Why are flowers so darn expensive?

Niiiiiice, Lesley!! Where did you get the flowers?

I'm allergic to flowers, so I made all the florals!!! here ---->>

https://vimeo.com/48856127

Just at a local florist Cassidy. I guess it helps that we aren't doing any big floral arrangements and the vases are only 4 flowers plus some kermit mums as filler. Ours is a back yard wedding so it's easier for us to keep costs down.

However all of the pics of other peoples flowers are beautiful!!

I would tell the florist your budget and show those pictures more for inspiration. You've chosen some pricer blooms and those pictures have very little filler so it's not surprising you are getting high quotes (one of those CP is from Wedluxe which features very expensive weddings).

Preston Bailey has done some pricing break down on his website if you want to check it out:

http://blog.prestonbailey.com/2012/06/05/price-transparency-flowers-part-ii/

Why are flowers expensive? Let's see:

1) They were, shortly before you see them, living plants, which makes them delicate

and perishable.

2) They do require a lot of time, on the part of the florist. Many flowers need to be "babied" before they can be put in to an arrangement or bouquet. As in, some need time to open up gradually. The florist does not want to buy them already opened as then they would be wilting once at the wedding.

3) Florists often spend a few days working on the flowers for an event. It isn't done in 10 minutes.

4) Some brides request flowers that are not in season, which increases the cost of said flowers.

Kathy.....#4 is specifically important in keeping the price tag down. : )

I actually researched pink filler flowers for Cate to suggest to her venue who was providing the centerpieces. Why fill it with ugly fern when there is perfectly good filler that is just as pretty and far less expensive.

Tiffany.....If you get floral suggestions form your venue and the store where you bought your shoes, do some research on fillers in your color scheme. Your pew decor can look just as pretty with less expensive filler flowers.

That's why we aren't doing flowers. We found a vendor on Etsy. She did 5 bouquets, 1 flower wand, 1 RB bout, 8 groomens bouts, 1 groom bout, 4 corsages, cake toppers, and garter for $290

$22K! Wow! What exactly did you ask for and where is this wedding? Mine was about $1250 for a 300 guest wedding in Nashville, TN.

Flowers were at the bottom of my priority list. We have about an 8k budget that we're paying for on our own and I would NEVER spend even $1k of that on flowers, it seems like a total waste to me. I am making my centerpieces, bouquets, bouts, etc on my own.

So far the centerpieces (for 13 manzanita trees-below) have cost me no more than $200. My bouquet cost $30 with real touch flowers and it doesn't look fake at all. The bouts cost maybe $3 a piece (crappy picture but I think they look great in real life).

Are you open to other blooms, fabrics, materials that look similar and will give you a similar feel?

I love peonies but for our time of year (and I think most times of year), garden roses gave us that lush, fluffy, garden look for a fraction of the price.

Or your aisle decor - the hanging blooms look like jasmine, which is SUPER delicate and expensive. You could probably get a similarly great look by hanging crystal beads instead.

Your inspiration photos are GORGEOUS. Like Angelina said, I would take in those pictures and state your max budget up front. I can't imagine any shop that wouldn't bend over backwards to make that happen for you. Unless you're super stubborn about the types of flowers you want and it's out of their hands to provide them at that price due to season/overhead/delivery/etc, no sane florist is going to turn down your wedding.

I spent $219 total on my flowers. I went with SILK roses because I'm not paying that ridiculous amount for something that would die/be thrown away!! I purchased mine off of ebay. 1 Bridal Bouquet, 1 MOH bouquet, 5 BM's bouquets, 1 groom bout, 9 groomsmen bouts, and 4 corsages for mother's and grandmothers.

I'm buying two silk arrangements for my ceremony and my WP flowers are being done in a supermarket!

Cost I expect to spend - at most - is $250.00.

I'm trying to keep my flowers simple. Centerpieces will be 2 different height cylinder vases filled with water, a spray or orchids in the water, and a floating candle on top, along with 3 other small tea light candle holders around them. For my bouquet, I'm going to make my own by purchasing flowers from Costco. Check out YouTube for videos on how to make your own (if you like do DIY)

Here the florists attach floral arrangements to the arch. After the ceremony, they can be removed and used as centerpieces.

I spent $450 on all our flowers, but I had a special case. We used mostly wildflowers that we cut off the side of the road. My aunt planted some pots for us and my grandmother did her garden to match our wedding.

My aunt has a background in floral, so she arranged and put together all of our wildflower pieces. We had SO MANY flowers and paid for about 1/4 of them, if that. We got lucky, but that isn't the usual case.

$22 sounds a little outrageous to me. My entire wedding was $8500!

I have a feeling that the peonies are probably bumping your price up considerably. From my understanding, they aren't quite in season in late March (at least, not in most parts of the US). Thus, they need to be shipped from Chile. my florist told be that each peony bloom could cost $15-$20. We decided to go with pink roses, spray roses, and hydrangea. Like Kris said, garden roses will give you a similar feel at a much lower price point.

Just as a frame of reference, we're paying $3k for our flowers (12 centerpieces, 4 bm bouquets, my bouquet, 2 ceremony arrangements, 10 bouts, 5 corsages, 2 pomanders, 6 floral pew bows, place card table decor. Three separate deliveries. We're located in NYC suburbs. Hope that helps!

Tiffany, Looking at what you want I would say that your florists are close I would say any where from 15,000- to 20,000. ( i am not a florist, but that would be my guess)

The amount of flowers in your canopy with a centerpiece your costs will be high just by the number of flowers you need, not to mention the arrangements. I worked on a wedding with a very similar set up and it was about the same cost.

I can see a lot of people on here think that is crazy and high, and their floral came in lower, but judging by how many guest you have ( around 300 right?) the type of wedding you are having i'd say it's about right and will look beautiful. You are not having a "budget" style wedding and that's fine! There are things you can do to lower your coasts but i love the style you've chosen to go with for florals!

You aren't going to be able to make 60 centerpieces like you could make 10 centerpieces. and 60 is going to coast 6 times more than 10...keep that in mind.

I was a little disappointed too with how expensive my first floral quote came out to be. They quoted me close to $3000. I was hoping to be under $2000 for my floral budget so I'm planning on checking out a few other florists. I think some things you could do to cut your costs would be to use flowers that are more in season. I think peonies are very expensive. Also consider inexpensive filler flowers like carnations or stock. You can still get that full look and from far away it's difficult to tell exact flowers that are used. You can just use peonies in your bridal bouquet if you really love that flower since that will be photographed the most.