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Hey bees!
My FI and me are working up a budget and I have no idea how much to expect to pay for flowers. We're going to be at Oxon Hill Manor in Maryland and it's a really big place.
There are four mantels/fireplaces that we want to have some flowers on or around, we would like to use flowers as centerpieces for about 10 guest tables, and we'll also need about six bouquets (for five bridesmaids and myself).
How much are you spending on flowers?
I'm open to money-saving tips if anyone has a good one!
We are spending 4,000 but have a large bridal party.
1 Brides Bouquet
7 Bridesmaids
4 Flower Girls
4 Corsages
15 Boutineers
Pew Bows
2 Church Arrangements
20 Centerpieces
Our budget is $3,000, which includes 1 bride's bouquet, 5 BM bouquets, 2 mom's wrist corsages, 20 low centerpieces, 20 tall centerpieces, 2 alter arrangements and 40 moss ball pomanders. We went to a small florist in the town where I grew up, and she cut us a great deal since she is hoping for more business from our wedding.
Also, we are only using sunflowers, which are cheap in California in the summer/fall.
Our budget is $700. This is what we can afford to spend, so we won't be going over that. So far, we haven't figured out how to make that work. I'm getting married in rural northwest, so I think florists are a lot less expensive in my area than some of the other posters.
$570 on flowers. A couple of things to keep in mind with our flower budget. Our florist is someone who does floral work on the side. Basically one wedding a weekend. She was referred to us by our DOC and FI knows the family since he went to HS with this woman's daughter. I know she will deliver beautiful personalized service and I am glad we did not go with a floral shop that we charge a lot more.
Also, we are not doing floral centerpieces. Our centerpieces will be fruit in vases. Also, in my opinion, you don't have to cover every surface of the reception venue in flowers unless you want to and are made of money. We are moving the ceremony altar flowers to the reception which will save money. I am also making some simple DIY projects to decorate the mantals in our venue
Anyways we are paying $570 for:
-1 bride bouquet
-4 bridesmaids bouquets
-1 groom bout
-4 groomsmen bouts
-2 father bouts
-4 flowers on pin for mothers, 1 grandmother and my sister
-2 tall altar floral pieces
We have a virtually non existant budget for flowers. I think we are going to end up spending around 1100. We are using hydrangea for the bulk of the flowers. For about 5 dollars each, they provide a TON of volume.
we spent $900 total. we ended up getting 6 little buckets of flowers for aisles, 17 centerpieces (which were spread around to other tables too because we ended up with 13 guest tables and had extras- guest book signing table, cake table, etc.) my bouquet, 2 bridesmaids bouquets, 5 bouts (groom, 2 groomsmen, 2 dads) 4 coursages (moms and grandmas). i got my centerpieces and aisle flowers at wholesale for $600 and did diy and the other stuff from a flower shop for $300.
i definitly suggest diy for centerpieces depending on the feeling your going for your wedding. we had a very vintage, romantic feel, and i just wanted something simple. i bought tons of pitchers and containers from thrift stores (nothing more than $3) and my sil cut all of the flowers for me the night before the wedding as we hung out and helped her stuff the vases, it went so quickly! so if you're doing just one type of flower and no arranging, all you have to do is cut the flowers and plop them in there, easy! i don't have pro pics yet, but here's a friend's pic of our table as it was being set up.
table.jpg (70.8 KB, 55 downloads) 2 years old 
@farmersdaughter - ::highfive!:: We are date twins AND we are flower-budget twins. I refuse to spend more than $700. I'm not that 'into' flowers, and I am NOT breaking the bank on something that I don't get to take home with me.
We're spending $450
Florist:
my bouquet - 170
MOH bouquet - 70
3 boutinerres - 30
online bulk floral: (~60 stems for centerpiecs, to put on cake, to put in my hair, bud in each napkin) - 180
Okay thanks all!!
It looks the flower budget is going to be whatever we make of it! From your replies, it seems we COULD spend up to $4,000, but if we don't have that kind of money (or just don't want to spend that much), DIY projects and not having flowers all over are money savers!
Great points!
This makes me feel good about our budget, because I think I am going to probably spend somewhere in between these amounts. We definitely don't have $4,000, but we don't want to skimp on the flowers, because we're having a spring wedding...
I was thinking of buying some tulips or something whole sale and arranging them myself or with friends (like @artbee). The flowers look great in that picture!
Also, has anyone considered using fake flowers? My mom and my grandmother are really good at working with fake flowers and they suggested doing fake arrangements for around the mantels, etc... My mom said we could give the arrangements away to elders in the family or something as a keepsake... What do you guys think? Are fake flowers a definite no-no?
