Price of Wedding Flowers – a few things to consider when reading your quote

We all know that wedding flowers play an important role in setting the scene, the ambiance, and creating beautiful wedding atmosphere. Majority of the couples get a shock when they start shopping around for quotes. In today’s post I would like to discuss the price of flowers and try to make you understand why flowers cost so much as they do.

Flowers are a consumable and perishable  product. We all know that fresh flowers are expensive – yet such is the nature of live elements. Wedding flowers are even more expensive since they require greater handling, conditioning, optimization and careful arranging to satisfy bride’s specific requirements.

One bloom stem starts off as a seed, and it takes time to grow each flower no matter its type. Each bloom has to be watered, get enough sun, and get protected from the elements and pests. It takes farmer’s knowledge of soil composition to optimize the growth stages. When the time is right, flowers need to be careful harvested and packed.

So when you are purchasing flowers, you are paying for many things – the grower’s cut (planting, growing, watering, feeding, harvesting), and even  packaging of  flowers in a manner that they will not wilt or die on the way to destination. Another important factor is the price of fuel. Flowers have to travel from their point of origin to the flower market, from flower market to the florist, and from florist to your wedding venue.

As a simple example, have a look of escalated price of patrol over the last 2 years:

January 2010 – R7,35 per liter

January 2011 – R8,76 per liter

January 2012 – R10,66 per liter

In a nutshell, every time the price of fuel goes up, flower prices increase. Transport companies take into account taxes and tolls levied on the road usage too.

Supply and demand is also important to consider. Certain flowers tend to be more popular and high in demand – Avalanche Rose or any white rose, Casablanca lilies, Peonies – and thus hold higher price throughout the year. If certain colours of flowers tend to be more popular according to trend forecost then demand for those flowers drives up the price.

Wedding designers and florists are incredible professionals who are able to translate your vision for a perfect wedding and bring it to live using flowers and decor – for a fee of course. Florist’s fees encompass such services as design, purchasing, conditioning, watering, prepping them with special concoctions that prolong flower lifespan, cauterize  the stems, arranging, delivering, etc. Apart from the labour costs, a florists incurs expenses such as rental, water and electricity bills and transport costs too.

On average, one wedding equals to 48 hours of actual flower arranging work (excluding designing, mock-ups, sourcing) – from purchasing flowers (very early in a morning at an auction), to carefully packing/unpacking the van. It is crucial to condition the flowers so they look amazing in floral arrangements and we are talking about over 2000 stems of various blooms that get processed for a wedding of 120 guests (this usually translates into full bridal party flowers, ceremony arrangements and 12 reception centerpieces). Preparing the containers and floral foam (for more intricate arrangement a certain level of engineering is required) and subsequently arranging the flowers (through the night before the wedding). A wedding designer and a florist will make sure your floral arrangements are delivered to the venue in a perfect condition, they will set up your ceremony and reception venues, deliver your bouquets and stay for as long as necessary making sure that everything is ready and everything looks perfect.

Here is a small challenge, next time you are at a grocery shop pay attention to the price tags on the flowers and remember to count a number of stems in the bunch. It is important to remember that you do not usually buy 10+ intricate arrangements placed on/in exquisite candelabra, crystal vase or other containers. So it is understandable why brides get overwhelmed by the prices involved in wedding flowers. My husband once pointed out that women do not generally buy themselves flowers and thus do not keep up to date with current prices of flowers.

If you want to understand your flower quote, ask your florist as many questions as you feel like – your florist should be transparent about the cost involved. Click here to read a post on how you can save money on your wedding flowers and decor.

Email me (info@splendidaffairs.co.za) if you have any questions or suggestions about the topics you would like me to discuss on the blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Donovan Whyte Photography