Florist Consultation Questions

Did you request specific flowers? I ended up going to 5 florists (I think 3 would of been fine).

I said seasonal flowers, my bridal party is 3x bigger and i have 30 centerpieces and I was quoted between $4500-$8000 (quite a range). You might want to check 1-2 more for comparison and then pick one and then work your way down.

Can you describe what you're looking for in terms of particular stems and centerpiece sizes. Inspiration pics?

It depends on the centerpieces honestly; where I am, in NJ/NY, overheads or lush low ones start at 150.00. Bridal bouquets run 200ish, BM's 75-100 and bouts 20 each. i don't think it's way too much but you probably want to get another quote.

Doing you own centerpieces really depends on your venue too; I was at Tappan Hill over the weekend, and the space is so grand and elegant that tubes with floating orchids really wouldn't' have worked. Your decor should match the venue; what works in the backyard won't work in a more upscale setting.

I am in the DC area, so I didn't expect rock bottom prices. So, I told him that I was looking for simple and elegant. We want corals and pinks, the only flowers I specifically said I wanted to calla lilies and left the rest up to his artistic liberties (which may have been my mistake). He said the centerpieces would have a "garden" type feel and would all be local and seasonal (they ranged $175-$225). I can dig the bridal party prices, but I guess it was the centerpieces that threw me off. Honestly, I was thinking of doing something completely different than flowers for the centerpieces...something like this, but I've been told it's too winter-y. I do not have a creative bone in my body so I'm really at a loss.

Wow that sounds really expensive to me. Are you asking for something very complex or asking for specific flowers that are expensive. Mine will be just over $1k for bridal bouquet, 3 bm bouquets, 3 corsages, 7 boutonnières, petals for the flower girl and 12 centerpieces. Delivery fee is only $75. But my centerpieces are very small and simple. 5x5 glass cube vase with 3 white hydrangeas. Bigger more complex centerpieces are a lot more expensive. My bm bouquets will be white hydrangeas with white roses, and my bouquet will be white peonies and roses with blue hydrangeas.

I think because I gave him artistic liberties, he priced something far more complex than I am interested in...this is all really helpful for my next consultation!

That sounds really high. I'm getting married in Annapolis, so I also expect to pay DC prices. My florist's estimate is under $2000 including delivery and my wedding size sounds close to yours. Four bridesmaids and four groomsmen, 13 centerpieces, boutonnieres for the dads, flowers for the ceremony, corsages for the moms and one grandmother. Depending on how nearby you are, you should contact Carolyn at Cache Fleur. She's on WW.

Rebecca, thanks! Unfortunately that's about 1:30 away from my venue, but it's really helpful as a frame of reference!

I'm getting married in San Francisco, and I got quoted 2100 for one bridal bouquet, one toss bouquet, 5 BM bouquets, 8 boutonnières, 2 corsages and 10 centerpieces, and a garland for the fireplace, delivery is 150, and she's including Mercury gold vases plus votives! Oh and she's doing a free mock centerpiece preview for free! So your quote sounds like a lot to me.

I had florists quote me the large/tall centerpieces between $120 - $200.

Delivery from a suburban florist was starting at $450 up to $800 for city ones. Also the city ones charged me $1k in reception setup that the suburban ones did not.

I'm near Chicago.

The $700 was delivery and set up.

I should note that our florist is from Danville, and not SF. We got quotes from 3 different florists and she was the cheapest, we found her on WW. Personally, I think paying over 300 on set up and delivery is crazy, unless your venue is far away, set up can't be that hard? Can it?!?

Hi Lara, that does sound expensive!

I think it all depends on the flowers that you chose.

I do a suggest telling the florist your budget and ask them to work within your budget.

For me, I had 8 bridesmaids with MOH, flower girl halo flowers (3), godparents, 16 or more tables (I can't remember) to get flowers for. But we had simple centerpieces (so we only needed two or three stems of roses or hydrangeas to each vase --wine bottles and jars we had) and we didn't spend more than $600 and that included delivery.

I didn't care for flowers, so I wasn't picking on what type. You just have to prioritize the importance of flowers to food, music, photography, etc. We found a local florist nearby that didn't work in a big floral chain which helped with the cost too. Choose a florist that isn't too far from your reception -- should help cost of delivery.

