Yes, Wedding Flowers Are Expensive. Here's Why… And How You Can Save

One of the first images that may flash through your mind when you think of weddings is the flowers. You either imagine a beautiful bride with a gorgeous bouquet walking down the aisle decked with flowers, or you think of grand centrepieces at the reception. You might even picture the adorable flower girl with her floral hairpiece or a handsome groom with the classic buttonhole. No matter which imagery flashes through your mind, there is no denying that flowers form an important part of any wedding picture.

So why are wedding flowers so expensive? And, is there any way you can cut costs without sacrificing your dream wedding? While flowers and weddings are a match made in heaven, one look at the cost of the flowers is often all that is needed to bring you crashing back to earth. Yes, wedding flowers can be expensive, and many couples have found out that if they want a wedding overflowing with flowers, they can put a dent in the wedding budget.

But yes, there are ways to cut the costs. Allow us to explain.

The Process of Ordering Wedding Flowers

Unlike stopping at your local florist and picking up a random bouquet of flowers, ordering flowers for your wedding is a multi-step process. Most brides have an idea of what they want their weddings to look like, and it is the duty of the florist to incorporate all the requirements in the floral arrangements.

The process often begins with completing a fact sheet and a phone call with the florist. Next a floral consultation where you provide the florist with your ideas on flower arrangements, bridal bouquet, the bridesmaids’ bouquets, centrepieces and so on.

The florist then takes these ideas and breaks them down into details, including what flowers and foliages to order, what and how many vases to buy, when to pick up the flowers and when to drop them off at the venue, and everything else that is needed to make your idea of a dream wedding come true.

All this takes time. And costs money. You may not realise it, but a florist deals with more than just arranging flowers. They have to go back and forth with their growers and suppliers to confirm availability, converse with churches and other wedding venues, plan the logistics, calculate overhead costs, time the bloom of flowers perfectly, account for the climate at the venue, consider the duration of the event, and many other such details. The florist has to juggle so many aspects besides choosing flowers and the payment you make covers all of it.

Pre-orders have to be made for every flower that will be a part of your wedding experience. Brides often have very set ideas on what flowers make up their wedding and, more often than not, these tend to be the ones that are gorgeous (and expensive). All the organisation and planning is done behind the scenes and all you see is the final result. Not to mention that delivering and setting up the flowers for a wedding often occurs at odd hours and involves waiting around causing overtime and other fees.

In the end, the reason all of this is possible is because of the expertise and experience of the florist. Just as with any industry, you generally do get what you pay for. The experience gained from designing and preparing flowers for hundreds if not thousands of weddings is well worth every cent.

How to Cut Costs in Ordering Wedding Flowers

Be flexible in your requirements

One way to cut costs is to be flexible in your requirements. Talk to your florist about your ideas and be open to their suggestions. Consider flowers that are in season and allow the florist to work your dream into an affordably practical option. Another option is to deliver the flowers to your venue, or collect them in person, and do the setup yourself. To make things cheaper and easier, you can let your florist know about the style, numbers, and colours you would like to incorporate and let them do the rest. By focusing on these elements on not specific blooms, you will end up with beautiful flower arrangements that fall into a more modest budget.

Remember that flowers are bought in bulk

You should also note that florists often source the flowers from other vendors who deal with flowers in certain numbers. So while you might only require one white rose in each centrepiece, the florist has no option but to order them in bunches of 30s as that is how their vendor sells it to them. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of wastage when arranging flowers for the wedding, which unfortunately you have to pay for, as the wastage is usually due to your required specifications. Take this in consideration when designing your flower decorations.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

The key in cutting costs when ordering your wedding flowers is communication. Speak with your florist to figure out ways in which the flowers can be used to their maximum potential. If the white rose in each centrepiece is a non-negotiable, maybe you can use the remaining roses elsewhere. Your florist will certainly have a solution, so it’s important to communicate this during your consultation.

Avoid last minute changes

It is great to have a plan for your wedding. However, your plan is no good if you cannot stick to it. Most often, the costs of flowers are driven up due to last minute changes or additional requests from the wedding party. What might seem like a minor tweak to you might be one that requires your florist to go back to the drawing board and even hire extra help. Keep changes to the minimum or at least make sure you know how much your little tweak is going to set you back.

Maximise the use of the flowers

It isn’t rocket science to figure out that the more floral decorations you use, the higher the cost. One way to reduce this expense would be to reuse your blooms. When you can reuse your ceremony blooms for your reception, just remember that if you ask the florist to transport then those costs may not make it worthwhile. But someone at the wedding to transport the flowers for you? If someone is happy to do that then it can be a great money-saver.

Think of what is important to you – and be open and honest. For some people flowers are absolutely essential and a major element of the wedding. Spending big to get their dream floral creations is non-negotiable. But if flowers aren’t that important to you, talk to your florist about what you really want and then work quickly and effectively to achieve a result you are happy with.

Establish a budget

Your florist will appreciate you being open and honest about your budget and what you expect for it. Establishing this at the outset will create a strong rapport and lead to the best result for you and will save much time going back and forth which can either be spent on wedding flower preparations or on reducing the cost of the wedding. You will know quickly and easily if the florist you are dealing with is looking to take you for a ride. And you know what to do if you get this feeling.

There you have it. There is a lot that goes into creating the right floral setting for your wedding and while it is certainly not cheap, your florist has ways to make it fit your budget. You can have your dream wedding without breaking the bank, just work with your florist to make it come true!