Flowers....

[cargghhh]

So we've only just started planning for our November 2020 wedding but I feel completely overwhelmed regarding flowers 😱

Would anyone be willing to disclose their quote for flowers and what that covered? Or did anyone go for silk flowers instead and how much money did that save you?

Thanks in advance .... I have no idea where to start!!!

The last wedding at work (a church) had a thousand pound flower bill! That was just the actual cost - they donated £200 to cover the cost of arrangement and left most of them because it was awkward to move to the reception (they took two). It's a how long is a piece of string question. One thing is, don't mention wedding, florists double the price!

We had fake flowers.
I know some people hate them but I can't bear the waste of fresh flowers in both the worlds resources and my own money.
We hired someone to dress marquee and co ordinate the day and the price of the flowers were included.

I did my own flowers - all fake so I could keep my bouquet. Cost me £20 in all.

My cousin spent £24,000 on flowers ALONE. I am not joking. His wife wanted 'a garden of eden' for their wedding

So it's whatever you do with the budget.

Three years ago we spent £1500 on flowers. This covered 7 very large table arrangements, small arrangement at the end of each row of seats, bridal bouquet plus one bridesmaids bouquet, a couple of large arrangements for the entrance hall and flowers for Mum and Mum in law. We distributed all the flowers to guests at the end of the evening. I love flowers and am glad we spent a sizeable part of our budget on them. If I had my time again I’d spend more! But I do really love flowers....

‘Don’t mention wedding florists double the price’

That is just a load of misconceived rubbish!
Why do people say stuff like that? Do you have any idea how much work goes in to wedding floristry? Flowers are chosen and purchased to suite that one brides individual preference, not just picked off the shop floor, and the price doubled!
OP that is a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ as it depends on the type of flowers you want, time of year, remember most flowers are seasonal so if you want something out of season you may not be able to get it or it will cost £££.

What type of thing are you thinking off?

Mine cost about £350 for 4 bouquets, 2 corsages and 6 buttonholes. (10 years ago though) We didnt bother with top table flowers or church flowers.

Are the corsages for the mother of bride/groom?

Ideally I would have a bouquet, the 3 bridesmaids, maybe corsages for my 2 junior bridesmaids and we also have a flower girl? (Big family!) and then button holes for groom + 3 ushers.

So much to think about

Very rough guides, but it all depend on what flowers you want, florist price by the stem, and different flowers cost different prices, it’s worth thinking about what flowers you like that are in season as that will keep the prices realistic.

Bridal bouquet £75 - £120
Bridesmaids £45 - £80
Buttonholes £8 - £12
Corsages £20 - £35

I got a corsage for my mum and mil but not everyone likes them, so I would check.

Bouquets for myself and bridesmaids. Buttonholes for dad/fil and ushers.

I have been quoted £1700-2200 (unsure with brexit looming

Bridal bouquet
3 bridesmaid bouquets
2 junior bridesmaid bouquets
5 buttonholes
2 boy buttonholes
Cake flowers
Hair flowers x7
Centre pieces x12
End of chair row x12 bouquets
Flower arch (only halfcovered)
A few extra vases of flowers for around the venue

I had jewellery corsages made for the two mothers, made to match by the same person who made my tiara. They then became permanent mementos rather than buying the DMs bouquets.

Bridal bouquet , 2 bridesmaid bouquet, 1 flower girl posy and flower circlet for her hair , 5 buttonholes . 1 corsage and 3 flower decorations for each tier of the cake Total of £350

Laughing at "florists double the price when you mention wedding...." This is utter rubbish!

Buying flowers from the flower market for a wedding can up the cost immediately because flowers are not sold there in single stems ie you can just work out "the bride needs 9 roses, 7 eustoma etc etc" everything is sold in multiples of 10, 20, 25 or 50 stems. Brides are usually very particular about what lowers they would like so it is not as easy as your day to day running of a shopwhere you can buy multiples of "standard" flowers that are used up in orders or sold on the shop floor.........

Anyhoooo...not answering OPs question. Flower prices vary greatly depending on flower choice, seasonal availability, quantities etc etc. try and get flowers in season to keep costs reasonable. Also a hand tied bouquet will be more reasonably costed than an all wired shower bouquet which has to factor in several hours worth of labour. A good florist should work with you to keep within a budget (if you are upfront about what that is) but that may mean making compromises ie specifying colour scheme as opposed to specific flower varieties.

Corsages usually the Bride and groom order for the Bridal party ie groom, best man, father and mother of the bride and groom.

It is difficult to quote flower prices just now due to the brexit scenario. The majority of flowers come over from Holland and there has been alot of uncertainty fom suppliers over costs to bring them over. That should be settled for now due to the extension.

I did the flowers for a friends wedding last year for £170. That covered all the flowers (75 sunflowers, plus other green and white 'bits' e.g. baby's breath etc), ribbons and pins, gluegun, floristry tape etc. Flowers bought at 4am at local flower market. I did 6 button holes, 6 'mini' bouquets (instead of a corsage - 1 sunflower with trimmings), bride's bouquet and decorations for 2 venues (tables and extras). It was bloody hard work - 16 hour day - but the flowers did look amazing on the day and everyone commented on how professional they looked. Youtube can be your friend here!

We dropped off the table decorations (in vases) to a local nursing home the next day to limit waste and spread some flowery joy!

Have fun planning your wedding

£250
1 x small bouquet for Bride
2 x posies for bridesmaids
6 x button holes
Various flowers for tables

Our florist is a one woman operation who works from home. She's an absolute gem and much cheaper / flexible than florists with shops to keep running etc.

I had florist do bouquets and buttonholes etc.

But me, my mum and other family members are decent flower arrangers.

So we did two big arrangements, altar long and low, about four massive vases in church, font top and archway. Then two bay trees by church entrance which we took home. Table arrangements of mini zinc buckets for 12 tables and moved the altar long one for top table.

We used
David Austin cut roses
Cream roses
Pale pink roses
Lisianthus
Freesia
Stocks
Statice
Eucalyptus
Waxflower

and lots from wholesalers and spent about £600 in total.

And still have away loads we hadn't used. They were beautiful. And about ahead of their time as the wedding was v country style, flowers were "bloom and wild" style but well over a decade ago.