Congratulations on your engagement! A wedding is an exciting, memorable occasion but one that requires thorough and thoughtful planning. For many brides and married couples to be, acquiring flowers and booking a florist capable of capturing (and executing!) their vision can appear deceivingly simple.
To borrow from Walt Disney, “There is no magic in magic, it’s all in the details.” Let us pull the curtain back and share what it takes to achieve seamless and stunning floral designs that are an expression of you and your partner on your most important day!
Booking an experienced florist is key to avoiding floral anxiety, of course. But before booking your first meeting, thought and preparation is essential. We’ve created a thoughtful and comprehensive checklist–drawn from many years of experience–to help you and your partner navigate the wedding planning process.
Attention to all your details upfront coupled with an awareness of budget, timing and overall expectations ensures on your very special day, your wedding florals are personal, and fabulous!
1. What Is Your Budget?
This piece of the planning puzzle must be addressed as early in the process as possible. Budgetary information is vital and allows your florist to match your vision with the resources available. A full-service florist like Copper Penny Flowers is part of the process from beginning to end, coordinating with other vendors and providing a delivery team that includes one or more professional designers on site for set up. Your full-service florist is handling the following:
- Floral and greenery availability [What’s in season? At what cost?]
- Equipment rental [Arbor, chuppah, lanterns, pedestals, table numbers, vases, votives]
- Timing and proper staffing [When are the venues available for set-up]
- Flower delivery and set-up [Are their multiple locations?]
- Coordinating your vision with other vendors [Where’s the cake?]
- Pick up fee for any rental items afterwards [Immediately after the event or next day]
Ironing out all these details allows your florist to take you and your partner out of the process as much as possible–less stress!–so that you can concentrate on other things.
In general, you should expect flowers and decor to cost 10-20% of your overall budget but the three items that most impact the budget are:
- Size of guest list
- Size of bridal party
- Any special requests for large ticket items
In our experience, we find that for weddings of 125 to 140 guests with bridal parties of three to four attendants, the cost of wedding flowers ranges from $3,500 – $6,000 (which includes tax, set up and delivery). Weddings with larger guest counts, bridal parties, arbors or other large floral installations, or with multiple delivery locations, rental items, or venues requiring staff to stay on site to transition or pick up, should budget $5000 and up.
What floral designs fit your special event? Numbers will come into play for your budget; if you have five bridesmaids and five groomsmen you need to multiply!
- Bridal bouquets $200 – $450
- Bridesmaids bouquets $90 – $140
- Flower girl ringlets $60 – $100
- Corsages $35 – $50
- Boutonnieres $20 – $30
- Table centerpieces (low) $100 – $250
- Table centerpieces (high) $250 – $500
- Garlands (priced per foot) generally $20 – $50 per foot
- Ceremony arrangements $250 – $500
- Escort card table arrangements $200 – $500
- Cocktail table arrangements $25 – $75
- Arbor or chuppah rentals $350 – $3000
- Arbor florals $350 – $3000
- Table number rentals $3 – $7 each
- Votive candles $3 – $15 each
Couples should note that if they are going to hire a florist located more than 15 miles away from their ceremony and reception location, or booking for a holiday weekend, will add additional delivery fees for time and travel. Multiple delivery locations will also increase delivery fees. At Copper Penny Flowers, we offer an option for flowers to be picked up with a packing fee.
- Set up and delivery 15 – 25% of total
- Pick up packing fee 3.5% of total.
2. What Is Your Vision?
Working with a bigger budget means more leeway in terms of the types of flowers and greenery to choose from. Prices vary greatly, and demand for flowers and greens in peak months drive up the price.
At one time, the floral industry developed three general categories of flowers, standard, premium and deluxe florals, largely related to the price of the blooms. With flower prices and availability ever changing, these categories have become more fluid. Also be aware that premium green prices can be comparable premium floral prices. Copper Penny Flowers is a boutique floral design studio working almost exclusively with premium and deluxe blooms and greenery. Examples of such florals and greenery would include:
Roses, spray roses, garden roses, delphinium, stock, hydrangea and Dutch hydrangea, lilies, hyacinth, foxglove (in season), zinnia (in season), peonies (in season), dahlias (in season), ranunculus, clematis, lilac, hellebore, astilbe, anemone, jasmine, parrot and French tulips, freesia, stephanotis, orchids, sweet peas, pittosporum, ruscus, eucalyptus, olive, bay laurel, maidenhair fern, fiddlehead fern, sea star fern, and magnolia.
3. When Should You Meet With a Florist?
This varies depending on the size of the wedding, the season and how prepared you are. For example, if you’re planning a large wedding in peak bridal season and wish to use a specific florist, then you should consider booking at least a year in advance. During COVID, dates and venues are booking even further out than prior to the pandemic. Planning a wedding May to October, the busiest wedding months? Book your florist ASAP, and expect to pay a nonrefundable deposit to hold the wedding date. The earlier you book the more selection you will have for a florist.
Once booked, most couples will meet with their florist four to six months prior to their wedding day. If it’s a smaller wedding with uncomplicated arrangements, two to three months can be sufficient. But again, it depends on the season, so working ahead will always be in your best interest.
Ideally, when you meet with your florist you’ll want to have the following details in hand:
- Date of wedding
- Location of ceremony and reception
- Number of guests
- Number of attendants in the bridal party
- Your budget
- Specific thoughts, ideas and inspiration with regards to wedding florals
How We Work at Copper Penny Flowers
We are a multi-award-winning boutique florist in historic Concord, providing fresh flower arrangements for weddings and events of all kinds. Our highly-experienced floral designers have a penchant for detail and a discerning eye for design, color and the latest floral trends.
Our peak bridal months are June, September, and October, closely followed by May and August. To initiate the process of getting to know each other, we ask our brides to schedule an appointment to discuss plans and ideas for the wedding in question – please review the prior section for guidance on what information to bring. A picture is worth a thousand words. We don’t need flower names from you. We just want to know what you like!
We are happy to schedule evening or weekend appointments to fit your schedule.
During this initial appointment, we can give you a general estimate of cost and determine if Copper Penny Flowers is a good fit for your vision. Moving forward from the appointment, we craft an estimate based on our detailed discussion. To secure your date and Copper Penny Flowers as your wedding florist, you return a signed contract with a $1000 nonrefundable deposit.
Ready to get started? So are we. Submit a Request For Consult. We’re excited to discuss your wedding details, bring clarity to your vision, and create the day of your dreams!