Just got a quote of $750 for 3 bouquets... is this fantasy or reality?

[Inanna]

Today I got my first floral quote... $750 for 3 bouquets:

I REALLY do love this bouquet (for me) and I knew it would be on the expensive side, expecting around $200. Uhh, it''s $350: http://www.floralfantasyweddings.com/Floral-Fantasy-Weddings/1/lg/36B.htm

For the bridesmaids (2 of them) I wanted something simple, elegant, and affordable. I''m (hopefully) attaching a picture of the bouquet I had in mind for the bridesmaids - basically cream colored roses and a few calla lilies. Well, I was given a price of $175 each.

I will be getting other quotes, but there are very few options and this is the ONLY florist my other vendors recommend.

Do these prices seem right/reasonable? Are there less expensive, but still beautiful, flowers I should consider to keep costs down?

 

[meresal]

As everyone will say, it depends on where you are... but to me, that's outrageous.

ETA: I can't really tell what all the flowers are in your bridal bouquet, so I can't really comment on it; but for the simplicity of your BM bouquets, I think $175 is way too high. I would think around $100 at most, no matter where you live.

 

[Inanna]

Date: 3/10/2009 6:42:05 PM
Author: meresal
As everyone will say, it depends on where you are... but to me, that''s outrageous.

ETA: I can''t really tell what all the flowers are in your bridal bouquet, so I can''t really comment on it; but for the simplicity of your BM bouquets, I think $175 is way too high. I would think around $100 at most, no matter where you live.

Thanks meresal!

The wedding is in the Florida Keys, so I do expect some price inflation. However, I don''t feel like I''m paying ridiculous prices for any of my other vendors.

There are a lot of orchids in the bridal bouquet, so I''m sure that''s driving the price up. I don''t know what the other flowers are other than the roses.

Honestly, I think I could DIY the bridesmaids bouquets if I had access to those types and colors of flowers. It''s something I''m going to look into...

 

[musey]

Yep, that sounds slightly expensive to me, but that depends on the area and the flowers (and whether they're in-season).

I live in expensive LA and had (in my opinion) very high quality bouquets (or maybe I don't know bouquet quality

). Mine was $200 and my MOH's $100. I wouldn't personally have been willing to pay much more than that.


Here are my and my MOH's bouquets.

 

[meresal]

Inanna, I really hope that your other quotes come in less...
Just for an idea of where I am coming from, I have 9 BM's and they will be holding 3 bouquets of all ivory roses, 3 of all ivory stock, and 3 of all ivory hydrangea. My quote for all 9 was $69.50/ea and that includes the fabric wrapping around the stems. I would think you could have those made anywhere or DIY like you said, for MUCH less.

ETA: Musey, your bouquets were gorgeous. That is what I think of, when I hear of a $100 BM bouquet.

 

[brooklyngirl]

That does sound like a lot. I think I paid around $400 for my bouquet, 3 BM bouquets, 3 boutonaires (I know I spelled that wrong), and 2 corsages. My bouquet and the boutonaires were orhcids, BMs had mostly roses.

 

[Inanna]

Musey!!! Your bouquets were gorgeous! Thank you for posting them... I like yours better than the ones I''ve received quotes on. Ok, I definitely need to keep searching.

 

[emeraldlover1]

Keep searching! That is crazy based on the picture you showed and I live in NYC where I expect prices to be high.

 

[musey]

Date: 3/10/2009 7:13:21 PM
Author: meresal

ETA: Musey, your bouquets were gorgeous. That is what I think of, when I hear of a $100 BM bouquet.

Thanks, Meresal

That was the extent of our flowers (plus 6 boutonnieres for groom/groomsmen/family members). I majorly slacked off and didn't even bother to price stuff out for the florists, seriously just picked a florist 2 weeks before the wedding, walked in and said "this is what I want, okay? sounds good" because it was such a minor expenditure (in the grand scheme of the wedding).

I'm sure I overspent, but our entire flower cost was $322 (had to look that up) so I chose not to worry about it

ETA: I think I must've been slightly overestimating on the bouquets in order to get those plus bouts. for $322. Gosh I don't remember. That was the general range, though.

 

[FrekeChild]

Holy cow that''s outrageous to me!!! Where are you located?

 

[Gypsy]

Smoking CRACK.

