can and cannot afford. Not sure what that is? Make an appointment with a designer. Sit down, be open and honest with them about your budget and what you would like. Then, LISTEN. We will tell you what you can and cannot afford and we will help you figure it all out. It is what we do and we love what we do.