Florist Delivery Fee

While I have no experience in this, i feel like if the florist is really close to your venue then maybe you can negotiate. How much higher is this florist fee vs the average in your area? It doesn't hurt to ask but if its not negotiable you can ask how the two of you can meet at a budget that you both feel comfortable with.

I've never seen someone negotiate down a delivery fee, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to try.

If you think she won't be offended, I don't see the harm in asking!

I think a lot depends on what the delivery fee covers. For daughter's florist, she was actually driving a fair distance and her fee included placing/setting up all the arrangements for the ceremony and reception, and making sure all the wedding party flowers got to the right staging areas (she personally pinned all the guys boutonnieres, etc.). She was also moving ceremony flowers to the reception area where they were being repurposed, so she had to be on-site for a few hours. The delivery fee was a percentage of the total fee and we just accepted it as a reasonable cost of booking with her. We never considered asking her to reduce the fee -- it seemed like a fair cost for all her time and effort (I just double-checked, the florist charged a 15% [not including tax] fee for delivery and set up; for us, that was $222).

I'd consider how competitive florists are in your area and what your other options are. Certainly you can ask, but you also potentially risk offending the provider. Only you can determine if the potential reward is worth the risk. If the florist is someone you truly want to work with, but the proposal cost is higher than your budget, I'd approach it with something like, "We love your work, but your proposal is 15% (or whatever) more than our budget. Do you have any suggestions on how we might be able to reduce our costs and still achieve our vision?" Perhaps they can switch out some flower choices or reduce the size and number of arrangements. That way you convey your budget concerns, but don't imply their time and effort for the delivery isn't worth what they are charging.