Rude vendors and a minimum charge on florals?

We had the same issue with florists.

Stated our budget, they would come back with something 2x that! When we reiterated that our budget was our budget, they still tried to push us out of that. And they were rude about it.

We ended up with fake flowers, both due to allergy concerns (my dad) and budget.

There's no need to work with rude vendors.

Argh! That's upsetting. I had a similar interaction with a florist as well - I'm also not a big flower person so we were hoping to keep things fairly minimal since the venue is beautiful on its own. She was condescending about their pricing and essentially told me that, since they're in such high demand, they're only taking on weddings that are paying for their full-service option (which is outside my budget). She recommended a local no-frills florist instead. Unfortunately I think a lot of vendors just see dollar signs when brides contact them, and they will turn you away if those dollar signs aren't large enough. It makes sense from a business perspective but it's not great customer service. Do your best to let it roll off your back and focus on finding a florist that shares your excitement and vision for your wedding

I'm so sorry that this is a recurring pattern for you. The vast majority of vendors I reached out to--and all of the ones I've hired--are super nice, though I had a photographer and hair stylist be quite condescending.

To answer your question though, yes, it's common for florists to have a minimum $ spend for weddings, especially if they're small or a one-person show. My dream florist had a minimum of $2500, which was sadly way over-budget. She was very gracious when telling me, and recommended other florists to contact. With her business model (a team of just herself and her husband), she only commits to one wedding a week, and therefore needs to be doing at least of $2500 of work. When she explained that, it totally made sense!

I also wanted minimal florals -- bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, flower girl crown & petals, and cake flowers. No ceremony, cocktail hour, or reception decorations. I ended up finding a wonderful florist, and my quote was just under $1k. More than I initially wanted to spend, but after looking at florists in our area and comparing her prices with others', I figured it was about the best deal I was going to get for quality work--and she didn't have a minimum.

I probably wouldn't go with that florist purely based on the fact she took a long time to get back to you. That was always my red flag when dealing with vendors.

That being said, it's pretty standard for florists to have a minimum spend amount - especially if they are a popular florist. A lot of the ones I looked at had a minimum of $2,500 spend (1 had min $5,000!!!) for a Saturday event. The reason being: if they take your wedding they are missing out on potentially more $ from someone else who would have booked them the same day. It's not nice to hear- but it is a business after all. Not all of them operate this way, though. I just found this to be the case with the more "in-demand" local florists. I found one who didn't have this requirement- and you will too... keep looking, and good luck!

I'm sorry you've had some rude vendors! A lot of florists do have a minimum, though, so that's not really uncommon. That's one reason people with a smaller floral budgets DIY their own arrangements through Sam's or do floral alternatives. It sounds like the florist meant that your budget for florals was smaller; not that the event was necessarily small, but she didn't really phrase it appropriately.

Yes, I encountered a lot of rude vendors when planning my small and low-budget wedding. It was very frustrating. What I ended up doing was not going with vendors that didn't have their prices clearly listed on their websites or were rude at any point during the planning. I actually ended up canceling my hair person two days before due to their behavior.

For florals we also only wanted personal flowers (our venue supplied centerpieces). Trying to find anyone who would do just personal flowers was a complete nightmare due to the minimum costs. So I ended up with a DIY project and silk flowers. Which turned out really great if I do say so myself!

I have managed to go this far without having this problem. I think this might be because I'm digging really deep and finding vendors that don't advertise "Wedding" constantly. The venue we chose has been used for many weddings and technically IS a wedding venue but it's on a working ranch so the owners are just normal people. The husband actually showed me the place and was super nice. For flowers, I decided to make my own to cut costs using Fifty Flowers. All the dress consultants I dealt with were super nice to me. The cake lady is a well known baker in the town we're getting married in but she doesn't have a shop or anything. I think she makes them in her home. The DJ has great reviews but also wasn't a vendor that I found on a mainstream wedding site. She's done many events in the area and sent us an 11 page questionnaire so I know she won't be half a**ing anything. She was a recommendation from a different venue we toured in town. The bar service was the only thing we had to pick off of a preferred list of three and the one we chose is a recently started business so they've been very accommodating and sweet. The catering is called Country Catering and they've been nothing but responsive and professional. Like I said, I don't know if it's the fact that I'm using more casual, if you will, vendors but I have yet to speak with a rude person through all my planning. It could, however, be that I'm in Texas and "everyone is nice in Texas". LOL

I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with rude vendors, that is not ok! Regardless of your budget or the details of your wedding, you deserve to be treated kindly and with respect. I don't think that's too much to ask. Everyone has different tastes and I don't understand why that makes a difference or why you can't be appreciate for your business the same as everyone else. I'd recommend checking on her for florists. Also check on thumbtack.com or thebash.com , I've hired vendors from both website and been very pleased! The great thing is you can list all your details, including your budget, and vendors can show their interest in booking with you. There's no reason the florist was so rude to you. You should relay that to your coordinator so she is aware.

I don't think there is ever an excuse to be rude, but agree with others that especially popular vendors often have contract minimums. Clearly, demand for their business supports that, so it's important to realize that they just aren't an option given the budget. (It's kind of like shopping for a new car; we can afford a Honda, but not a Lexus. That's not the Lexus dealer being rude, it's just a fact.) Daughter talked with a few vendors, especially florists, bakeries, etc., that had minimums above what she wanted to spend. She just kept looking. She had good luck with newer businesses, without a big "store front" presence or huge following. She found her florist on either WW or The Knot, by specifically looking for reviews that mentioned a florist was "willing to work with a couple's budget." That turned out to be very true of her florist. Her bid was $1000 less than the next lowest daughter had received, for more and higher-quality arrangements, and WE LOVED HER FLORIST -- she was a delight to work with and we still keep in touch with her. Similarly, most cakes in our area are in the $6-10 per slice range, more than daughter had budgeted. She is also very picky about food consistencies, and lots of those bakeries' frosting options literally made her gag. She kept looking and found a small, local cupcake store that also does wedding cakes. The owner was more than happy to custom mix her frosting to get it to a consistency she could stomach, AND her cake, including delivery, worked out to a little less than $4 a slice. As another example, a relative on the East Coast was having a hard time finding a florist for her 50-person wedding, with no bridal party, so it was a pretty small order. She ended up going with her local Wegman's grocery store and had absolutely GORGEOUS flowers for what she thought was a steal compared to quotes she got. Again, I'm sorry you were treated rudely, but don't get discouraged, just keep looking for different options. Good luck!

Hi there, I just wanted to weigh in here as a small business florist - just myself and my husband. There is never an excuse to be rude. Especially as a business it boggles my mind. Most florists I know work really hard to go the extra mile for their customers. Don't let one bad apple spoil it for everyone. One of the number one things I learned early on (no one ever teaches "to be kind" that is just an assumed isn't it?!) is to respond quickly to potential clients. I know that a lot of you are reaching out with an inquiry during your lunch hour or in the evening after a day of work. Planning a wedding is no joke! For any vendor to not respond within 1-2 days is nuts. Even a simple email saying 'hey, I got your inquiry, and i'm on it and will be in touch as soon as I can' is not asking for a lot. Anyway, venting over, hope you found a great florist and your wedding was fabulous. xo, Laura (Little Workshop Floral, Ann Arbor)