Budgeting isn’t about getting the absolute lowest price you can get for something. It’s about identifying the appropriate amount you should spend and then sticking to that amount. An average floral budget is 8-15% of total event cost. If this seems crazy, check out my blog What do wedding flowers cost? for a detailed explanation and some examples of pricing on a realistic floral budget.

But who doesn’t wish they could come in under budget with some tips and tricks?! Keep reading for 8 helpful tips on staying within your floral budget, with beautiful examples from the wedding day of Mikaela and Bart at their private residence in 2022.

1) Identify your priorities and focus on what’s important to you.

I would honestly never expect that florals are a couple’s number one priority for their wedding day, but they do have a huge impact on the style and aesthetic feel of your event!

If you’re in the realm of opinion that florals are there for your event to add an accent, but you would rank their importance below things like an open bar, quality of food, or the coolest uplighting, it’s okay to respectfully let your floral team know. (Pro tip- ALWAYS invest in your photography!) They can work with you to ensure that the scale/size of a piece is appropriate for the space and aesthetic of your event, but also reflects your desire to keep the costs down. Make sure to consider tip number 8 if this is you!

Floral density, or the amount of blooms/stems per area comes into play when you’re factoring price, as well as the variety of types of flowers used. Check out this Reel for even more info on floral density.

In the example photos below, I have pictured what I’d consider a small, medium and large arrangement, as well as a medium comparison between a vase/compote style and a low centerpiece. You can have a “small” arrangement with premium varieties in a fuller density for a luxe aesthetic and you might come out at the same price of a “large” arrangement with moderate or less dense florals. This is a huge reason why you can get a quote from two different designers/florists and have such a wide range in pricing.

2) Reduce the size of your wedding.

This is going to be every industry’s advice for keeping cost down- reduce the size of your wedding.

This can mean number of guests- which translates to the size of your venue and how many areas need decor, the number of tables that need florals, and aisles with florals for your ceremony.

It’s also effective to keep costs down by having a smaller (or no) wedding party. Bridal bouquets and boutonnieres do add up!

Mikaela wanted her bridal bouquet to be a little more bright than the rest of the wedding palette. I LOVED this bouquet. I can’t seem to let go of it for my profile picture on Instagram. When we were first talking florals, she mentioned that they were looking to incorporate any touches Polish heritage that they could. The national flower is a red poppy and with their date being late summer I knew that it would be really tricky to get that in a fresh floral, but the pods would be abundant.

Her bridal bouquet had roses in two tones of orange and another in peach, dahlias, burgundy mini-carnations, burgundy mokara orchids, blackberry scabiosa, white with black center anemones, green poppy pods, copper wheat, sword fern, burgundy hanging amaranthus, and black mondo grass.

3) Manage your expectations around inspiration photos.

Pinterest and even searching images/hashtags on Instagram are a great way to explore content and view wedding floral examples and inspiration to get an idea of what you like or what you want your event to look like. It’s not a requirement that you have inspiration photos before you speak with your floral designer, they will walk you through narrowing down your event vision, but it sure is helpful for a place to start!

The most important thing to keep in mind is that most of the content out there is created to impress, especially when it comes to florals; they’re the biggest installs, fullest density, and most specialty colors that you would realistically never be able to pre-order for an event. Use what you find as an idea, but do not set yourself up for the expectation that your event needs to be the level of grandeur of a styled photoshoot. A lot of inspiration photos out there are unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved within the average budget, but you CAN get the same look and feel on a different scale.

1) If a certain design, whether it be a bridal bouquet or ceremony arch, speaks to you, but is in the wrong colors, still capture that image- that speaks a lot to your style and design vision.

2) When looking for color combinations, don’t worry about the type of flower or even arrangement/design type (centerpiece, bouquet, arch, etc). Your aim is getting an idea of color blends.

3) If you’re not specifically looking for silk/faux flowers, pay close attention to the source which posts the image- if it is Etsy, Ling’s Moment, or Amazon it is likely not representative of real flowers or colors.

4) This is a new one- watch out for AI! Not all images that are AI generated are able to be recreated, especially if they are showing colors that are not attainable or florals that are unattainable due to the structure/mechanics.

4) Work with a florist that designs to repurpose florals mid-event.

There’s a reason this doesn’t just say “repurpose your florals” , creating a piece that can be repurposed between entry/ceremony/cocktail hour, to reception or late night is all part of the design and flower selection. Work with a designer that will help you utilize florals in multiple ways throughout your event. Can the aisle pieces be moved to the reception, bridesmaid bouquets double as a centerpiece? Read more on my blog post for Repurposing Wedding Florals.

The ceremony space included an a-frame arch built by the couple. The swag on the top right stunned with green and red chick and hen succulents, dark, dark, red dahlias, burgundy mokara orchids, and hanging amaranthus. There was also burgundy mini carnations, orange and peach roses, copper poppy pods, sword fern, and heather accents.

At the base of the arch were two one-sided altar pieces with peach gladiolas, purple spider mums, burgundy mini carnations, blackberry scabiosa, burgundy football mums, amaranthus, mokara orchids, swordfern, and dried grasses.

Guests were welcomed by a lantern with a small floral cluster at the guestbook table.

5) Shop your own home or a friend’s home for decor pieces.

Chances are your wedding style probably reflects your personal decor style. So, take a look around and see if there are items that you can source from or for your own home.

