flower frustration

[rainbowtrout]

I''ve been emailing a bunch of florists, and first off, none of them want to do potted plants, but that''s okay, I was planning on doing those myself for the centerpieces. Although, the pain of having to go down to Boston in April, buy and plant more than I need in case some die, and then hoping my grandmother waters them is something that would have been fun to avoid.


I''m just having trouble with the sticker shock! The flowers are the 1 thing that is a gift from my parents, so how is it that with 1,000 and 60 people, we''re "on a tight budget"?? I thought this was where we where flush, no worries! I''ve had several florists write me back now who were very nice but suggested I DIY everything but the bouquets.

And the bouquets!!! I''m sorry ladies, but how exactly can you charge 30 dollars for a bouquet you pick out and buy in the store, and 150-200 dollars for a bare minimum "wedding bouquet"??? I really don''t want to DIY but I''m thinking of conscripting my BM''s to show up a few days ahead and build their own flowers and the bouts, etc. This of course might be far too mean and Bridezilla-y, since I can''t help much since I''m making the cake in that time.
Also, they want 20 percent of the expenses to deliver the flowers. Holy Hannah. I guess we''ll pick them up.


I''m sorry, I know most of you ladies know this as old news, I''m just floored!
Did those of you who paid a lot for a bouquet notice a big difference than DIY or cheaper florists? Were the flowers just amazing or not that much better/worse?

 

[neatfreak]

I think you must be calling the wrong places! My bouquet (which admittedly isn't the cheapest option by far since it's the only flowers we're really having and I splurged) is going to be less than $150 in San Francisco. And most florists I talked to would even deliver my stuff for free or for a small (like $25) fee. If I had done more flowers (something on your scale), most were throwing delivery and set up in for free!

Are you calling florists in the flower district? Or ones downtown? That can make a big difference I learned in San Francisco...


As for bouquets, I think that if all you want is a hand tied bunch of flowers, it can be ok to get something from a store or whatever. BUT to be fair to the florists, a lot of work goes into bridal bouquets because the arranging takes a lot of time, they individually add flowers and put them into a plastic holder thing, then they wrap all the ugliness of the floral tape with ribbon...in short it takes a LOT more work to make a bridal bouquet. And the ones from my florist that I saw were far far nicer than anything you could buy as a bouquet.

As for the potted plants, I have two ideas for you.

1. Call a local plant NURSERY, NOT a florist. My parents own one, and they don't do cut flowers, but all they do is potted plants. They have done weddings before, and my mom will even go out of her way to plant whatever flowers a bride wants, in the right size pots, the year before. It would be a LOT easier than growing yourself. Too bad you're in Boston...they are in the Berkshires in MA!

2. Trader Joe's usually sells quite a few plants in pots and many are under $3. If you call them ahead of time you can place an order for a number of them and just pick them all up the day of the wedding. I have now seen two people do this at my local Trader Joes and it is a great idea I think.


Best of luck with everything!!!!

 

[SoCute]

i personally don''t think there is any diff... just bc you buying an expensive bouquet doesn''t mean the bouquet going to lasts longer or better quality vs the cheap ones

they just charge you expensively bc they can and they know us brides would buy anything at any price for our special day.... u can make your bouquet to look expensive if you want to just add in jews/pearl.... google star jone bouquet if you''re into those...... i wish i can upload my other pics that i have my bouquet made for my pre weds pic ... it has plants and this flower that look like a sunflower except its ivory and alottttt smaller but i just glue the matching pearl in the middle and wrapped the plants and flowers together in this small sparkle fabric haha it look so expensive but in reality i only spent 7dollar on the whole thing... As for your BM''s if there is a bouquet that you really like and have a picture; print or cut it out and have the BM copy that bouquet..... its not that hard to make any bouquet if you have a picture of it... if you''re afraid it might not turn out perfect go to the dollar store buy them fake plants and flowers ask the bm to pratice on that first b4 doing it on the real one....... below i attached the pic of my FI and I ... we just took these pic for fun.. the dress was only 64dollar and the flowers or plant i was holding... i just yank it out in the garden took me 40sec to wrapped it together.. notice the hair and my FI tux we match

all of it didn''t even costs anything and maybe you can do something similar to your bm''s bouquet.. keep it simple n cute

 

[Independent Gal]

My florist gave me a ballpark of $200-300, but then she''s going to custom design something, sending sketches back and forth with me until I love it and make it perfectly match the flow of my dress, etc and then it''s probably going to be labor intensive to put it together, since it will involve wire work, shaping, etc. It''s flower couture! So if you figure she spends, say, 2 -3 days on the design and 1 day actually making the thing, then the price it seems reasonable to me.

