Florals

It really depends on what you are wanting and where you live. Florists in high cost of living areas will always be more expensive. Out of season flowers will also be more expensive, as they will have to be flown in. The more flowers you use and the more elaborate the centerpieces, the higher the cost. Installations will definitely add $$$ (think large flower displays, arches, etc.). I would approach florists with a general vision and your max budget, and ask what they can do. They can make suggestions on how to cut costs (like smaller arrangements, in-season flowers, cheaper flowers that are in the same color scheme, more greenery, etc.)

View Quoted Comment Ok thank you.

OMG, I thought my original quote of $2500 was insane!!! I nixed the floral centerpieces and went with a florist closer to the venue, and wound up paying $547.84 That is for my bouquet (cascading with calla lilies) 2 bridesmaid bouquets, a groomswoman wrist corsage, 2 boutonnieres, Groom's boutonniere and 3 addition small baby roses wrist corsages for our readers. You absolutely have to shop around!!!

View Quoted Comment Ok, thanks so much!

Like the others have said, florals can be expensive, but there are ways around that. In addition to shopping around and giving them a budget that you ask them to stick to, you can also be less specific about what you want and instead send them ideas as inspiration. Like just say what your colors are and ask them to use the cheapest in-season flowers that would match instead of saying “we want orchids.” Also, depending on your venue, you may be able to recycle your florals from the ceremony during your reception. Like use your centerpieces as altar ends and your bridesmaid bouquets as decor on the gift and cake tables if they’ll let you. And use more non-florals in your centerpieces if renting those would be cheaper than flowers, like candles, lanterns, DIY objects.

View Quoted Comment Great ideas, thank you!

Florals can be very expensive. It depends on your vision and where you live. You can use your flowers from your ceremony in your reception. Your bridesmaids can use their bouquets as decoration too. I spent about a $1000 on florals. It included 10 boutineers, bouquets for myself, bridesmaids (roses) and for the ceremony space I had 3 floral arrangements. As for my reception, I used the flowers from my ceremony as decor and my bridesmaids use their flowers to decorate the head table. I use the flowers from the venue as my center piece and use candles as well for decor.

View Quoted Comment Thank u so much for the advice!

View Quoted Comment You are welcome

I spent $5k, modest for a big city, had under 100 guests, and imported one varietal. For me, I wanted one professional to handle all decor-- no DIY, no multiple pieces hauled in/ hauled out by me. I paid to reduce my stress so to speak and it was impactful. My husband and I also like plants so it did represent us. If this is not a big vendor for you, the above posters gave great advice including grocery store flowers, local florists, alternative non-floral centerpieces, rentals, faux selections. If this is a priority vendor, give yourself mental and financial leeway to add more $, while reducing funds for non-priority vendors. I say it's a waste of money anytime you settle for something you don't really want. Other ways of reducing costs: cloth bouts or pocket squares, less bridal party members (or faux bouquets), fewer guests mean fewer centerpieces, reusing ceremony decor for reception, candles, faux/real mixtures, wooden florals, no installations overhead/ behind/ or on the side, leaning into your venue, minimalism. Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Thank u for the advice!

No two couple have the same priorities and budgets, so there is no one size fits all answer. What is inexpensive vs not affordable or super important vs not is something only you and fiancé can answer for yourselves. Some couples don’t care about flowers at all so even one single flower is not worth the expense. Other couples may prioritize them but they don’t have money to spend so they work with a grocery store florist who is very talented at what they do. The only caveat is they don’t deliver or set up at the venue. Others insist that florists who specialize in weddings and advertise on Instagram are the only valid choice of vendors and everyone else has zero talent. If you are open to DIY, which doesn’t always save money because you have to factor in your time/labor/sanity at minimum wage per hour in addition to cost of supplies, you can save a ton of money and get high quality fresh flowers via a local wholesale florist either in person in a major city or via FiftyFlowers.com which has tutorials online.


For us, fresh flowers were non negotiable but we couldn’t justify the $5k+ minimums that many required before they would even talk to you. We were lucky to have wholesale florists in our area who also offer arrangement and delivery services and even with a ton of flowers we came in under the other vendors’ minimums.

View Quoted Comment Wow, thanks for the insight!

I don’t know if you still need this, but because all of our quotes were so expensive I decided to do them myself. I ordered some off FiftyFlowers, and got lilies through my workplace. These were enough for my bridesmaids and my bouquet, and I’m using the bridesmaids bouquets as some centerpiece decor once they head to the reception. The rest of the florals for centerpieces I just bought from Hobby Lobby, as things are always on sale. All of this for under 700$ and has been fun to make.
Good luck to you!

View Quoted Comment That's a very good idea, thank you so much!