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As a wedding florist, I’m always looking for new ways to provide education for my brides. Pricing is an area where most brides are lacking in knowledge. This is completely normal and expected! Part of your wedding florist’s job is to provide insight into why flower prices are the way they are. In this blog post, I’ll be breaking down the cost of wedding flowers in 4 sections.

Photo by Kathryn Fruge Photography

Photo by Kathryn Fruge Photography

Photos by Kathryn Fruge Photography

Growing and Shipment

To understand the cost of flowers, we must start at the beginning. Flowers first need to be planted! Each flower has an ideal temperature, thirst, climate, and soil where they bloom best. While some flowers grow well in the United States, most large flower farms are overseas. Most flowers are from Ecuador, Holland, and Japan. For whatever reason, these countries have climates where a variety of flowers bloom happy. Ask any farmer, growing flowers is a ton of work. Daily weeding, pruning, and watering are just some of the tasks that need to be completed. On top of that, it can take up to 10 years from when a seed is planted to where it is mature enough to use for design work.

Once a flower has reached maturity, it is ready to be cut and sent to florists all over the world. Because flowers are perishable, they are shipped from these flower farms overnight. When you think about farming and all the work it takes to grow flowers and then add on the overnight shipping costs to allow them to arrive to the U.S.; you can begin to see why flowers start out pricey even on a wholesale level.

Photos by The Howard Brand

Processing

After flowers are shipped from all over the world to our studios, we then need to process them. Flowers are packaged tightly in boxes and sometimes have been without water for over 24 hours. Your florist will take steps to ensure that your wedding flowers can perk up and last throughout the weekend. These steps are known as processing. When we process, we strip off all the greenery, remove guard and moldy petals, and give the stem a fresh and clean cut. For certain type of flowers there are even more steps that need to be taken to ensure longevity. This process is done on each stem that we receive. That is hundreds if not thousands of stems!

After each stem is processed, florists use their knowledge and expertise on which variety of flowers need extra care. Certain flowers thrive better in warmer or colder temperatures. Some flowers need their stems boiled or burned and others their entire flower heads dunk underwater. Some flowers prefer the sunlight while others need to be kept in a dark cooler. Acquiring this knowledge takes years of learning and experience. It is important that you hire a wedding florist who understands how to take care of flowers!

Photos by Leah Barry Photography

Designing

Now that the flowers have been processed we finally get to design! Every florist is different in terms of time spent designing, but for an average wedding of mine I’m usually designing for over 18 hours. Design days are very long days for a wedding florist! You not only pay a florist for their time designing, but you also pay for the look of the design itself. Each florist is different in how they view flowers and their role in an arrangement. It’s what makes the world amazing! We all view things differently. As a client it is up to you what kind of style you want your wedding flowers to look like. Certain design styles require more varieties of blooms to be purchased and more time spent arranging in order to achieve that look. If you love a lush, romantic, garden style look for your flowers…expect to pay the big bucks! Not only are those flowers expensive at a wholesale cost but you are paying someone to create a one of a kind work of art just for you!

Photos by The Howard Brand

Customer Service

The final piece is customer service and experience. Does your florist use a client management system, is communication easy? Do they provide proposals, can you visualize your wedding day? Is their contract easy to understand, does it protect you as a client? Do they provide set up and tear down services? Do they provide rental options? How long have they been in business? How many weddings have they completed? I could go on and on. Sometimes you pay extra to have peace of mind and a seamless wedding planning process. Experience is everything! Having a florist who knows what to do when disasters happen is a night and day difference. Prepare a list of questions to bring to your florist during the consultation process. With flowers being such a large investment you need to feel completely at ease once you leave that first meeting!

Have some questions on flowers and pricing? Shoot me an email at rootsfloraldesign@gmail.com

Photos by Caroline Koehler Photography

GETTING MARRIED IN KENTUCKY OR OHIO? CONTACT WEDDING FLORIST ROOTS FLORAL DESIGN!

Getting married in Lexington or Louisville Kentucky? Tying the knot in Ohio? Reach out to Roots Floral Design!

Florals and greenery can make your special day stand out in a unique way that you’ll remember for years to come. Whether you already have floral ideas in mind for your wedding or you are hoping to achieve a specific look and feel, reach out to Roots Floral Design for elegant bouquets, ceremony backdrops and more for a truly romantic wedding!