23/12/2023
Valuable information, please read to the end…
I may get backlash for this- I may not- all I know is- I have to really talk about the topic of when it comes to budgeting for wedding flowers and all that is entailed in the services that we provide as a Floral Design Company. I see a lot of couples posting asking for "Cheap," or "Budget Friendly" Florists- so before I get into this- I am not budget shaming anyone- I am speaking for ourselves primarily- but I am sure that I am also advocating for other Designers out there.
Lets start with the invisible labor/costs that goes into a couples wedding day:
1) Every Business has their own processes of how they go about the proposal process for couples reaching out- some charge a fee to receive a proposal- some require a retainer before any design process even begins- some put together a full proposal for you right off the bat. Whatever the case may be for that particular company/ individual- putting this proposal together is a time consuming task. As Floral Designers- we have to look at the scope of the work that is to be done for a particular wedding (How many centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, etc.) and we have to create what we call a "recipe" for each and every single one of these line items. The recipe is like a cooking recipe- so we calculate how many stems of each foliage/ bloom we will need for each and every single design. In addition- we have to calculate/ factor in labor, transportation/gas/mileage, etc. All of this takes time for a designer to just get the proposal in your hands.
2) Sometimes we have months leading up to a wedding- sometimes we have weeks leading up to a wedding- but regardless- as Designers we have to work with our wholesaler (sometimes multiple wholesalers) to obtain your flowers. We have to be able to know what flowers are in season and available for your wedding, negotiate with different suppliers to obtain them, etc. This is the same for any hardgoods, vases, stands, candle holders, etc.
3) When Wedding Flowers arrive in the studio, Designers have to "Process," The Flowers- Meaning Unpacking the Flowers from their Boxes, Giving them all a Fresh Cut, Placing them in Water with Flower Food, Cleaning off all unnecessary foliage, place them in cold storage, etc. Depending on the size and scale of the wedding this could be thousands of stems being processed and prepped.
4) Production of what can be done in the studio begins (Depending on the size and scale of the event this could be 2-3 days prior which we have to have labor hours account for). All of the containers have to be cleaned and prepped for a couples wedding day with proper mechanics to make the arrangements. We make every single centerpiece, bouquet, ceremony piece, etc- stem by stem- with meticulous attention to detail and care.
5) We have to load/ unload all of the trucks and clean them. If we rent trucks- we have to clean them and return them. All of the buckets that were used from the wedding need to be thoroughly cleaned and washed for the next events use- all of the candles need to be cleaned of all their wax, sometimes repainted to touch up, etc.
6) We need to have proper vendor insurance (most require a $1-2 Million Dollar Coverage Policy) to even step foot onto your venues property. Almost every single venue will ask for this. We also need to have the products to accommodate different venue rules (I.E. If a venue requires Hurricane Glass Shades over taper candles- we have to have them available- if they require LED candles- we have to have these in order to accommodate and provide our couples with the best possible experience.
NOW lets go into what you do see:
1) We arrive on the wedding day to greet the couple with all of the beautiful blooms- sometimes we have multiple stops we need to make depending on timeline requirements and if the couple is getting ready in two separate locations and need their personals delivered to them. (Lets say Partner 1 is getting ready at and Air BNB, Partner 2 is Getting Ready at a Hotel, and the Wedding is of course at the venue- that is 3 separate deliveries we have to make.
2) We place all of your centerpieces that could be made before hand in our studio- all of your candles and detail work. Things that could not be done in the studio will be done on sight. I.E. Ceremony, Large Centerpiece Structures that were too large to transport safely, etc. Depending on the venue- we could have 10 hours to set up- or we could have 2 hours to set up. The less time we have- the more staffing we will need to ensure that everything is done in a timely manner. (We have been in situations where we have only one hour to make sure everything is in its place due to some venues hosting multiple events in the day- this is a very important factor in everything.)
3) If a couple asked for things to be repurposed from Ceremony-our team has to stay on site to move those pieces carefully and safely to ensure that the designs are not destroyed- that they look good in the space- in some cases we may have to make adjustments since their original intention was to be made for ceremony. In short- we need staffing and labor to be on site for when that transition happens.
4) At the conclusion of the wedding- our team has to come back- collect all of the rentals (Vases, Stands, Candles, Lighting), Break Down any installations, etc. Sometimes venues are an hour away, sometimes they are 15 minutes away, sometimes they are 2 hours away from our space--- with that being said- we have to charge appropriately/ accordingly.
As mentioned in the invisible labor- the work doesnt stop at the end of the wedding because there is so much to do after.
For one wedding I may have a team of 2-8 designers depending on the size and scale of the wedding. Lets just go with the lowest amount and say that I have two designers. For them to do all the work I have outlined- it could range anywhere from 28-40 (could be more- again depending) Hours of labor for each of them. Pay ranges of course, but lets just say we are paying someone $18.00 an hour. At 28 hours - we would be paying these designers $504 each- at 40 hours we would be paying $720 each. (so $1008-$1440 roughly). This is just for labor costs- and doesnt include flowers, gas, rentals, gas, transportation, and everything else that I have mentioned up until now.
So with all of this being said- trust me- I wish we had an open field of flowers and endless resources at our disposal- because truthfully and honestly we would do every couples weddings--- because that is just how passionate we are about this industry. If a Floral Designer is pricing super low- you may want to ask yourself why/ question whether they have the means, resources, or ability to do exactly what you are asking them to execute.
For those who made it to the end of this Ted Talk- Thank you for reading. I just had to put all the cards out on the table.
