How to budget for wedding flowers
Even before you’ve engaged a florists services you already feel on the back foot. Yes Pinterest and magazines are great at opening your world to all the wedding possibilities but they do nothing to help you with how to budget for wedding flowers effectively.
Love my dress published a very interesting Floral trends report earlier this year, in which it says that “Value for money has always been a key consideration for all florists’ clients and rightly so. But now, more than ever, clients are wanting to be clever with how they spend their money. This undoubtedly is going to be the most you’re ever going to spend on flowers, so getting it right and making it count are always going to be a prerequisite.”
In this blog post we will be opening sharing how to budget for wedding flowers, what a realistic investment actually is and what factors will effect how much you end up allocating monetary wise to your wedding day.
What is the biggest factor that effects the cost of wedding flowers?
Simply put - Its your numbers.
More people
More tables
More flowers
More labour
Think of it like this - Bride A has decided to have 9 Bridesmaids so will need nine Bridesmaids bouquets where as Bride B who only has 2 Bridesmaids will only need two bouquets.
To help you visualise this more; Bride A could be looking at a spend of £585+ where as Bride B could be more around £130+ and that’s just for Bridesmaids bouquets. This correlates across everything from Buttonholes to pew ends and table florals as well. The more people you invite, the bigger your wedding venue, the more flowers you’ll need and the longer it will take myself and my team to create and install your dream florals.
Photographer: Ellie Mac Photography
Why are wedding flowers so expensive?
There are so many factors as to why you might perceive that flowers are expensive. This is most certainly not an exhaustive list but some that I really feel are important to your wedding:
Energy, inflation and Covid recovery. Energy costs to heat greenhouses in which flowers are grown for the horticulture industry have risen to record high levels. Domestically in the UK electricity has risen by 66.7% and gas by 129.4% over the last year alone. (www.ons.gov.uk)
Weather. Peak wedding dates during the summer last year saw highs of 35c. With the best will in the world, even the most tolerant of flowers will struggle; so any great florist will make sure they include a buffer for any blooms that need to be replaced.
Seasonality. If you’re a peony lover getting married in February trust me when I say they’re going to be in excess of £15 a stem. Having your heart set on including flowers that wont naturally be in season for you wedding date is a sure fire way to be left feeling that wedding flowers are expensive.
Supply and Demand. Most flowers are sold via an Auction. The way this works is that all growers send their produce to one of 3 major flower market auction houses. (One of these alone has a floor space of 990,000m2) Each bucket of flowers is sold via a bidding process so if I say to my wholesaler that I need a specific rose that you’ve got your heart set on then they keep bidding until they get them for us which means a higher price. Click here to see the auctions
Wedding Flowers Myth:
“Foliage is not a cheaper option . It can costs as much (and sometimes more) as some flowers, with eucalyptus being the most expensive. Compared to flowers, foliage is very slow growing and generally is grown in hotter countries with more daylight hours and sunshine.”
What is a realistic budget for wedding florals?
Over the years lots of publications have recommended different budgets. But here’s the thing, what they suggest or even how much cousin Rose spent 5 years ago on her wedding, will never prepare you for what your flower investment actually needs to be. Why? There are too many variables.
Warwickshire wedding flowers will always have different costs to it than a London wedding for example. Flower transportation costs differ, wholesalers offer varying grades some of which cost more and some cost less, even down to how much its cost a florist to train in the craft of floristry and learn their skills vastly contrast.
I can’t speak for other florists but I can tell you that a typical Hibiscus Floral Design wedding spend is generally in the region of £1800 - £2500 with couples opting for full service florals (Bridal, ceremony, reception, key statement installation designs and hire ware) being in the region of £5000.
It’s good to remember that you are not just paying for the actual flowers, but also a full team that are with you throughout your planning, the lead up to the wedding, the big day and also a few days after the wedding with clearing down.
You’re paying for skilled professional floral designers, the studio I need to work in, flower conditioning, preparing the flowers, vehicle costs, website/email hosting, utilities, insurances, mechanics to create the arrangement, ribbons, admin time to prepare your quotation and replying to your emails. You’re paying for my knowledge to create the best utilised stem counts, time ordering flowers, advertising, staff wages, making the actual designs, loading the van, set up on the day, collection of hired items, cleaning of sundries like votives and vases, cleaning of buckets, and getting up big ladders that you are not comfortable to climb yourself.
Lastly and importantly, You’re unloading all that floral stress onto my shoulders and paying for me to make the best and tough floral decisions for you that will make your wedding an unforgettable day for you and your family and friends.
If you’re wanting to pin down a more realistic flower investment, I’m totally here for you! Download our wedding flower price guide here or our Hire ware price guide here and then I’d highly suggest using a trusty excel spreadsheet to work out what floral pieces are non negotiable for you.