I didn't consider fake flowers, just b/c I don't like them. But I know i've seen a lot on the board/blog about girls making them for different aspects of the wedding. Another way to save, is to still have floral centerpieces, but to do something that doesn't require much flowers. I LOVE orchids, unfournately they are very exp. So i'm having a florist make my bouquet since i'm not very crafy, which is a lot of my flower budget. Then i'm ordering stems somewhat cheaply online and doing 3 cylinder vases of differing heights with submerged orchids, that way i only need 2-3 stems a table.
You should definitely look into doing DIY flowers for your centerpieces, at least. I saved myself a ton of money in using fiftyflowers.com for my reception flowers, and they looked great! When is your wedding?
I think "they" say that you should expect to allocate 10% of your total budget towards flowers-- it's a common percentage on a lot of the wedding budget lists.
I am diy'g it and mixing them with the feathers for my centerpieces (i wanted some lower flowers as well). We will be spending about 300 or so on the lower centerpieces
@ksnow -- that's a great idea and orchids are beautiful!!
@jhphi -- thank you soo much for the link! That's exactly what I need!
I actually should update my profile because our wedding was going to be this October, but we've pushed it back to the spring of 2011. It will probably be in April or May.
I've heard the 10 percent rule too, but I definitely wanted to try to do some crafting to save and also add a personal touch to things.
Thanks again for the web site, I'm on it now!!!
I just had our consultation and our estimate was about $3,000 but that could go up or down a little bit.
That includes:
Bridal bouquet and tossing bouquet
MOH bouquet
Flower girl pomander
Boutioneers (7?)
Coursages (7?)
3 large ceremony arrangements
6 pew arrangements
centerpieces (10)
and it will be additonal to add our "childrens centerpieces" which I *may* diy.
Flowers ARE expensive! I wish I felt like I could DIY pretty flower centerpieces but of all my crafty skills, that isn't one :X
Other ideas to keep costs down:
REUSE!! :-) Get empty vases for 6 of the tables, and seat one BM at each of those tables. Have them put their bouquet into the vase when they get there. We did this to put flowers on the cake table. Worked out great! You could also use ceremony arrangements later at the reception, as long as there's enough time during the cocktail hour to have someone transfer them.
Or switch it up - have floral centerpiece for half, and do something candle-based for the other half.
If you want to DIY, maybe use potted flowering plants? My local grocery store has orchids for $14. I think Ikea carries fun potted flowers, as well. That would be super easy - just place one pot at each table. Guests will like it too b/c one of them can take it home and they won't spill a vase's worth of water all over their car!
I am also not a fan of fake flowers. But, to each their own.
Probably about $500 for:
We're not getting bouts for the dudes. They're going to wear pocket squares instead. And because our ceremony is in a botanical garden, we don't need to order any ceremony flowers.
$500-$700
1 Bridal bouquet
4 BM bouquets
5 groom + groomsmen boutonnieres
10 boutonnieres/corsages for family
20+ centerpieces
My mom used to be a florist so we're just gonna buy wholesale flowers and put everything together ourselves.
I budgeted $400 for ALL DIY flowers. We ended up spending close to $600 not including supplies. It was well worth it for me, but DIY isn't for everyone!
We're spending about $1500 which includes all bouquets, boutainnaires, centerpieces, and other table arrangements. Since we're getting married at a historical church, flowers aren't really needed so we're saving on money there.
$775 for
1 bridal bouquet
2 BM bouquets
1 flower girl
7 bouts
4 corsages
2 ceremony arrangements
8 centerpieces
Free toss bouquet
My budget was $850.
trying to keep it at $3,000 - we have a larger wedding party (14 people) and will have about 20 centerpieces that we need for the reception
6 bouquets
6 bouts
4 coursages
petals to replace a runner
(no need for ceremony... place is already decorated!)
Our budget is $800 in NYC. Def doable... I live right next to the flower market. DIY
Flower, decor & favor budget- $250for 75 guests
$229.99 for the 9-piece hydrangea wedding collection from Costco.com (and they ship it right to your house, fully assembled!). Includes 1 Bridal bouquet, 2 Brides Maid bouquets, 2 corsages (for our moms), 4 attendant boutonnieres (dad, groom, BM & GM).
**Instead of Costco, you could also look at FiftyFlowers.com under "Wedding in a Box" or buy flowers in bulk from them and arrange it all yourself.
about $5,000 for wedding with 300 guests, 4 bridesmaids, 5 groomsmen, cocktail hour etc. I love our floral designer! Very creative and a lot of fun!
