How to Get the Most Out of Your Floral Budget

Photo Credit: Seeking Films

There are many ways to get the most out of your floral budget when working with a floral designer. Sometimes, it can be hard to know how to get started. Here is some advice that I share with couples during our consults.

Choose a Picturesque Venue 
In Hawaii, we are spoiled, not only for the weather, but for the abundance of beautiful scenery.  When your ceremony is on the beach or overlooking a cliff and your reception is under the palms, you don't need to rely on your florals to transform a space.  The same goes for any historic venue or highly-decorated space.  Select locations that are already beautifully decorated or have some ambience so your wedding florals are just icing on the cake.

Decide on What’s Important to You
Pick a few things that are the ones you really want and focus on those pieces first. Is a grand entrance to your reception what you have always dreamed of? Or overflowing, opulent bouquets for you and your bridesmaids? Or are peonies an absolute must?  Knowing what you do not want to compromise on will help you see where you can make adjustments and be more flexible or creative in other areas.

Overall Design Style vs Specific Flowers
In floral work, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. It’s common to have our favorites and build a design around a particular flower but if you can be flexible and decide on a general overall look of a floral design with your floral designer vs requiring specific flower types, you will often get the most out of your budget.  As floral designers, we have more flexibility with flowers in creating an overall look and feel. Plus, we are able to source and find flowers you may be unfamiliar with that would create a beautiful design. Look on Pinterest and Instagram and share your favorite images with your floral designer to discuss what can be possible.

Locally Grown 
There is an assumption that locally-grown equates to a lower price tag.  Unfortunately, that is not always the case. There are many specialty, small-farm growers who focus on premium florals, which can be in high-demand and/or difficult to grow at a commercial scale so locally-grown does not always equate to lower-cost. Here in Hawaii, land is also at a premium. However, locally grown florals are absolutely beautiful and are also less of a carbon footprint so we love to source them as much as possible. 

In-Season vs Out-of-Season
Because our resources have widened globally, many flowers are available year-round.  The notion of “in-season” vs “out-of-season” is not as strict anymore. Florals in the in the winter however, do seem to command less overall availability and higher prices than the spring/summer. 

Quantity vs Variety
This may not be very apparent but the more varieties of flowers/foliage and different colors of the same flower type incorporated into your floral design, the more expensive it is.  When you see some floral arrangements that have several varieties of florals, several colors of a single flower type, several different types of foliage and yet it still looks to be a small, slightly airy bouquet, oftentimes, it is quite expensive. Sometimes even the tiniest of flowers command a sky-high price tag!

When sourcing florals, sometimes a florist may be able to negotiate a better price based on a larger qty of florals for one specific flower type.  For example, one bunch of roses vs 12 bunches of roses may afford your florist a better use of your floral budget.

Narrowing down the variety of flowers can help to reduce your overall budget and focusing on just one or two flower types may actually help increase the amount of flowers you can have for your event.  

Select a Floral Designer Who Gets You
My last bit of advice is to choose a designer you feel comfortable with. If you feel as if your floral designer gets it, understands what you’re looking for, and is genuine and honest about their pricing, he or she may be a great fit for you and most able at bringing your floral story to life!

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