I tend to design really lush and really full!!! I like designs that are crammed with expensive flowers. I like little or no greenery unless it’s a fun and unique element that adds texture, color, or artistic interest to a design and of course those elements are expensive. Brides ask me all of the time to help them get on budget and I happily try. For brides that are willing to have me do what I do on a lesser scale like smaller pieces, or less expensive flowers, or even with greens I can get them on budget. What I can’t do is do the designs you commonly see featured on my site, blog, and other designers sites for less. Full is full and expensive. The price of flowers is increasing just like coffee, gas, and bread. Designing flowers also takes a ton of labor, the amount of time it will take to create a piece is often underestimated by the client and even by us as designers. Just last week my team clocked in other 300 hundred man hours to make the pieces we made. Think about that, 300 man hours to create wedding flowers. That is pretty darn intense, and guess what that also does not include my hours and I work here everyday from dawn until dusk. If you want to stay on a flower budget you have to listen to the designer in charge and take their advice. A good designer can design anything beautifully, even carnations. You may have to let go of specific sizes of designs, and even the specific flowers you want. If you want big lush, and full, its going to cost!!!
About This Blog
- Welcome to my blog, the place where I gather my thoughts and share the ins and outs of running a flower and event design studio in one of the top wedding markets in the country. I manage 170 weddings a year, 7 kids, 1 dog, 2 acres and the Chapel Designers. Evan is my husband and he manages me.
Amen to that! I had to convince a client yesterday that pave carnations beautifully arranged were great on the budget and looked beautiful. After one 30 minutes of showing her pictures and going thru the entire design she agreed.
Right on, Holly! You just described one of the most frustrating parts of floral design…for me.
couldn’t have said it better. thank you.
thanks for posting. I’m so glad I’m not the only one having to help educate the client on the value of what they ask for versus what they’d like to spend for it.
My signature design style is also very full and lush, and potential clients who contact me are inquiring because they like what they see — fuller bouquets and arrangements. What they often don’t realize (or choose to ignore?), however, is that the full, lush, rich look comes with a higher price tag because more premium flowers and less filler are used and more labor is required to design a fuller piece. When in comes to floral designs, you truly “get what you pay for”. A florist can only cut back in 3 ways and each dramatically impacts a design or overall look: use less flowers/materials, use less costly flowers/foliage/containers, and create less complex designs. Even though it’s common sense, the real question is whether or not it’s truly a perception problem or if potential clients do understand but think (as so many bridal magazines and advice blogs suggest to them these days) that by bartering or asking for lower prices they’ll be able to get the same thing for less money.
Great post Holly! I have a few brides I may share this with.
Holly, you are exactly right. Our style is also lush and full flower arrangements. We can and do make less expensive flower arangements, but they cannot be as full or contain expensive flowers. We often suggest that clients mass less costly flowers for a more upscale look. Some clients simply don’t understand the amount of time it takes to arrange flowers. Thank you for a great post.
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I like the thought about a good designer being able to make beautiful arrangements from even carnations – it’s true! There are also GOOD designers just starting out who will work with clients in a different way and still produce a good product, because they haven’t yet accumulated the overhead or the time crunching that comes with well earned success. I agree 100% that when you want the best designer and the best product, you must pay for it!