My bouquet (in AV) was qouted at 400 to 120. I paid 150. Law of averages. Get some qoutes, throw out highest and lowest. Then average the prices. That''s about where you should be.

Those BM bouquets should be no more than 50-70 bucks each. And that''s Nor Cal prices.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

That''s very very expensive, Keys or otherwise. You could make that BM bouquet for probably a sixth of that price!.

 

[musey]

Date: 3/10/2009 7:57:07 PM
Author: Gypsy
Those BM bouquets should be no more than 50-70 bucks each. And that''s Nor Cal prices.

whoops

 

[LilyOfTheValley]

I'm not familiar with this yet, but it sounds very high to me. 1-800-flowers has so many bridal bouquets options starting at $40 and ending at $175. You can probably have them make what you want for less.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 3/10/2009 7:58:32 PM
Author: musey

Date: 3/10/2009 7:57:07 PM

Author: Gypsy

Those BM bouquets should be no more than 50-70 bucks each. And that's Nor Cal prices.

whoops

Why Whoops? Your MOH bouquet was larger than what the OP had pics of, had beautiful bare grass loops and quite a bit of or orchids. 100 is very reasonable for that.

As for your own bouquet. It's one of my favorites hands down. Plus, correct me if I'm wrong, but you went to a physical store right Musey? Like a florist with a storefront? That tacks on some premium. My qoutes from storefronts were outrageous (seriously, I was just in awe). So I went with a wonderful woman who does only by order out of her house (overhead is minimal, and no floral waste, she buys only for what she has booked) AND for mine... I had a um... large floral order for the number of guest we had, with a lot of high priced flowers. So, there were allowances made. My 4 'averages' qoutes were all from woman who work out of their homes from knot and venue recommendations. My own florist was a recommendation from two of the venues we looked at. All had raves about her. Otherwise I never would have found her.

 

[Inanna]

I can''t add.

The 3 bouquets come out to $700, not $750. Still, they are indeed smoking crack (lol Gypsy

).

Freke - the wedding is in Islamorada, FL... a semi-pricey area with few vendor options. I am going to extend my search to Marathon and Key Largo though.

 

[Clairitek]

I concur with the others. That seems exorbintant for just 3 bouquets. It amazes me how much bridal bouquets cost. This is why I am going to do my own (though I realize this isn''t everyone else''s desire or option... I live where I am getting married). I hope you can get some additional quotes or at least some suggestions on how to get the same look and feel but with less expensive flowers.

 

[Elmorton]

$750 was what I spent in my total florist bill for 4 bridesmaids, my bouquet, mini bouquets for 3 moms, and corsages/bouts for grandparents, groomsmen, and ushers.

Granted, my flowers were all pretty much locally in season. The type of flower and your location can change things dramatically.

Unless you really, really, really want this florist, I''d probably look for a second quote.

 

[musey]

Date: 3/10/2009 8:11:38 PM
Author: Gypsy

Date: 3/10/2009 7:58:32 PM
Author: musey

Date: 3/10/2009 7:57:07 PM
Author: Gypsy
Those BM bouquets should be no more than 50-70 bucks each. And that's Nor Cal prices.

whoops

Why Whoops? Your MOH bouquet was larger than what the OP had pics of, had beautiful bare grass loops and quite a bit of or orchids. 100 is very reasonable for that.

I'm just starting to feel a bit silly for having possibly overpaid. Not that it matters in the end! Good to hear that $100 was reasonable for what was in the bouquet (I love that I had no clue that there were a lot of orchids in there! I could probably name three total flowers in both of our bouquets together).

As for your own bouquet. It's one of my favorites hands down. Plus, correct me if I'm wrong, but you went to a physical store right Musey? Like a florist with a storefront? That tacks on some premium. My qoutes from storefronts were outrageous (seriously, I was just in awe).

Yeah... I literally did a googlemaps search for florists near our venue and picked the closest one (since we only had the 3 bouquets + boutonnieres, we were picking up... and I didn't want to have to drive far), walked in, met with the designer, made my owner, and walked out 10 minutes later. That was the extent of my florist research, exactly two weeks pre-wedding.

Thank you for the compliment on my bouquet, flower lady

I didn't really know what I was doing at all, so I'm glad my florist did!

 

[CNOS128]

I received bridal bouquet quotes from $200 - $375, and bridesmaid bouquet quotes between $100 - $250. My wedding will be in NY, where everything is overpriced.

