why do wedding flowers cost so much?
the real cost of flowers
Before event week
We have to factor in time for administrative work like mood boards, invoicing, emails, phone calls, site visits. Before we actually pick up your flowers, we have to order vases, candles, and preorder flowers. This takes a ton of time and resources before we think about actually arranging your flowers.
Event week
Event week is JAM packed full of tasks to do to prep for your wedding. Here’s a quick rundown of what a week would look like in anticipation of a typical Saturday event.
Monday
This is more of a reset and rest day, especially if we are still recovering from an event from the weekend. We will go over our production schedule and clean/organize our studio space. Many times, the venue reaches out the week of the event to confirm details. We’re probably also catching up on any other administrative tasks.
Tuesday
This is our real prep day where we clean vases and prep them with chickenwire, frogs etc. We’re making sure our buckets are sparkling clean and filling them with clean water ahead of our market trip. We’re checking any other hard goods we may need like installation bases and candles are ready to go as well.
Wednesday
Today is the day we finally get to pick up your flowers! We’ll head to the market early and drive around a lot—sometimes to multiple locations for sourcing. We usually preorder most items a month in advance but sometimes we need to make additions or substitutions on the fly which can take up time. Then we’ll get the car packed up and head home to unload.
Then we start processing all the gorgeous blooms and getting them hydrated. They all need clean water but most flowers have different care needs. Soft hollow stems like cool, shallow water. While woody stems might need warmer water and special cuts to open up the stem. Removing foliage and stripping rose thorns can be time consuming. The goal is to properly hydrate the flowers before we start working with them.
Thursday
This is our main day to design centerpieces, bud vases, aisle flowers, and anything else that is an arrangement with a vase and a water source. We might need to run back to the market to grab a few last minute items to round out our selection.
Friday
The focus is on personal flowers which means bridal bouquets, bridesmaids’ bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages. Bridal bouquets take at least an hour if not more to get the perfect composition for your blooms. We will give them a final trim and finish them with silk on site at the venue. Boutonnieres and corsages get special treatment in a hydration chamber overnight to keep them looking super fresh for the big day. We’re loading up the vehicle with any non-perishable items like tools and supplies we might need onsite.
Saturday
Packing up the vehicles can be like playing Tetris with delicate glassware and carefully arranged blooms. We’re probably also bringing boxes of supplies and hard goods, in addition to buckets of flowers for any on-site installation we’re planning to do. We’ll drive to the venue, leaving ourselves extra time to any traffic mishaps. We might need to drop off personal flowers elsewhere before heading to the venue. Then we’re unloading again and setting up centerpieces, candles etc. We’re creating artful installations on-site with limited amounts of time to create gorgeous statement pieces for your event.
Saturday night/Sunday morning
We’re back at the venue after the event is over that night or early the next morning to collect our vases, candles etc. Another round of packing and unpacking the car. The blooms will typically go into green waste and it’s time to reorganize/clean hard goods for the next wedding.
Then we start the process all over again for the next wedding!
Let’s chat flowers and bring your vision to life! 🤍