Typical to pre-pay florist for wedding flowers??

We had to pay $25 to book them. The balance was due prior to the wedding. If they're having cash flow issues that would be concerning. If you're not comfortable with it, shop around.

Losing your deposit is nothing compared to not having flowers period.

I paid 20% as a deposit & the rest was due two weeks before the wedding.

Mine didn't ask for 50%, but asked for a $500 non-refundable deposit, which I understand. It locked in the date as well as displayed that we were serious about using her shop.

In my opinion, I wouldn't be "concerned" per se, but I would suggest that you call her to tell her what your intentions are in paying her, reference to the contract if need be, but also find out if you not paying is hindering her from getting started on something that she's working on for you. If your not scheduled to pay off until the end of January and your wedding is not til the beginning of March, I'm thinking that the whole month of February should give her enough time to get everything done.

Are you getting any out-of-season flowers or any other hard to find florals?

Sounds a little fishy to me. 50% down and 50% before the wedding is about typical for lots of vendors, but I'd want to know why she's asking for money in between, and if she's going to 'save' you money, I'd want to know how much. In writing.

My flower lady does it out of her own home, so I have to pay her a deposit and then pay her the remaining balance 2 weeks before my wedding.

I don't think that's necessarily atypical. My potential florist is a family friend (so she gave me pretty honest info, I would hope). She told me that for a more simple order they require a small deposit, but when the order is more elaborate and they have to bring in a lot of flowers or something very specialized, they may ask for a 50% deposit to ensure they don't suffer a loss if the couple backs out last minute and the flower order has already been placed. I think it really depends on what you ordered, and many of my vendors have requested a 50% down payment, or close to that.

ETA: I don't find it strange that they want to be paid in full prior to the wedding (as you may not even see your florist the day of), but it might raise a red flag for me that they are hassling you to pay prior to what your contract says. I'd politely call her out on it...

Thank you for all the useful feedback...so helpful!!!

"But our contract states the remainder of the payment insn't due until the end of January ..."

Are they having cash flow issues? This may be why they want money in advance of the contract.

"to pre-order the flowers in order to save us money." Isn't the price and the services to be provided already stipulated? How would pre-ordering save YOU money? Seems it will only save the florist money.

Just be careful. My mom prepaid my flowers for my first wedding because she offered a discount. We found out later that the lady was in trouble with her buisness. She didn't show up to one of the girls wedding from the knot. She had NO flowers for her wedding day. Several girls were in the same boat and we all lost our money. I received a certified letter from the lady stating she was sorry but could not pay us back and her business was going under. She was in the hospital and passed away. Anyway, this may be the extreme but I just wanted to give you a heads up. I would just go by what the contract states.

^ that's so heartbreaking. poor lady. Oh woops this is super old....

I typically ask for $500 down for a larger size wedding and 50% down for a smaller size wedding and then the remaining balance needs to be paid in full by 2 weeks prior to your wedding. I allow for my customers to pay during the duration, sometimes this helps the bride pay as she goes to lessen the financial burden, but it must be paid in Full 2 weeks prior to her wedding. This ensures that your special day is locked in and I will be the florist of choice.

(google me @) Nichole3 Precious Petals

Northampton County PA 18064

484-425-1287