I'm planning around $30 for flowers. They're fake but they don't look cheap/plastic-y at all. Plus since they're fake I can use them around my new house! I know to some brides, flowers are super important... to me I don't see them as much but decoration since they die. That's just my preference thou. My wedding's super low budget (under $1k) because our money is going towards a house instead!
I've learned that you can literally spend anywhere from $0-$30,000 on flowers alone!!!! I visited 3 florists (I was quoted $1,200/$2,900/$4,000)
I am budgeting for $200 for my flowers/centerpieces. However I plan on using flowers from Michaels to DIY centerpieces. Everybody has whats important to them on their big day and flowers wasnt top of my list. I am using the money I am saving to help with food/alcohol expense! LOL Sorry I am a definite foodie. :)
@serabell-We are budget twins!!
$550 for decor total (votives, everything other that the linens) The ceremony flowers will be reused for the reception (the room gets flipped in the reception) and I will be diying my arrangements or using fifty flowers pre-arranged centerpeices ( only having 9 tables..small wedding). another $600 for bouquets and all that stuff.
I am not a fan of fake flowers. Not at all. I think they are terribly tacky.
Anyway, I hope to spend around 500-600 dollars on my flowers. I want a really simple bouquet and have toyed with the idea of doing two big pots of different pretty greenery and flowers as ceremony decor and then giving them to family members or keeping them on my own patio afterwards.
i didn't want to spend anything more than $2000-$2500 on flowers.
our wedding will have 20 centerpieces, 4 altar pieces, 10 pew cones, 6 bouquets, 8 bouts, 2 corsages, toss bouquet, cake table decor all for $1650!!! a mix of white roses, calla lillies, alstrameria, hydrangea, etc.
honestly, i found my local vendor (who works out of her home and has a day job) from a fellow MI bee! she came to our house for a consult and is giving us everything at cost... !
I just want to ask for those who think fake flowers are TACKY why is that? It bothers me sometimes that bees just throw tacky out there so nonchalant just because it doesnt fit in their norm of wedding thinking.
I know there a bunch of bees that are using silk flowers including me and we should be respectful of everybody's planning. If you dont like it just say that its not your thing doesnt mean its TACKY.
@sweetnote10, i agree with you, i think newer bees really haven't grasped WB etiquette... on how we try to be supportive of all different opinions and tastes... and that even if we do differ that we do it in a non-hating, non-judgemental way!
i'm using fake flowers for my aisle and for the flower girl basket... i dont think there's a right or a wrong, or classy or tacky, it's YOUR wedding and what YOU want/need/can do !! :)
@missjyc-I try not to be sensitive about people's viewpoints but lately it seems like a trend that some bees are just being flat out unthoughtful of others feelings. I just want to add I like to hear about everyones planning, but if I dont like something I just dont flat out say that. Its better to give suggestions on what you think might make it look better.
Ok sorry to get off topic but i just wanted to speak up for those bees that might want to post but might be using fake flowers and see tacky idea.
Yeah, I think that was a newbee goof. I've seen some silk flower bouquets that I had NO IDEA they were fake. And if I had known, eh--I wouldn't care. :-D
I am not sure what my total budget is, but I do know that I my bouquet is around $100 and BM bouquet's are around $50.
I agree with VM, newbee goof for sure. That being said, "tacky" is definitely becoming an overused word here on the Bee.
60 for 8 large centerpieces
35 for 8 small centerpieces
BM Bouquet- 30 each
My bouquet- free! aunt doing it
GM bout-10 each
Fathers bout- 10 each
Mother corsages- 15 each
Ceremony decor- 250
plus other small items like flower girl baskets
Regarding the "tacky" comment. I think everyone has to keep in mind that we are all working with different budgets here and all try to make do with what we have. Also every girl has a different vision and is here to get support/input.
Our budget for flowers is about 8k. I never considered DIY--don't want to stress myself out. ahha
Ours is $5000, but we're coming in slightly under budget at about $4500.
That includes:
-centrepieces for 18 tables (half high, half low)
-two large arrangements for the church
-20 pew arrangements
-my bridal bouquet
-4 BM bouquets
-4 flower girl bouquets
-3 small bouquets for our mothers
-about 10 bouts for the groom, GMs, ring bearers and fathers
-8 arrangements for cruiser tables during the cocktail hour (will be repurposed on the cake table)
-110 pillar candles
- vase rentals
-delivery and setup fees
Our arrangements will use primarliy: garden roses, ranunculus, lysianthus, hydrangeas and curly willow branches.
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