Florist Labor - How much should I pay above cost of flowers?

[Courtneylub]

I have a cousin (distant enough to hire) who does wonders with flowers. I've seen her arrangements at weddings and funerals and they are gorgeous. She doesn't have a shop, but gets her flowers at cost. I hear that my aunt underpaid her for her wedding and don't want to do the same.

I have no bridal party and my centerpieces won't need flowers, so let's say I will need the following in roses:

Bridal Bouquet
Small (flower girl sized) bouquet (for my mom, who's my witness, but not standing up with me)
3 corsages
7 boutonnieres
4-6 small-medium sized arrangements for ceremony
petals

Instead of putting her on the spot to charge me or risking the chance of paying her too little or too much, I thought I could tell her I would pay her however much OVER the cost she spends on flowers.

Thoughts?

Edit* Oh, and my aunt payed her $400 for EVERYTHING..including the bridesmaids bouquets! Horrible...I was shocked to hear that.

 

[gtn]

I don''t know how much you should pay her, but you could get a quote from a couple of florist in your area and pay her somewhere between cost and market rate. Sorry I couldn''t be of more help.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Tough question -- I agree on getting some quotes to see what the going rate is, but my experience has been that it varies widely! Some florists seem to wrap a lot of the labor costs into the price of individual pieces. It is also hard to tell because a bouquet can range from just a few flowers to a huge concoction, and each florist has their own vision of what things should look like, so it is difficult to compare apples to apples. I had labor costs quoted between $100 and $1000 for the same number of arrangements/bouquets/etc. The one we went with is charging about 12% (pre-tax) for labor costs, including transportation and setup and breakdown at the venue.

 

[violet02]

It depends also on what''s in season and what kind of roses you want. That can vary your quote in the hundreds to thousands depending on what you need to have flown in or what you can make do with that''s in season. That''s why it''s best to go get quotes.

 

[sap483]

Our florist charges a 15% fee for delivery and set-up. This is on top of the cost for all of the flowers which is definitely marked up. Perhaps 15-20% over the cost of the flowers would be reasonable?

 

[qtiekiki]

That's really tough. I am like your cousin - I do wedding flowers out of my house. I did my SIL's wedding flowers when I was still dating DH. She and her DH went with me to buy the flowers, so they just paid for the flowers themselves (a total of ~$450). I didn't/wasn't going to charge them anything for labor, but they ended up giving me $200. So if you calculate their total cost ($~650), then labor was ~31% of the total cost.

Here's what I did for them to give you an idea.
Bridal bouquet (casading style with roses and lilies)
1 BM bouquet (handtied - all roses)
1 flowergirl headpiece (baby roses halo)
1 flowergirl basket (roses in basket)
Groom boutonniere (double roses)
1 GM boutonniere (single rose)
1 ringbearer boutonniere (double baby roses)
10 corsages (single cymbidium orchid)
10 boutonnieres (single rose)
2 big arrangements (~3.5'H by 3'W)
5 small arrangements (~ 9"H by 8"W)
petals

Just to give you an idea. I think 30% of total cost is pretty standard for labor cost, at least when I was actually working at a flower shop 3 yrs ago. The labor cost of the previous posters are talking about is only the labor cost of set-up/delivery. The actual labor cost of making the bouquets and arrangements are already factored into the cost of the bouquets and arrangements.

 

[Courtneylub]

Date: 2/5/2008 6:16:04 PM
Author: qtiekiki
That's really tough. I am like your cousin - I do wedding flowers out of my house. I did my SIL's wedding flowers when I was still dating DH. She and her DH went with me to buy the flowers, so they just paid for the flowers themselves (a total of ~$450). I didn't/wasn't going to charge them anything for labor, but they ended up giving me $200. So if you calculate their total cost ($~650), then labor was ~31% of the total cost.

Here's what I did for them to give you an idea.
Bridal bouquet (casading style with roses and lilies)
1 BM bouquet (handtied - all roses)
1 flowergirl headpiece (baby roses halo)
1 flowergirl basket (roses in basket)
Groom boutonniere (double roses)
1 GM boutonniere (single rose)
1 ringbearer boutonniere (double baby roses)
10 corsages (single cymbidium orchid)
10 boutonnieres (single rose)
2 big arrangements (~3.5'H by 3'W)
5 small arrangements (~ 9'H by 8'W)
petals

Just to give you an idea. I think 30% of total cost is pretty standard for labor cost, at least when I was actually working at a flower shop 3 yrs ago. The labor cost of the previous posters are talking about is only the labor cost of set-up/delivery. The actual labor cost of making the bouquets and arrangements are already factored into the cost of the bouquets and arrangements.

30% sounds ok. I will have a lot less than what you listed, but my budget was still around $600-$700. I may add more to the ceremony arrangements if I can.

I will first let her know of our budget and then tell her I'd like for 30% of that to go in her pocket. With that difference we can see how much she can get at her cost.

 

[ringster]

or you can just tell her that you want to spend whatever 70% of your budget is and then without telling her just give her the extra 30%. this way she doesn''t try to out of generosity, buy supplies over the 70% and therefore has less in her pocket and then you may feel like you need to pay more to fairly compensate her. example, if your budget is $100 and you want to give her 30% over her cost, just tell her your budget is $70 (i think i did the math right

)

 

[Courtneylub]

Excellent idea, ringster. Thanks!

