What Wedding Flowers REALLY Cost

Note: This blog was written in the Summer of 2024 and prices are reflective of current floral prices and economic situations in Central Texas.

The biggest question and unknown we get from our potential clients is what wedding flowers REALLY cost and what a reasonable budget should look like. Unlike so many other wedding vendors, florals have so much variance that can change the bottom line number. Season, flowers picked, sizes of arrangements, weather and so many more things. A florist cannot say “this costs $200” because it can change from season to season, even week to week.

What it boils down to:

When it comes to what wedding flowers really cost, you aren’t just paying for flowers. You’re paying for the countless supplies it takes to create the designs (containers, foam, tape, water, clippers), the storage/knowledge it takes to keep those flowers fresh and alive all week long (coolers/electricity, buckets, gallons and gallons of water, floral food and preservers), the staff it takes to create the designs (payroll, taxes, insurance), the cost of doing business as a small business (rent, sales tax, utilities, marketing/branding, software). This is just a very small list of all of the things that go into the overall pricing of a floral bid.

So often we have brides come to us with extravagant inspo photos and wish lists of florals, but a budget that doesn’t come close to what it actually would cost. This frustrates a lot of florists, myself included, I’ve been there. But it’s impossible to expect people who know nothing about flowers to know what things actually cost, when they don’t do it every day like we do. I’m certain the biggest, and best thing we can do for business, is sharing and being open about what things cost.

Below, you’re going to see photos of work from a wedding from this Spring of 2024, along with the pricing of each item and a break down of the supplies/items used to total the over-all cost for a good look at what wedding flowers really cost. Again, this is not set in stone, and if I was pricing out this exact wedding today with all of the exact flowers, the cost would be different. But this is a great place to start when budgeting for certain items.

A Quick Over-View:

Venue: Texas – The Preserve at Canyon Lake
Season: Spring – April 2024
Guest Count: 200
Total Cost in Florals: $11,820
Flowers used: shimmer rose, hermosa rose, peach juliette garden rose, coral charm peonies, apricot stock, peach ranunculus, pink lisianthus, white majolika, chamomille, yellow butterfly ranunculus, italian ruscus, italian varigatted pitt

Below is the presented design board for our client.

Personal Florals

This wedding was a bit smaller of a wedding party than our normal wedding, which can drastically change the overall budget. There is a big difference in 3 bridesmaids, verses 10. This is always something to think about when building your wedding day and budgeting for flowers. The more people in your party, the more money you’ll spend. The more people invited to the wedding, the more tables you’ll have, which in turn requires more flowers.

Bouquets

Bridal Bouquet: $354
Bridesmaids: $145 a piece @ 2
Flower girl Nosegays: $35 a piece @ 3
Flower girl Petals: $14 a piece @ 3

Boutonnieres

Boutonnieres: $18 a piece @ 6

Ceremony Flowers

When it comes to the ceremony – this is another area that can really pack a punch in your floral budget. Depending on your venue, you may need more flowers to amplify the space – or you might be able to do something more subtle. We’ve done countless weddings at The Preserve at Canyon Lake and have done many different installations in the chapel ranging from flowers draping every inch of the space (check out Addison + Chase’s Wedding), to more sweet and subtle designs. We have a whole Pinterest Board dedicated to designs we’ve done at The Preserve – check it out here.

One thing I absolutely love about how the space at The Preserve works, is that we are typicallty able to repurpose items from ceremony, into the reception. This works great for my brides who want flowers down the aisle, and also on the stairs or mantel. Rather having to pay for all of these items – which can really add up – once ceremony is over, we can transition those pieces to the stairs and mantel and let them have a second life the rest of the night.

Cross Florals: 4 cage set up, $1800
Aisle Floral Pieces: $225 a piece @ 8

Reception Flowers

As for the reception flowers – the first thing I always tell my clients when starting to design a space, is that variance and dimension is an absolute must for elevating a space. You always want a a good mix of different types of arrangements, assortments of candles and votives and good use of textiles. This is a great area of the budget that we can really stretch and try to get the most out of the budget. Certain centerpieces are definitely higher dollar pieces – but mixing in smaller arrangements and styles can help spread the budget.

Rectangle Tables:

1 Tall Harlow Arrangement $325 (includes rental of Gold Harlow Stand)
5 Taper Candles @ $12 (includes dripless candle, candleholder and glass sleeves)
5 Bud vases @ $12 (includes rental of bud vases)

Round Tables:

Compote Arrangements $159 a piece @ 8 (includes rental of gold compote bowl and 3 votives per table)
Bud Vase/Taper Candle Arrangements $84 a piece at 8 (includes rental of bud vases, dripless candle, candleholder and glass sleeves, along with 3 votives per table)

Other florals/costs:

Cake Flowers $55
Flatlay flowers for Photographer $45
Welcome Sign florals $185
Delivery/Set up and Strike Fees $1440
Sales Tax $700.34

More from this stunning day at The Preserve