In the wise words of my BFF Stacy…”Pinterest is an incredible tool for this business…but it is the bane of my existence…”
To say that I have seen my fair share of Pinterest boards, wedding blogs and wedding magazines would be an understatement. Like most of my couples and colleagues, I look to these sources for inspiration for my clients, styled shoots and trends. That being said, I feel that it is high time that I give you some honest un-Pinterest-coated truth about the real cost of the floral designs we are all swooning over…
Oh…a couple of things before we get started.
I am a certified Floral Designer and have been immersed in the floral industry for almost ten years. I am confident in the pricing I am presenting to you below. I understand the time, research, labour, care and mechanics it takes to bring every single bloom to design fruition. Like many seasoned and experienced designers we are extremely knowledgeable with the seasonal market availability aspect of this industry as well as how location effects wedding and event floral pricing. We also have long established working relationships with our suppliers, many who would jump through hoops to help us please our clients.
Also, the prices below are for floral designs that you see on blogs like Style Me Pretty (the most pinned site in the industry), Green Wedding Shoes and Weddingchicks as well as fabulous magazines such as Today’s Bride, Real Simple, Weddingbells and The Knot. Magazines and blogs like Wedluxe, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Martha Stewart Weddings and Elegant Wedding are considered luxury and are a totally different ball game.
Without further ado..
Popular Wedding and Event Floral Designs on Blogs, Pinterest and Mainstream Wedding Magazines
Bouquets:
Tight Mounded Nosegay:
By far the most pinned and featured bouquet is the huge handtied beauty that is often pictured full of gorgeous peonies, garden roses, ranunculus and orchids. Honest cost…$250 and up
Cascade:
Gorgeous trailing bouquet, which perfectly compliments the stunning gown in the image, dripping with phalaenopsis orchids, garden roses and lisianthus. Honest cost…$400 and up
Romantic Foraged Handtied:
This is another style that is gracing every blog and board. The bouquet is normally large and loose in styling and is heavy in greens such as olive, jasmine vine and eucalyptus. It is also chock a block full of garden roses, spray roses, peonies, poppies, veronica, zinnia and dahlias…pretty much any gorgeous seasonally available floral. Honest cost $200 and up
Flower Crowns:
Full halos with spray roses, dahlias, ranunculus, succulents and greens (incredibly labour intensive) Honest cost $200 – $300
Bridesmaids Bouquets:
Styled to look similar to bride’s and accented with more expensive florals like peonies, callas and garden roses. Honest cost $95 and up
Pew Décor:
Whether it be trendy handtieds tied to the pews or mounds of garden roses, dahlias and veronica accented with jasmine vine in a vase on a hook stand plan on $65 and up and to pay additional costs for ribbon and necessary hardware.
Ceremony Floral:
I’m talking about those large, gorgeous, full and showy pieces for the alter and on pillars throughout the space full to the brim with flowers like hydrangea, garden roses, peonies, stock, spray and standard roses, ranunculus and lisianthus. Honest cost $350 and up
Reception Floral:
Low Centrepieces:
For a gorgeous full arrangement with the florals we have discussed throughout this post…Honest cost $165 and up.
Gorgeous Raised Centrepieces:
Whether they be mounded or loose and airy raised centrepieces full of garden roses, peonies, ranuculus, stock, spray roses, hydrangea and greens are absolutely stunning. Honest cost $325 and up…hardware rentals and candles extra.
Delivery, transfers and strikedown:
Expect to pay 10% to 20% of the subtotal of your wedding floral order prior to taxes. Many companies also have additional fees for strikedown that take place on holiday weekends, mileage and large labour intensive installs like floral walls, ceiling ornamentation, large pieces of floral art, candlescapes and designs that require floral submerged in water.
Now let’s be realistic…not all of us are interested in having a marriage celebration that goes viral on a blog/Pinterest or gets published in a magazine. There are so many fabulously gorgeous floral designs available that takes inspiration from Pinterest, blogs and magazines that are more obtainable and cost effective and will accent your fete perfectly. An experienced floral designer will be able to create stunning pieces for an average of 10% of your wedding budget…please note most wedding and event floral design companies have a minimum investment requirement. Please ensure that you have a firm understanding of the minimum and provide the designer with your “must not go over budget’.
Chat soon!
Kelly xo