 

[qtiekiki]

I like ringster''s idea too.

Your budget is fine for what you need. Wholesale price for roses is around $12-25 per bunch (25 stems per bunch) depending on the length and quality. So I think you have plenty to work with.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

It''s time to pull out the phone book and dial up some florists!

Ask what *they* would charge you for the arrangments you need...it will give you a very clear idea of what you *would* be paying if you werent so fortunate as to have a designer in the family. It sounds like you Aunt may have taken advantage of the relationship...and you don''t want to lump yourself into that catagory! Be fair and reasonable, she didn''t get in the business to give her work away--althought she will be honored you asked. Inquire with her how long she thinks the job would take her...and set up an hourly rate you''re comfortable with paying (+/- $20.00) in addition to the cost of flowers. Even if the arrangements take her 6 hours, at $20.00 an hour, you''re only paying $120.00 before the cost of flowers!!! But, you''re paying far more than a floral shop would pay her per hour, and still being completely budget friendly.

Also, if the number is rough ($236.98 for everything, for example)...round up...

 

[bbbhug2001]

Every florist has a set price on labor, I work out of my home, If they are hand held flowers and wrapped I don''t charge a lot on labor. If a bride is looking for a cascading or a holder bouquet then labor is from 35%.
Bouquets in holders take more time and thats where you will see more of a cost factor.
Corsages are standard prices, and also are labor intensive.

Weddings are always labor intensive and it is a must that they look picture perfect.

Brides budget with wedding flowers, Bridesmaids & Boutonnières & Corsages can start any where from $400.00 - $1000& up Canadian dollars.

Most weddings I have done where under $800.00, and most of all of them have done there own centerpices.

It also depends on what type''s of flowers you go with can have a factor in pricing, so check to see what the costs are (flowers) this will also give you a idea what costs are involved.

I can''t stress this enough the budget should be done,and also do your home work on flowers and what colors you like this helps you and the florist when you arrive and knowing this will make your job and the florists job much smoother.

Look on the net for ideas, visit lots of florists, also photographers always have wonderful ideas in his/her portfolio.

If you want to save on costs, try to do your own centerpieces and other decor that if you can get done ahead of time, talk to your reception hall see what they provide in centerpieces.

I hope this helps, like I said plan plan, budget,budget,and try to do your own centerpices this will keep the cost down.

Cheers

 

[bbbhug2001]

Every florist has a set price on labor, I work out of my home, If they are hand held flowers and wrapped I don''t charge a lot on labor. If a bride is looking for a cascading or a holder bouquet then labor is from 35%.
Bouquets in holders take more time and thats where you will see more of a cost factor.
Corsages are standard prices, and also are labor intensive.

Weddings are always labor intensive and it is a must that they look picture perfect.

Brides budget with wedding flowers, Bridesmaids & Boutonnières & Corsages can start any where from $400.00 - $1000& up Canadian dollars.

Most weddings I have done where under $800.00, and most of all of them have done there own centerpices.

It also depends on what type''s of flowers you go with can have a factor in pricing, so check to see what the costs are (flowers) this will also give you a idea what costs are involved.

I can''t stress this enough the budget should be done,and also do your home work on flowers and what colors you like this helps you and the florist when you arrive and knowing this will make your job and the florists job much smoother.

Look on the net for ideas, visit lots of florists, also photographers always have wonderful ideas in his/her portfolio.

If you want to save on costs, try to do your own centerpieces and other decor that if you can get done ahead of time, talk to your reception hall see what they provide in centerpieces.

I hope this helps, like I said plan plan, budget,budget,and try to do your own centerpices this will keep the cost down.

Cheers

 

[Courtneylub]

Date: 2/28/2008 11:36:22 PM
Author: bbbhug2001
Every florist has a set price on labor, I work out of my home, If they are hand held flowers and wrapped I don''t charge a lot on labor. If a bride is looking for a cascading or a holder bouquet then labor is from 35%.
Bouquets in holders take more time and thats where you will see more of a cost factor.
Corsages are standard prices, and also are labor intensive.

Weddings are always labor intensive and it is a must that they look picture perfect.

Brides budget with wedding flowers, Bridesmaids & Boutonnières & Corsages can start any where from $400.00 - $1000& up Canadian dollars.

Most weddings I have done where under $800.00, and most of all of them have done there own centerpices.

It also depends on what type''s of flowers you go with can have a factor in pricing, so check to see what the costs are (flowers) this will also give you a idea what costs are involved.

I can''t stress this enough the budget should be done,and also do your home work on flowers and what colors you like this helps you and the florist when you arrive and knowing this will make your job and the florists job much smoother.

Look on the net for ideas, visit lots of florists, also photographers always have wonderful ideas in his/her portfolio.

If you want to save on costs, try to do your own centerpieces and other decor that if you can get done ahead of time, talk to your reception hall see what they provide in centerpieces.

I hope this helps, like I said plan plan, budget,budget,and try to do your own centerpices this will keep the cost down.

Cheers

Thanks for the advice. My cousin is turning out to be extremely helpful and I think we will have more than enough flowers for our budget.

We are doing candle centerpieces, but we may add a single rose or something like that to the tables.