Need candle holders for your sweetheart table that stand out? Plan to use a vessel you may already have on a shelf or maybe a family heirloom.

Opposite is also true, if you have to buy something new or used, select pieces that will become a decor piece in your home with a special memory for years to come and consider it an investment in your home decor.

A lot of decor pieces can also be rented. I can’t really say in the long run whether renting or buying decor pieces is really more cost effective because there are multiple factors. Check out this Reel that goes over the pros and cons of both options!

6) Stick with your decisions.

Weddings are planned with months of lead time. It can be super tempting to cross things off the list early, then you might see something different down the line and change design! Keep your lead times in mind, secure your dream vendors, but try to avoid changing themes, colors, and large elements during the planning process. Feel out the planning process a bit before finalizing your floral elements. Once you make a decision, stick to it. Your vendors involved in styling will thank you for less redrafts of proposals.

It’s also more cost effective to stop shopping once you’ve made a decision. I see this happen with those who enjoy thrifting especially, because you may find something that is not exactly what you were looking for and needs additional components to modify or florals to complete the look- but you couldn’t pass it up! Then it ends up costing more in the long run with modifications.

Adding more items close to your wedding date incurs unexpected costs and raises you above budget. Sometimes less is more.

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of peach and hot pink roses, dahlias, copper wheat, black mondo grass, and heather accents.

For Bart’s boutonniere, I used a single white anenome with black center, 2 green poppy pods, black mondo grass, sword fern, succulents, and accents of heather on a champagne ribbon wrap. The other bouttonieres were a mix of greens, heather, and succulents.

Corsages were a neutral peach rose with heather and champagne ribbon.

7) Go designer’s choice.

The more flexibility your designer has to choose florals, greens, and vessels at the floral market, the more unique and cost effective their designs can be!

It’s really as simple as having an upfront conversation with your floral designer on the size of your event, budget, color palette, event space needs, and design details you have decided so far, so they can get a feel for the aesthetic and look. Talk about how you want to feel on your wedding day. Are the florals the star of the ambiance of the space, an accent, or are they really not one of the top priorities for your day when it comes to decor? (Remember Tip #1?)

Then… let them work magic.

Now hear me out, this definitely requires a certain level of trust. It may not be for everyone. You’ve selected your floral designer hopefully based on their past portfolio and know that you like their style. You’ve clearly communicated your needs and goals for your event. Now it’s their job to decide what blooms, shapes, and colors are going to best suit the vision.

There are many florists out there that will not guarantee a specific flower/bloom or color, because guess what?!- Flowers are a product of nature, they’re not always the exact same, every time. The flexibility to pivot and choose the prettiest colors and blooms at the floral market is key to getting uniqueness and staying cost effective. Most of my favorite additions to past designs have not been from my pre-order list, but from something local and specialty that was there at the market when I was selecting the last blooms for the order.

A great example of designer’s choice is Mikaela and Bart’s feature here. Melissa of Little Blue Bird Events gave me a few inspiration photos and I was part of the design for tablescape, but the remainder of the choices at the floral market were mine to make. The mokara roses and the beautiful pinky-purple hue dahlias in the bridal and bridesmaid bouquets in their wedding were not on my pre-order list. I was able to snag those puppies up and I think they really added brightness with the dahlias and a fun botanical element with the orchids.

When your floral designer is excited to customize and pick something without limitations, that’s where the true showstopper designs come from, in any budget.

For signage throughout the decor I created 4 different little “floral clusters”, that I make almost like an oversized corsage. I like this option when a small sign or pedestal on a dessert table needs a little accent you can snuggle one of these in. I used an assortment of dahlias, mini carnations, poppy pods, heather, black mondo grass, and lots of cool textured succulents. The heather and black mondo grass especially give them lots of arch and dimension when placed on a flat surface.

The long and low table centerpieces were two centerpieces per table, with a short black vase for bridesmaid bouquets after the ceremony. Usually I wouldn’t recommend repurposing a bridesmaid bouquet, but they weren’t used for formal photos prior to the ceremony and were out of water and handled for a minimal amount of time- keeping their appearances up for the remainder of the event. The centerpieces were a mix of trailing greens, heather, peach roses, pink roses, burgundy football mums, burgundy and two tone pink carnations, burgundy mini carnations, and dark red dahlias.

8) Remember that floristry is art.

Remember that floristry IS art. There is skill and experience behind each creation. A designer practices new styles so they’re perfected for your day. They experiment and push boundaries in their own time to come up with new ideas. They’ve honed their craft, and there is value in the final product not just aligned with the cost of product, but their skill as well!

Imagine a floral designer as “visible art on the wall” type artist for a moment. Some are featured in fine art galleries, some have a booth at a farmer’s market, maybe they made that same print from Ikea that you see everywhere, or maybe they’re a student studying their trade. Different styles and levels of skill can be found among all of these examples of artistry. The more popular the artist and more technically evolved their art is, the more they deserve to charge for that. Align your budget with this in mind.

One thing I hear every once and awhile are the comments that “It’s just one day”, “Flowers just die”, or “I don’t even like flowers.” There’s definitely a way to communicate that flowers or even decor in general isn’t the top priority for your special day (remember tip #1?), so be mindful in the delivery that you are commenting on not only someone’s art, but also their passion and profession. Make sure you are respectful to vendors with a transparent budget and don’t go in with a low-ball attitude.