Whether I’m sharing my first meeting with a potential Klassy couple or we’re days away from their wedding day, I’m always happy to share as much knowledge as I can about wedding flowers. There isn’t a question I feel you shouldn’t ask, nor is there a time when I won’t want to provide information to help you understand my world of wedding flowers more clearly. So, today I thought we would dive a little deeper into wedding flower budgets, the cost of wedding flowers, and when to spend vs. save when deciding how to allocate your wedding flower budget.
No matter if you’re choosing your menu, researching a band, or deciding on flowers, the first step I suggest is to decide on your budget. But, it can feel a little daunting to decide on a wedding flower budget before you know what you can expect to pay for each item you would like me and my team to design. Below, I’m sharing the average cost of common floral pieces, like bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, and more.
Bridal Bouquet: $200 – $400 (average $250)
Bridesmaids Bouquet: $75 – $150 (average $100)
Corsages: $30
Groom’s Boutonniere: $18
Boutonniere: $15
Ceremony Arrangements: $200 – $400 (average $250)
Flower Installments: $350 and up
Low Centerpieces: $100 – $300 (average $150)
Tall Centerpieces: $200 – $400 (average $250)
Cake Flowers: $75
Wedding Flowers Cost
As a general rule of thumb, most of my Klassy couples spend between $2500-$7,000 on their flowers for a 100-guest wedding in Washington, D.C., which is typically 8%-10% of their overall wedding budget. The range is important to note for a few reasons, and the most important of them is the variety of wedding flowers we use and the size of the arrangements. If you love premium flowers like peonies and garden roses in lush tall arrangements, and you want to feature them exclusively in all of your arrangements, your cost will be far more than if we use them sparingly to highlight certain moments in both low and tall arrangements. The best happy medium is the latter – using a mixture of premium blooms paired with in-season varieties – because the beauty of favorite flowers isn’t lost and neither is your budget. I’ve hinted at a few of the ways to keep your flower budget in check, but I thought I would share five additional tips to save on flowers below. Take a look!
In-Season Wedding Flowers
One of the best ways to maximize your wedding flower budget is to allow your floral designer to focus on including in-season flowers. When a variety has reached peak blooming season, it means it’s readily available locally. Yes, we can always source a specific flower for you. However, the further your celebration is outside of that flower’s growing season, the more expensive it will be for us to procure for you. Use out of season flowers sparingly, if at all, and instead look to what’s available in your color palette that can offer the same result and style you’re dreaming of seeing on your wedding day.
Choose Your Moments
You do not need to splurge on every wedding flower arrangement. Instead, I recommend choosing a few focal areas that hold great importance to you and allocating more of your budget to them. If your church is gorgeous or the ceremony backdrop is stunning, you may not need to include opulent altar arrangements. If you’ve always dreamed of your wedding bouquet to include premium flowers in it to make a statement then opt for in-season flowers for boutonnieres and bridesmaids’ bouquets. Skip a ceiling installation over the dance floor in favor of making your wedding centerpieces stand out more. The list goes on, but the message is the same – decide which moments matter to you and make those stand out the most!
Repurpose
Once your ceremony is complete the aisle arrangements can be repurposed for the guest tables and the ceremony arbor arrangements for the sweetheart table. Also, as your wedding party is ready to enjoy cocktail hour and your reception, your bridesmaids, in particular, will look for guidance on what to do with their bouquets. Rather than have them leave them at their place setting, reuse them! Bridesmaids’ bouquets can be repurposed as part of guest or head table tablescapes. It’s a great way to lengthen the life of both while also saving you money in the process.
Opt for Elegant Candles
Candlelight is a welcome sight at any wedding, no matter the season, and including candles instead of more wedding flowers can be a way to aid your wedding flower budget. Placing a few votive candles in elegant glass holders on a cocktail table and investing that savings into more intricate wedding centerpieces are one way to allow both spaces to look beautiful. Another idea is to include varied looks in your reception space. Consider having detailed wedding floral centerpieces on half of your tables, while the other half features a simpler wedding design accented with a grouping of pillar or votive candles in elegant glass holders. Overall, candles are more cost-effective for a simple design than flowers, so use them to your advantage!
Let Your Wedding Florist Guide You
My goal as a floral designer is to listen to your vision, provide my own input, and make your style come alive for you in the ways it can make the greatest impact on your wedding day. And, many other wedding florists share the same mindset! So, let us be your guide. Let’s talk through your wedding date and the flowers readily available at that time; let’s envision how to best transform your ceremony and reception spaces; let’s decide how to allocate your budget for the biggest “wow” factor. Ultimately, the decisions you make about your wedding flowers are up to you, but I encourage you to use your wedding florist as a resource to help you make every choice!
If you’re planning a wedding in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C., let’s develop your wedding flower design together and explore all of the ways to make your chic, timeless, and elegant design come to life! Click here to complete our inquiry form to get started
Share This Post