The second thing you can do is to book in for a personal consultation where I can then prepare a bespoke proposal that encompasses all your wants and dreams.
5 tips on how to get the most out of your wedding flowers on the big day.
Pin down what’s important to you and flexible on the rest. Whether that’s having all your favourite girls around you on the day or being as sustainable as possible or knowing that the wedding reception is the bit you’re most looking forward to. Tell us so that we can help and support you with making your wedding plans come to life.
Be open, honest and ask advice from your wedding experts. We know that you don’t do this every day, I certainly don’t expect you to know it all, that’s what I’m here for. Lean on me, ask all the questions no matter how big, small, simple or tough. That way I can help you have a deeper understanding as to why I’ve suggested this or how that will give you more value.
Repurposing is key for florals. You can’t do it with everything (due to fit for purpose shaping) but I’ve got some great ideas for you which will help you utilise floral designs throughout your ceremony and wedding reception so that you know that you are making the most of your wedding flowers. Ask your wedding planner if they are happy to reposition florals or me to include an on-site fee to do this for you.
Hiring wedding items. Not only does it save you money because its always a cheaper option than buying hoards of vases, candle holders, log slices….etc etc but it’s also a way to make your wedding a lot more eco friendly with less waste afterwards. View Wedding Hire ware here
Don’t try to spread your budget everywhere. Little bits here and there just don’t cut the memorable mark. Instead, focus more on creating larger, more impactful floral designs that make your friends and family go ‘WOW!’. Want to read more about larger installations? Click here
“In order to maximise bang for buck, 2023 will see a requirement for couples to introduce some flexibility into their floral designs by fully immersing themselves in the skill and experience of their suppliers.”
Aesthetic storytelling wedding florals
The Love my dress Floral trends report '“Acknowledges that couples are far more in touch with the aesthetic storytelling of their day than ever before and there is “new desire for clients to lead the styling of their wedding in an attempt to be entirely unique” It goes on to say “Value for money has always been a key consideration for all florists’ clients and rightly so. But now, more than ever, clients are wanting to be clever with how they spend their money. This undoubtedly is going to be the most you’re ever going to spend on flowers, so getting it right and making it count are always going to be a prerequisite.”
Gone are the days when a bride requested a pastel pink bouquet or a compact handtied of roses, now there is a lot more detail, thought and styling that goes into creating aesthetic storytelling wedding flowers. It also means that there is a lot more time spent as well, which of course has a knock on effect on how you budget for wedding flowers and the investment you will end up making on them.
Hibiscus floral design couples truly love bringing beautiful storytelling elements to their wedding day. From smaller details like remembering loved ones no longer with us with lockets on the bridal bouquet or a memory table at the reception through to larger gestures like floral pillars that frame the ceremony space and work in harmony with the rooms architecture.
We are on hand throughout the whole planning process. We are right by your side to help with difficult decisions and guide towards the day you’ve always dreamt of as we share our knowledge. We always endeavour that a full proposal with mood board drops lightly into your inbox within 48 hours, are open to site visits if required, and am always available on the day to coordinate with other suppliers, set up and installations personally, deliver your bridal bouquet and pin on buttonholes.
Photographer: Beard and Mane
Sustainable wedding flowers
There is not only a monetary cost to your pocket with wedding flowers but there is also a cost to the world we live in. I am a great believer in being forward thinking, in being proactive to finding alternative ways to make my own floristry leave less of a carbon footprint.
After all; flowers are a natural biodegradable product which have a wonderfully harmonious relationship and life cycle with the environment that we live in.
If you would like to read more on how I am currently doing this and what I hope to accomplish in the future, there is a new blog coming soon!
How to budget for wedding flowers Conclusion
Like with all aspects of your wedding, what you think you’ll spend and what you end up spending will be two completely different figures. There will need to be compromise in some areas, and what these end up being is down to what is important to you as a couple.
Be open to amending your wedding flower budget, and if this isn’t possible either work with your florist to come up with alternatives that may fit your investment better or seek a different florist who is able to accommodate your needs in a different way. Be warned though, that age old saying ‘You get what you pay for’ really is true. You will always be able to find a cheaper florist, but they may not have the skills to pull off your vision or be able to include key elements or flowers you have your heart set on.
If your a couple who aspire for a beautifully styled wedding day, full of little and big details that wow your guests, if you need a florist with bundles of skills and oodles of passion, who will support you throughout your planning process and on the day so that you feel in control, excited and able to enjoy the biggest day of your life…then I am 100% the florist for you!
If you’re wanting to pin down a more realistic flower investment, I’m totally here for you! Download our wedding flower price guide here and then I’d highly suggest using a trusty excel spreadsheet to work out what floral pieces are non negotiable for you.