First Florist Meeting

Go in with budget !! I started off with not saying a budget. They were telling me outrageous prices. $200 for my bouquet. $80 for the bridesmaids etc . So then I said can we cut the cost of that down and they dropped it. And show them pictures. I just showed them my pinterest.

Oh gosh. I have no idea what a reasonable floral budget it. I better look into that this weekend

Shamelessly Bumping my own thread...

Do you have specific flowers in mind? That would be helpful as well.

Have you use a budgeting tool on WW.? It gave me a suggested price on florist using my overall budget. My budget was $1000 which is very low in my area. I just had a meeting with my florist yesterday, who advertised his minimal for wedding as $2500. I was very frank that I can't afford that much. Face to face meeting was great because I was able to tell him what's important and what is not for me. The final agree upon price will be $1500. Waiting for official quote. Good luck!

I really wanted peonies for bouquet but I found out they were one of the most expensive wedding flowers. I just want all white for the bouquets. I'm not sure I even want the boys to have flower, I might have them do seashell boutonnières (we're in a beach town and revelation venue is overlooking the beach). Flowers aren't super important to me at all.

I'm hoping to spend under $500, is that reasonable?

Peonies are only available certain times of the year. I think you are okay in June.

They couldn't get them for mine

I spent under $500 that got me:

1 bridal bouquet @ $75

4 small brides bouquets. @ $25

1 groom bout @ $11

1 bag flower petals for the flower girls @ $25

1 archway corner piece mostly greenry @$75

6 centerpieces @ $22.50 (I provided vases)

2 loose flowers for cake @$8

Came up at right under $500 after tax, fees, tip.

We are picking them up though to avoid a setup fee.

Talk to your florist about your budget and what your wants are ( colors, volume, type of bloom) they will let you know what costs more and what they can do within your budget or they will pass on the project. One florist website I looked at had a minimum project price that was outside my budget.

You could start with $500 and see what florist say. I think I could get that price if I eliminate everything but bouquets, boutonnière, corsages.

Following your thread! I have the same questions. I was hoping to spend $1000 or less. We are doing a nautical theme and I'm trying to do centerpieces with minimal flowers. I think I am only ordering for the bridal party and some decor for the arch possibly.

Definitely take inspiration pictures with you of what you like!

When your florist describes what they will be making for you, be sure to ask for apx. number of stems and/or apx. dimensions of the bouquet (I would recommend both). That way, you can truly visualize what you will be getting and if you do get additional quotes, you can compare apples to apples.

@anna thanks! What is a # of stems for a bouquet? I need to some Pinterest research..

Definitely ask about delivery fees, service charges, tax, etc. There are always hidden costs that will affect your overall budget! Also ask which white flowers are in season to get a better price.

I was quoted $650 not including delivery and taxes. That includes:

Bridal bouquet

4 BM bouquets

2 corsages

7 sea shell boutinerres

2 clumps of babies breath for the pews.

The flowers for the bouquets are regular white roses with babies breath in the BM bouquets.

I don't depends on location but does that seem reasonable? I set a budget of $500 but I really just made that number up.

So we are around $1800 including taxes and delivery, but $1000 of that is for our chuppah. So $800ish for my bouquet, four bridesmaids bouquets, 4 GM bouts, 2 father bouts, 4 usher bouts, 2 mother nosegays, 2 grandmother corsages, 1 grandfather bout, and a ton of petals to line the aisle and to sprinkle on 25 reception tables. So I'm sureeee its location based, but I feel like I'm getting a lot more than you for essentially the same price since your $650 didn't include taxes or fees. Also, my stuff is pretty formal and we have a lot of roses and orchids and calla Lilly's

@meanttobe yeah I feel like you are getting a better deal especially since I went with the cheaper flowers. Where are you? I'm in SWFL so for most stuff it's pretty cheap here

Definitely go in with some inspo pics, a budget, and some ability to be flexible on what you want (allowing cheaper substitutions instead of insisting on the blooms in the inspo pics, for instance)

@emily I did all that and she quoted me $650, $150 over my budget

I didn't get to go to our first florist meeting, but I sent my parents with a 7 page document full of my inspiration pictures and descriptions of what I did and did not like about each one. I was told the pictures were incredibly helpful. In addition to talking about what I wanted, the florist also talked prices during the first meeting.