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! 

Part 1: Why Your Expensive Flowers Are Not Expensive At All

As a bride-to-be, I know that whenever the word "wedding" is associated with anything, the price is just bound to double. Whether its transportation or cake, I'm warming up my wallet before I head in for pricing. But some things, like flowers, aren't inflated. Some things, like flowers, really do warrant the cost... probably even more than what you're paying for them.

In this Part 1 of a series to be continued, I want to show you how your money is being spent when you pay your florist. I'm pulling back that curtain and showing you that those flowers that seem oh-so-expensive are actually just the opposite --- a bloomin' good deal!

We'll start with the product - those magnificent flowers that make it into your beautiful bouquet and onto the reception tables. It's truly incredible the physical journey your flowers go on throughout the wedding process. Somewhere in the world, right now, flowers are being planted, nurtured, and harvested for a bride like you. Maybe even your flowers. The love and care needed to grow these beautiful blossoms is immense. From soil to ceremony, there is a lot of labor that goes in to making sure those flowers grow and stay radiant. 

• First, after figuring out all of the important details of the flower designs like specific species and stem counts, your florist will call a wholesaler. This wholesaler will be your lifeline from the greenhouse to your designer. 
• The wholesaler will then take the list and count and start searching far and wide, many times halfway around the world, to find your specific blossoms in a flower auction.
• After finding those flowers, a buyer will purchase them, and ship them to the wholesaler. The wholesaler will then sort and package your order and send the flowers to your florist. 
• Your florist then receives the shipment and begins the creative and labor-intensive process of putting them all together! 

Just the travel alone is mind-boggling. It's amazing to think that in that bouquet you'll be carrying, there could be flowers that traveled all the way from Holland just for your big day! All the labor, care, and worldwide shipping make the price to actually buy the flowers seem like a pretty good deal. 

Knowing where your money is being spent is an important detail, and we want to make sure you understand exactly what you're paying for! Next blog, we'll talk about how it truly is a "you get what you pay for" industry - and how to give yourself realistic expectations and a realistic budget.