Oh hey there!! So you got the ring (Congratulations!!), and now it’s time to start planning. I know that it can feel so daunting! For most people, this is the first time they’ve ever thrown a large scale party, and it can be hard to know where to start, where to seek advice, and how much to budget accordingly. So if it helps, here is a quick guide for what you can anticipate regarding your floral budget. I hope this helps!
There is a lot of flexibility when it comes to a budget for your wedding flowers. It’s important to know, as a couple, how important fresh flowers are for your wedding day – you may feel flowers aren’t a central focus for your day or you may feel your flowers are ‘the thing’ that will bring your unique day to life. Also, give some consideration to your venue: does it need the additional decor florals provide or is it a beautiful venue itself and you don’t need to go over the top?
As a good rule of thumb, we suggest your floral budget account for 10-15% of your overall wedding budget. However, if you are looking for Pinterest-worthy, abundant design,we would suggest allocating 20-25% of your total wedding budget. Most Botanica couples spend around $5,000—some spend less or budget more based on their preferences. Remember, it’s YOUR day and the day should reflect your taste and style.
Below is by no means a complete list. Like everything else wedding-flower-related there are so many ‘what ifs’ and ‘except this’ scenarios. The following is meant to be a rough guide to help you plan which items could be covered within a your price range.
$1000 - $1500
Most often, this will allow for bridal bouquet, a few bridesmaid bouquets as well as boutonnieres for the groom and groomsmen. Depending on the number in the wedding party, it could account for boutonnieres and corsages for a few additional family members.
If you are having a very intimate wedding and no bridal party, it could account for your bouquet, a boutonniere as well as a small feature installation at the ceremony or reception
$1500 – $3000
Depending on the size of the wedding party, this will cover personal flowers (bouquets, boutonnieres) and allow for some table decorations at the reception. We would suggest smaller arrangements on each table or a collection of bud vases and feature blooms to fit within the budget.
Or, instead of table flowers, this could allow for a large feature at the ceremony (perhaps an archway with florals) or the reception (perhaps a hanging foliage installation with a few pops of flowers throughout)
Alternatively, if you have a small wedding party, this budget could allow for a ceremony feature element as well as a reception installation. We could then look at using candles to decorate the tables instead of flowers.
$3500 – $5000
This budget could cover the personal flowers as well as a feature element at the ceremony and the reception. It can also include smaller table arrangements and/or bud vases for the table decoration as well as candles.
Or, if there is just one of either a ceremony archway and / or reception installation, there will be budget for standard sized table arrangements.
$5500 – $7500
This price range falls within a typical full service wedding – most often this includes personal flowers, a ceremony floral feature, an installation at the reception, as well as flowers and candles for the tables.
Having said that though, if we are building a custom ceremony element (i.e. chuppah), this budget may only account for personal flowers, the ceremony feature and a few touches at the reception.
$7500 – $10,000
With this budget, we are often looking at a collection of personal flowers, large statement / impact pieces at the ceremony (for example, urn arrangements or an archway PLUS aisle flowers OR a feature chuppah installation). For the reception, the budget could allow for a hanging feature as well as flowers and candles for the tables.
It’s almost impossible to provide all of the details on each and every budget because every couple’s wedding is unique. Which is the point, right?! The above looks to provide some guidance on what items can be accounted for within a budget.
Please note that I haven’t mentioned smaller pieces often requested – flower crowns, cake flowers, rose petals, junior bridesmaid posies, gift table arrangements. There are literally hundreds of combinations and options, so I’ve left these out to try to keep things simple.
Also, prices will vary depending on the number of flowers used and how many premium blooms are to be included. Peonies, orchids, anemone, etc. are more premium flowers and the budget needs to account for this.
It’s also important to be aware labor charges can vary dramatically as well – each venue has rules on when we can set up and when we need to pack down. All of this has an impact on costs for the day. Labor charges also change depending on the time of day we need to set-up / pack down, load-in /load-out difficulty, if it’s a Holiday, etc.
All of this to say, I am always super excited to work with couples regardless of their budget. There is no minimum and I’m always happy to provide suggestions on where the money is best spent, where to get ‘the most bang for your buck’ at your venue and how to make the greatest impact on the day.