Keep looking for florist until you find out that fits your budget. Good Luck!

Attached a pic of what our tables looked like:

Good Evening Lara,

It seems like you're stressing yourself out about this florist! Wedding flowers shouldn't be your biggest stress, you should have been able to express your ideas and the florist should be able to help you fit it in your budget.

We are Fiore Floral, located in Rockville, MD. From reading your forum, I see your BP is small, but you are looking for a big amount of centerpieces. Our suggestion is to keep looking around to find the right florist for you.

Most florists should have free consultations, so you're able to shop around for a florist like you did for a dress! If you would like to get a second suggestion on pricing for your wedding, please don't hesitate to contact us and we will try to fit your floral dreams to your budget!

You can email us at ****@***********.*** or call our store at 301.738.2236

I have a meeting with two florists this weekend. I asked these two companies to give a rough estimate weeks ago (it was more to help me plan a budget for the whole event) and I was pretty specific, and did all my research about seasonal blooms and everything. I think the more armed you are with knowledge the easier it is for a florist to come back with a specific price. And it is easier for you to compare florists based on the same information. Saying you want 13 tall centerpieces but not specifically talking about blooms might have you getting a quote that is far more money than if you said I am looking for 13 tall centerpieces, olive branches, white hydrangeas, cafe au lait dhalias, and saraha roses in creams and blush...

Arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible and if you have the chance, go to a flower market (not a flower shop, but the wholesale market) and talk about what flowers are in season and what blooms are available (maybe some you have never heard of) and walk away with a better understanding of the details so you can make your decision about flowers and what you wan to pay

@OP...We're looking at having 20 centerpieces, so rather than do all flowers, half will be flowers and half with candle arrangements to save some costs....maybe try that route?

-Ask for SEASONAL FLOWERS ONLY. Seriously.

-It may be the flowers themselves, so ask if any of the flowers you are looking at have special grow techniques. Ex. I really wanted purple hydrangea, and thought "They're pretty. The're seasonal and they're fairly inexpensive." or so I thought. White and blues one are the naturally occurring ones, the rest have a special growth thing done to them to get that color. That equals more money

-Is the color of the flower a naturally occurring color?

-How much are they charging for the centerpiece vase rental? Does this cost go down if you provide your own?

I also mixed up my flowers...I found a bouquet of peonies (expensive, but the color scheme was based around it) so I picked flowers that complimented in color but were a lot less expensive.

For what you describe, you have to be asking for some pricey flowers to get that...out of 7 quotes for 1 bridal bouqet, 5 bms, 11 bouts, 10 tall centerpieces, 10 small fishbowl style, altar flowers, 4 mom/gma corsages the highest I was quoted was $3500!

Ask around. I never fully understand why a florist would have minimum that high when I read things like that on here.

I do agree that the centerpiece you pictured is a little winterish for a summer wedding but you do not have to have all floral centerpieces. To cut down on costs, you can do a mix of floral centerpieces and something like your picture. When it comes to flowers, keep in mind that an average flower stem will cost anywhere between $1-$15. So if you like at a centerpiece that has over 100 flowers in it, it probably costs around $200.

My brother and his wife had a lot of corals in their centerpieces. Here is a picture of what they had.

Laura P. I am getting married in DC and have a small tight budget and have 6 BM (yikes) my DOC/planner gave me three florists that will work with me and the budget. Message me and I can send them your way. I am meeting with one tonight downtown and then three others during the next two weeks.

I said I wanted calla lilies and then other seasonal flowers. It ended up breaking down like this:

bridal bouquet $225, MOH bouquet $125, jr BM bouquet $75, 3 corsages $25 each, 5 boutonnieres $12.50 each, 7 centerpieces at $175 each, 7 at $225 each, $50 each for two other tables, and then a $700 delivery fee. What was described in the proposal was not simple...but seemed to have a TON of different flowers in it. My mother wants to do centerpieces so she's already doing mock ups, I have another consultation with a different florist next month, and depending on what they come back with, I might hit up the original dude and see if he can work with me and get the total down. This is all really helpful information, ladies!

Koch - the average price per stem really helps put it into perspective, I don't know what he envisions as simple for $225!

Maltese - great tips! I will certainly keep them in mind!

ETA: the $600 ceremony flowers!