 

[AmberGretchen]

That sounds like far too much for what you want (LOVE those BM bouquets, BTW - just gorgeous!) - I''d keep looking for additional quotes and/or see if you can bargain that florist down...

 

[Winslet]

Woaaa!!! I was just quoted $575 for my bouquet and bouquets for my EIGHT bridesmaids!

 

[musey]

Date: 3/10/2009 9:30:17 PM
Author: musey

Date: 3/10/2009 8:11:38 PM
Author: Gypsy
As for your own bouquet. It's one of my favorites hands down. Plus, correct me if I'm wrong, but you went to a physical store right Musey? Like a florist with a storefront? That tacks on some premium. My qoutes from storefronts were outrageous (seriously, I was just in awe).

Yeah... I literally did a googlemaps search for florists near our venue and picked the closest one (since we only had the 3 bouquets + boutonnieres, we were picking up... and I didn't want to have to drive far), walked in, met with the designer, made my owner, and walked out 10 minutes later. That was the extent of my florist research, exactly two weeks pre-wedding.

Thank you for the compliment on my bouquet, flower lady

I didn't really know what I was doing at all, so I'm glad my florist did!

I meant, 'made my order.' Sheesh, no idea how OWNER popped out instead! Maybe I need to retire the computer for the day

 

[mintve]

yep, I have to agree w/ other posts, that seems REALLY high! i would shop around for other quotes. Those flowers are pretty standard and should not be that pricey.

Good luck.

 

[Gypsy]

You did great Musey, you really did. I don''t think you overpaid at all.

 

[panda08]

Yeow! Even at $700, it does seem high, even at a pricier locale. I hope you find something more affordable. The bouquet you posted is lovely!

 

[basil]

Very high. I think my bouquet was ~$150 and bridesmaids were smaller but similar style and about ~$75?

We paid ~$1500 for bride''s bouquet, 3 bridesmaids, 2 mothers bouquet, 2 grandmothers corsages, 6 boutonierres, 10 centerpieces, two large "altar" arrangements, large wreath, and a few arrangements for guest book table, etc. We didn''t use expensive flowers, but I still think they were beautiful!

 

[House Cat]

Your dream bridal bouquet IS going to be very expensive because of all of the orchids required to create that exact look. So, you are right to expect that your bouquet is going to cost more. All of that being said, I would still shop around for a more reasonable quote.

Another thing you can do is find a more creative florist who might be able to suggest using fewer orchids, while maintaining the same look and feel and lowering the price quite a bit. There are many very beautiful, fragrant flowers that can be added into your bouquet that might be a fraction of the cost.

Also, I''m not sure what is more expensive, the peace lilies in the photo you provided or white callas, but they look almost exactly the same and you might want to ask if callas might cut the cost a bit.

 

[Inanna]

Date: 3/11/2009 1:07:21 PM
Author: House Cat
Your dream bridal bouquet IS going to be very expensive because of all of the orchids required to create that exact look. So, you are right to expect that your bouquet is going to cost more. All of that being said, I would still shop around for a more reasonable quote.

Another thing you can do is find a more creative florist who might be able to suggest using fewer orchids, while maintaining the same look and feel and lowering the price quite a bit. There are many very beautiful, fragrant flowers that can be added into your bouquet that might be a fraction of the cost.

Also, I'm not sure what is more expensive, the peace lilies in the photo you provided or white callas, but they look almost exactly the same and you might want to ask if callas might cut the cost a bit.

Yeah, I'm realizing I have no idea HOW to choose a florist. I contacted this particular florist because she has an online gallery of her work. I told her my favorite bouquet from her gallery and also sent her a photo of what I imagined for the bridesmaid bouquets... resulting in a ridiculous price quote.

As I look for other florists, IF they have a website, they have generic FTD wedding bouquets which are not my style at all. I want to see THEIR work!

What is the best way to seek out a florist - via phone, giving them your color preferences and budget and then just letting them create it, sight unseen until the wedding?


ETA - Thank you all so much for your help!

 

[meresal]

You can look on The Knot. http://www.theknot.com/kl_SOUTH_FLORIDA.shtml (left hand column, has "Flowers")

or if you aren't S.FL., then scroll over Florida and pick from the list: http://wedding.theknot.com/local-wedding-vendors.aspx

ETA- or this one, just type in your city: http://www.weddingmapper.com/