Wedding budgets can quickly balloon out of control. I know! I get it. Naturally, florals are one area that I really think you shouldn’t scrimp.What other day in your life do you get to spend some moolah on something that is totally luxurious and there for the simple pleasure of its beauty? So where to spend your wedding floral budget exactly?
Flowers add SO much to an event, and yet they are so often overlooked or deemed unimportant. Truth be told, once you start to add up the cost of DIYing things, or purchasing non-floral centrepieces (those cylinder vases and pillar candles add up!), you are almost always better off hiring a professional to get the look you want without the stress. That’s why today I want to talk about what I think are the top 5 wedding floral pieces to spend on.
I also know that money doesn’t grow on trees, and that everyone has a financial comfort zone. I thought I’d take a few minutes to share what I think are the top 5 places to spend your floral budget!
(Word to the wise: rent the votives and cylinders and vases and orbs and all the things from your florist or decor company. You do NOT want the hassle of re-selling that stuff afterwards, only to get back a fraction of the original price.)
Photo by Naomie Houle
Where to Spend Your Wedding Floral Budget… Top 5 Choices!
1. Your personals
Your bouquet, your main boutonnière, your attendants’ bouquets… These are going to be the most photographed elements of your wedding day. That’s why I’m leading off my list of top 5 wedding floral pieces with them!
My main bouquets begin at $225 for a reason. The amount of flowers and foliages, the quality of the blooms (I am SUPER picky about what goes into my bouquet work), the time I take to create the perfect bouquet, the gorgeous ribbon for finishing, not to mention the artistry… and don’t forget that this is something you will HOLD. It is such a unique experience in your big (busy) day.
Your attendants should also have something lovely to carry. It doesn’t have to be crazy-expensive (my attendants’ bouquets begin at $85 and usually sit somewhere between there and $125), but it should be thoughtful and beautiful.
(Next-level tip: invest in a really gorgeous, heirloom-quality ribbon for your bouquet – ask me! – and then you can pass it on to a special someone someday. I used my grandmother’s velvet bridal ribbon on my bouquet. All together now: “awwwwww!”)
Photo by Catherine Ledoux Ribbon by Maison Note
2. Your ceremony
But! Spend wisely. Instead of going for an entrance arrangement, twelve aisle markers, a signing table arrangement, and altar arrangements (unless that’s what you want, and then, SURE! Let me make ALL the pretty things!) , spend your budget on one AMAZING focal piece for the front of your ceremony space. Whether it’s a cool asymmetrical altar piece, an arch, a chuppah, a mandap, two fabulous arrangements on pedestals, a million lanterns… spend the money there. You will whiz right by those aisle markers and there will probably be one photo of them at the end of the day. They absolutely will look beautiful, but if budget is a sticking point, I would do away with little pieces in favour of one really fantastic floral focal point.
In order to maximize your investment, ask your florist to create a piece that can do double-duty from ceremony to reception. (Be prepared to add some additional labour for this service, but it’s worth it in the end!)
Photo by Kerstin Hahn Photography
Photo by L’Orangerie Photographie
3. Your centrepieces
Your guests are going to be looking at these babies A LOT over the course of your event. Most dinners are at least two hours, if not more. THIS is the place to spend your reception decor budget. All the uplighting and drapery in the world cannot make up for a bare-looking table.
Photo by L’Orangerie Photographie
If budget is a consideration, ask your florist to upgrade the flowers but simplify the vessel they are in. You can do a lot with a classic, low, glass cylinder vase. Better to save there than to skimp on the flowers themselves. Or, have your floral budget stretch further by doing a whole bunch of really gorgeous bud vases (I recommend a minimum of 3 bud vases per 6-8 guests), and then let guests take them home as a favour at the end of the evening. Everyone loves to take home flowers, and it isn’t some little trinket that will end up in the garbage.
(I’m gonna say it again: RENT your vases. Unless they are something super-simple like a cylinder vase, your florist has access to WAY better prices and WAY more variety than you do. We invest in really gorgeous vessels because we know how incredible they look!)
4. Set Up and Labour
So I know this isn’t technically a floral piece, but I think it is incredibly important to talk about (and spend on!). You are investing so much money, time, energy, and memories into your wedding day. The last thing you should be doing is running around, trying to save the dying floral arrangements you insisted on picking up, instead of paying the $X to have them properly delivered and set up.
Many florists don’t even offer a pick-up service because they can’t guarantee the quality of the product once it leaves their hands. I rarely offer this option, for exactly this reason.
A pro will not just deliver and set things up; they will tweak arrangements on site, replacing stems broken in transit (it happens), adding water so that they are perfectly hydrated, making sure everything looks its absolute best.
Expect to pay for on-site labour if you are having pieces made for your ceremony or reception such as arches or chuppahs. It is worth it to pay for your florist to wait, in order to have your ceremony pieces repurposed to your reception (when possible, of course). You get to enjoy your beautiful flowers that much more, and the labour is generally less than the cost of investing in a whole separate floral piece.
Photo by Photographie M’Vivre
5. A really beautiful head table
We’re almost at the end of my top 5 wedding floral pieces, but this last one is – I think – really important!
You can go simple and elegant with your guests’ tables, and make a real focal point with your head or sweetheart table. It is, after all, the focus of your reception space!
Think outside the garland box, too. (Unless that’s what makes your heart sing, and then, let’s talk about creating an EPIC garland!) I am currently loving the look of long, low centrepieces in a wildflower, garden-gathered style. Do something a little creative and unexpected for your main table! Or, let’s do something totally unique and create a hanging installation above your head table! (Bonus points if we can use it for the ceremony and just move the tables and chairs after.)
See if you can move your arch after the ceremony, to create a frame for you and your sweetheart. Or do some awesome aisle swags and have them hung on the backs of all of the head table chairs for the reception. Your wedding party will feel SUPER FANCY.
Photo by Catherine Ledoux
There you have it. That’s where I think you should spend your wedding floral budget. When in doubt, ask your florist for their top five! We care about our clients and we want you to have the most glorious wedding flowers for your financial comfort zone.
If you’re ready to inquire about booking your gorgeous wedding florals from Flourish & Knot, head on over to my inquiry page!
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