Also, for a beautiful flower arrangement, $75 or so is not uncommon even if it''s not bridal. So why not ask for one of those, and then just wrap it (bouquet-erize it!) yourself? That way the flowers are already arranged nicely.

Just an idea!

 

[crystalheart1]

Hi RT, I am not sure what part of the country you are in, but around here ( outside of Philly) many of the food stores have a florist . They can do some eleborate bouquets for a great price. When I was looking into flowers for my son''s prom I found this out. There is a one store, Wegmen''s, and they were doing some very high end modernistic (SP) looking arrangements and bouquets. That would be an option to explore.. I am when the time comes...

Good luck

 

[anchor31]

My bouquet is going to cost 60$!!! I was also quoted 30$ per BM bouquet, 40$ per centerpiece, 4.50$ per boutonniere and 5.50$ per corsage, by a reputable florist in my area. It probably depends on areas, though, and the flowers you''re using. I''m using daisies, so that''s not very expensive. My bouquet will be like this, and the other arrangements will be made to match. Maybe you''ll find something cheaper if you shop around?

 

[Pandora II]

I found some great DIY books for wedding bouquets, boutonnieres and centrepieces with step-by-step instructions which include everything from very simple to fully wired shower bouquets with orchids etc. If you''re interested I''ll go and find the titles - they''re from 2006/7 so very modern looks.

I''m doing all mine DIY together with some ladies who do the church flowers where my parents live. That way I can spend my $ on great flowers rather than paying for someone''s time and overheads.

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi RT! You''ve mentioned that you''re getting married in Dunstable but you''re going to get your flowers in Boston. How come? I''d assume that a flower shop in or near Dunstable (maybe even over the boarder in NH) would be cheaper than Boston. I haven''t really begun to shop around for a florist in Maine so I''m not sure what to expect. Thanks for the heads up that it could be pricey!

If you want me to do a little calling around for you in this neck of the woods, let me know and I''d be happy to help out.

 

[Jas12]

Keep looking --for a wedding of 60 ppl you should definetly get tons of flowers for 1000!
I would try this approach--tell the florsist what you need--i.e. 6 centrepices, 4 bouquets etc. and say you have exactly X-dollars to work with and you want this look (show pic) and see what they can do--most florists will be able to tell you how to make it possible.
Stick to your guns.

(as an aside: I paid 2000 for mine and i chose expensive blooms and large arrangements and my wedding was 140 ppl)

 

[rainbowtrout]

Thanks guys, these are some great suggestions! There is in fact a great nursery near the house and I will absolutely get up there in Feb or March to ask about an advance order for the wedding!


RE: why I am calling in Boston, because I don't have a phonebook so I used Google and that was what popped up! I bet you are right that there will be cheaper places in NH and in Dunstable/Lowell. Although I do want to splurge a little for professional looking bouquets, I don't want to go for 200-a-pop splurges!


I am tempted to go the DIY route for the better flower quality but honestly, I just dislike flower arranging!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I do think there is a difference between DIY and professional. Now I am not saying you can''t get cheaper pro flowers to look great (you can). But I always notice the flowers (like when the BM carry only a few flowers or the center pieces are literally a few daiseys thrown in a vase). I am sure most people don''t though. I cannot remember how much my florist charged but it was $$$. Looking at our wedding pics, I am SOOOO glad we splurged. They were so beautiful.

I hate to say it but I would go onto the local knot and ask around. I do hate the knot but found the local board useful since I was planning from afar.

 

[basil]

I agree with looking on the Knot for recommendations...the reviews there seem to be pretty spot on about who is pricey and who will work within a budget.

Not too far away from you (RI), my flower quote ran around $1500 for my bouquet, BMs (2), corsages (2), bouts (4), centerpieces (10), a large floral wreath, and two very large "altar" arrangements - including all vases purchased, delivery, set up, and taxes. Without the wreath and altar arrangements, the quote would have been <$1000.

 

[qtiekiki]

I also think there''s a difference between DIY and professional, not so much on the look of the bouquet but on the mechanic. Flowers can last/hold up longer if it''s conditioned correctly. There''s some flowers that need reinforcement and there''s different techniques to help the bouquet hold together that can really make a difference. DIY can be done, but you really need to spend some time practicing before your wedding. Don''t think that you can just throw a bouquet together the day before. It might seem like florists are taking advantage of the brides (and some of them might be), but a lot of what they do are labor costs and creativity. I think the starting price of most bridal bouquet are around $100.

I also notice when DIY flowers look like they are just threw in a vase, mostly it''s because I worked as a floral designer before and it''s just seem like such a waste of flowers. But most people probably won''t notice.