Wedding Flowers: How Much They Should Cost, Who Should Get Them And The Best Saving Tip!

One of the stresses that you as the Bride will experience in planning your Wedding, is the cost of your floral arrangements and décor. In many cases, the groom would only want to put about 5% (five percent) of the Wedding budget towards this. However, an average of 10-15% (ten to fifteen percent) of your entire Wedding budget should be put towards your floral and décor requirements.

If you’re expecting to have big, luscious centerpieces and colorful floral bouquets for all ten of your Bridesmaids, then you should expect to spend a large sum of money on your Wedding Flowers. If you have a small budget, but would like a more expensive type of flower (eg. Orchids), you can ask your Floral designer about larger flowers that tend to be cheaper as they are always in season.

Another stress that you may experience, is deciding who all should get to wear some stunning floral details during your Wedding Ceremony. The group of people who should definitely have some sort of floral detail during your ceremony would be the Bride (you), the Groom, the Bridesmaids and the Groomsmen. The Bride would generally have a large, cascading Bridal bouquet, all depending on your taste. The Bridesmaids should have a smaller, cheaper, handheld version of your bouquet. Please remember that it is perfectly normal to want a bouquet of the same size as your Bridesmaids bouquets. I have worked with many Brides who don't want to be the center of attention, and their day was just as special as any other extravagant Wedding. The Groom would generally wear a boutonniere with some floral detail, whereas the Groomsmen would wear a smaller boutonniere with only greenery.

Please keep in mind that these are only guidlines that most floral designers work off of, and it is okay to want something different. I have worked with brides who wanted wooden feathers as boutonnieres, and as odd as that may sound, it was not only hand-made by the Bride herself but it looked absolutely gorgeous as well.

The bridal couple would normally also get something small for their parents and the flower girl. The Mothers could either wear a large, floral wrist corsage or a blouse clip, while the Fathers would generally wear a similar boutonniere to the Groom. The flower girl should get a basket filled with rose petals and greenery, she could also wear a flower crown.

If budget allows, some Bridal couples like to honor their grandparents as well. Grandparents would wear the same floral detail as the Bridal couples’ parents.

The Bride should not stress if budget doesn’t allow for the whole family to be able to wear floral detail. However, it is important that the whole Bridal party and anyone who will be walking down the aisle, does have some sort of floral detail to hold or wear as they will be in most of the photos.

If your budget is a great stress, there is one way to save on Wedding flowers that always works. Floral designers refer to it as, ‘multi-use arrangements’. An example would be using your Bridesmaids bouquets as centerpieces, or using your Register table arrangement on your Main table at your Reception. Reusing your Ceremony flowers in your Reception area is the best way to save on Wedding flowers, and your Floral designer or Coordinator will take care of everything for you so that you don’t have to worry about running around after your Ceremony.

Another way to save would be to do your flowers and décor yourself. I hardly ever recommend this, unless you're budget really wont allow for a floral designer. I feel that you as the Bride should not be running around on your Wedding day worrying about whether everything is where it should be. Many Bride's feel that it won't be stressful as they often have family helping them, but it is much harder than it looks. Imagine trying to check that the kitchen staff have started with the Canapés and that the barmen have started mixing all 15 different kinds of cocktails that you wanted to be tray-serviced, all while taking 5 boat trips to the beach to set up a Ceremony for 180 people and checking that the Bride is topped up on Champagne every hour (yes, every hour). You won't get anything done, because chances are that if you're budget won't allow for a floral designer then it definitely wont allow for a Wedding coordinator. Without a Wedding coordinator, you definitely won't have time to get your flowers and décor done. You will be the 'go-to' person when it comes to the coordination of your Wedding day, and it really helps to make space on your budget for a professional in the area.