How Much Should I Budget for my Wedding Flowers?
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE COST OF WEDDING FLOWERS
How much should I budget when it comes to my wedding flowers? This is a question I get asked often and I find the answer is often a big sticker shock for many couples.
A good rule of thumb: Set aside 20% of your overall wedding budget for your flowers.
Let’s break down the cost into sections to help you figure out just where your money will be going.
PERSONALS/ WEDDING PARTY FLOWERS
Personals or Wedding Party Flowers include the bridal bouquet, attendants’ bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, flower girls, ring bearers, and hair flowers. On average I see 6 attendants on either side of the couple. Based on the average wedding party you should expect to spend $1,000 to $1,500 in this area alone. If your wedding party is larger, 8+ then expect to spend on the higher end of $1,500. Let’s say your wedding party is only 3 or less, you can expect to spend closer to the $1,000 side.
As with all things, there are ways to cut down costs in this area. My first suggestion is always boutonnieres for the wedding party beyond the couple or fathers. Let’s be honest, guys are rowdy and usually take off their suit jackets the first chance they get. By the end of the ceremony, their boutonnieres are already starting to fall apart, get smashed, or tossed to the side. Pro tip: Add suspenders or a pocket square in place of a boutonniere.
If you have a large group of attendants that need bouquets, consider doing something simple for them. A single flower with a simple bow of ribbon, or 3 to 5 flowers with mixed greenery. The simpler you keep your bouquets for a larger party the more money is available for your ceremony and reception.
CEREMONY FLOWERS
Arch flowers or some type of flower design framing the couple, pew markers, flower petals, and entrance arrangements make up your ceremony section of your flower budget. This section really varies depending on how elaborate you get with your ceremony. I usually suggest a minimum of $300 and upwards of $1,000.
Unless you’re getting married in a church, most ceremonies last no more than 30 minutes nowadays. Take your time frame into consideration when you’re designing your ceremony flowers.
Because of how short the ceremony is, I get many couples asking how they can repurpose their ceremony pieces for the reception. This is a great thought but something you, your florist, and coordinator need to be very strategic about. There can be a lot of moving parts between ceremony and reception that you might just not have the time for.
If you’re wanting to repurpose your ceremony flowers, I suggest using flower arrangements on stands or in vases. They are much easier to move from one place to the other with minimal damage to flowers and deconstruction of the overall arrangement.
Trying to take flowers off an arch and place them on the head table doesn’t always turn out the way you’d envisioned and to do it in a way that you don’t damage the flowers in the processes is a whole different process.
If you do use an arch, think about using it as a photo backdrop your guests can use during the reception. Otherwise, just enjoy the flowers on the arch during the moment.
RECEPTION
The reception will be the biggest chunk of your flower budget. Plan to spend a minimum of $1,200 on your reception flowers and extra detail pieces of the wedding. Think about your guest list, the more guests you invite the more centerpieces you’ll need.
I always suggest that you break up the layout with a minimum of 2 different table designs. One design with mostly flowers and the other design with candles. This layout will help break up the cost and save you a little money rather than doing all floral centerpieces.
Extra details for your reception can include signs, gift tables, cake, dessert table, floral sprig on each plate, bar accents, and maybe a small arrangement in the restroom. Use the majority of your budget for what’s most important to you and then any extra funds that you have can be added into the extra details.
FEES
Lastly, but probably the most important part of budgeting for your wedding flowers, are the fees that come with hiring a professional florist. You are hiring a professional for a reason. To design, deliver, and ultimately make your life easier on your wedding day.
If you’re requesting your florist to deliver and set up your wedding flowers there will be a charge of either a flat fee or a percentage. This fee will help make your day much more relaxing and less to think about while you’re getting ready.
Are you renting vases or other items from your florist? Asking them to come back at the end of the night to clean up the flowers and pick up the rentals. This seems like an easy task you can handle yourself but trust me when I say that you, nor your guests, will want to be cleaning up at the end of the night. The tear-down fee is absolutely worth it.
The last fee that is either a separate line item or added into the proposal somewhere is the admin/design fee. This is a cost that may seem inconsequential to you, but from the business side, this fee is what helps keep us afloat. This is the fee that allows your florist to spend the time meeting with you over the phone or through emails, design and edit your proposal multiple times, costing out each item of your wedding, and ordering your flowers. This is the fee that pays for the hours spent on your wedding before a single flower is touched.
Be open and honest about your wedding flower budget when you first sit down with your florist. If you’re not sure what your budget might be, let them know. They will be happy to walk you through their costs and what their average weddings are. Let them know if the price feels way out of reach and see if they can help you cut some things back to get you closer to a more comfortable price.
Lastly, if you’re using Pinterest as an inspiration place, use it for just that, inspiration. Many of the images you see on Pinterest are ultimately very expensive and just not doable for the average wedding flower budget of around the $4,000 mark. Use what you pin as inspiration for how you want to feel on your day.
Cheers,
H