Part 2: What Your Money is Getting You!

In Part 2 of our short blog series about why your flowers cost what they cost, we want you to take away one very important thing: you must set your expectations for your flowers realistically for your personal wedding budget. The flower business is very much a "you get what you pay for" industry, meaning you can absolutely have beautiful flowers on a small budget, you just cannot expect an extravagant David Tutera kind of presentation for that cost.

Why? Well, there are a lot of factors that go into determining the cost your florist charges. First and foremost, the actual cost of the flowers is a huge part. If you choose flowers in season, you'll pay far less than if the wholesaler has to search far and wide to find your out-of-season flower.  Just like produce, flowers have seasons. Keep this in mind when determining what flowers you like best for your wedding, and your money will stretch farther. See our last blog as to how flowers get from the ground to your reception and all the stops in between. 

Left Photo: Janet Howard Studio

Another equally important factor is the work your florist puts in to make your wedding day the best and most beautiful experience you could have imagined. Bloomin' Bouquets puts in a lot of work for each wedding. Here's a typical run-down of what we do for our brides:

• First, Bloomin' Bouquets meets with you, the bride. This meeting typically lasts a couple hours, and this is where we get to know you and your personality, listen to your ideas and hopes, and talk about a budget. What are your favorite flowers? What are your colors? No idea what you want? This is where we'll help you sculpt a vision. We love our brides and we love our jobs - which is why we also help you order special linen or envision lighting design as well! 
• Next, Bloomin' Bouquets will spend a few hours working out how to turn that vision into something tangible that can be produced. We then put together a proposal, individually catered to you. Our preparation includes market research for flowers looking at availability and costs, and time spent designing your bouquets and arrangements. Unlike photographers or wedding coordinators, there's no "package" we offer. Every bride is different, and every proposal warrants different factors and costs. 
• Bloomin' Bouquets creates "recipes" for your designs, figuring out stem count first, and then ordering the flowers through a wholesaler. 
• When we get delivery of the flowers, Bloomin' sorts them and maintains them until its time to put them together. We will spend hours crafting your bouquets and table arrangements into the beautiful pieces we have designed for you. 
• We spend your wedding day out on the town, delivering and setting up the flowers at your ceremony and reception, and transitioning some pieces in between that will be featured at both venues (like the altar arrangements). At the end of your big day, we break down, or "strike", everything we have set up! 

Julie Anne Photography

There is a lot of time and effort that goes into making your day look beautiful, no matter which florist you choose. Bloomin' Bouquets is thrilled to be able to work within such a fun, vivacious wedding community, and we enjoy dishing out our knowledge and resources to help in any way possible. 

The best thing you can do as a bride is keep an open mind. Flowers are a valuable commodity and they can be quite expensive. Knowing what designs and flowers can fit into your budget is important, so reach out to your florist before you get your heart set on something so that you can craft your ideal flowers around your ideal (and realistic) budget!