The Copper Dahlia Floral Packages

If you’re looking for a floral designer for your wedding, chances are you’ve read a lot of website verbiage in regards to “A la Carte” vs “Full Service” florals. Let’s talk about what those two things mean, then I’ll explain my approach here at The Copper Dahlia.

Full Service vs. A La Carte

Full Service wedding or event florals are the full package of collaboration with your designer to create custom event florals tailored to you and your vision, usually with larger scale pieces that are more “installation” extensive. The delivery, set-up/on-site design, and strike/clean-up are all included in the pricing, and sometimes the designer may even stay on site for the full event to repurpose or move/maintenance florals as needed. The customization of designs does require many more hours in planning, consultations, and basic ordering admin time than you’d expect, and the pricing reflects not only cost of the physical floral product and labor of work the week of the wedding, but also the many hours of work put in ahead of time. (Read all about the process of full service on my blog What Do Wedding Flowers Cost?)

A la carte selections vary based on the business/designer, but usually these are a menu of types of floral pieces (think handheld bouquet, boutonnieres, centerpieces) that are available to order at a predetermined price or range, and can be picked up in-studio or delivered with a simple drop-off. Some designers will take color palette inspiration and no specific type of bloom/flower requests, others have only specific color palettes and pre-determined arrangements to choose from.  There may be no consultation appointment for an a la carte order, and with the math already done on what flowers to order with no customizations the price point on these items are usually lower than floral pieces in full service selections.

Writing this blog, I came across an extensive discussion on these types of services by Grace and Grit that has great examples and snazzy designs that are fun to look at regardless- read it here!

So what do I do here at The Copper Dahlia?

I feel like the service I provide is more nuanced than strictly labeling it a la carte or full service, because it’s really a blending of the two. I have a consultation prior to every booking and customize each design based on the needs of my client and their event vision. This is for clients that only need 2-3 items and those that want florals to be a star of their event décor, floraling every stage of the event. I don’t have a minimum (which I talk about in this blog here), and my pricing for delivery, repurposing, or strike are based on an as-needed basis. Pay for what you need, not what you don’t!

Then why do you have “packages” listed on your website?

Chances are if you’re looking at the pricing on a vendor’s website, you’re comparing them to other vendors in the same trade. I think it’s important to know going into the experience of quoting what you can expect when you reach out to a vendor; time is a precious commodity for both parties in the quoting process!  The cost of professional florals is already expensive, and honestly the price of “how expensive” varies between vendors. I set up a few packages as an example of starting pricing I recommend for my events and clients that are getting the most frequently requested essentials, based on examples you’d find in an a la carte menu at specific quantities. The pricing is constructed with the a la carte approach that a color palette and style is given, but the end result of flower types used are designer’s choice based on seasonal availability.

Once a discussion around what the client wants/needs has happened, it’s likely that certain pieces are higher or lower priced than the amount I’ve listed in my packages and their quote/proposal would reflect that becuase they are getting more or less. Floral pricing all boils down to how much of what type of product is used- check out my What Do Wedding Flowers Cost blog here for all the nitty gritty if you didn’t read it earlier.  

This is also why you can’t strictly cost compare quotes from different floral designers side by side. They each have their own unique vision, size expectations, business model, and level of experience, even when you give them all the same inspiration photo.

The Copper Dahlia Package Examples

I’ve pulled a few example photos of sizing and flower mixes that would fit into the price ranges you would find in The Copper Dahlia packages.

• Attendants Package

  • 3 personal bouquets

  • 3 boutonnieres

  $350

  Additional personal bouquets $95 each

  Additional boutonnieres $15 each

First up is a size comparison of handheld bouquets. These particular designs use a few premium florals: a specialty color rose (toffee), sweet peas, and peonies. I love this size of handheld bouquets for both bridal and attendants, the attendants in particular, as it’s substantial enough to look like a full bouquet and not “just a few stems,” but petite enough to not be more than an attendant needs.

• Ceremony Package

  • Personal bouquet(s)

  • Boutonniere(s)

  • Altar - Swag(s) for arch or 2 altar arrangements for ground or pillars

  $700

  *Pricing adjustment may be necessary for 2 bouquets (up) or 2 boutonnieres (down).

Florals for brides or grooms are packaged with ceremony florals when it comes to how I’ve set up package options (read more about why on my minimum orders blog). The below 4 examples are pieces on arches or altar space ground or pedestal arrangements.

• Reception

  10 centerpieces at $120 value in utility container

  $950

  Additional centerpieces $95 each

Need 10 centerpieces or more? Here’s an example of a round and low centerpiece in a utility container with a mix of florals representative of what could be found in the reception package.