Wedding Flowers - Why do they cost so much?

A Blooming Envy Design

Flowers are one of those items that most people buy from time to time. Most often it is a small bunch from the grocery store or an arrangement from the florist for a birthday or anniversary gift. And more often than not when we buy these flowers we do it without giving the cost too much thought.

That is not the case when you are planning a wedding. Weddings have budgets and part of the that budget is flowers. Flowers for a wedding can be expensive just because of the sheer volume of flowers needed. Not only does the bride and groom need flowers, so does the wedding party, the family, the church, the hall, the cake, the flower girl and so on.

Have you ever stopped to consider what actually goes into the cost of the flowers that you buy? Somebody, somewhere(think globally), has to grow that flower. That involves supplies like soil, fertilizer, and seeds. You also need equipment, like watering features, tractors and greenhouses. There are also workers needed to plant, care for and harvest the flowers. Once the flowers are harvested, then they must be transported on trucks and planes to the wholesalers for distribution to florists.

So, lets think about that. A flower cut in Holland, that is ready for sale, is shipped to the United States, distributed to a wholesaler, who then sells to the florists who provides the consumer with their final products. Without even realizing it, you may have a flower on your table or in your bouquet that had to travel across an ocean to get to you. All in record time. This provides you, the consumer, with fresh, long lasting flowers.

Besides the cost of the flowers, you also have the florist costs to factor in. This includes the floral designers time, knowledge, skills and equipment used to make the arrangements. They don't work for free, I know I don't, and I am sure you don't either. As a designer I have spent many hours learning, practicing, and fine tuning my expertise. Yes, I love designing beautiful arrangements, that's why I do what I do, but please don't undervalue the effort that is needed to make such beauty. We are also the one's responsible for adding the special touches that make the flowers unique. Along with the actual designing there are many hours spent planning and preparing for each event.

Before you go and find yourself in sticker shock over your wedding flowers, do some research, have a reasonable budget and find a florist who can work with you and provide you with options that fulfill your dreams and satisfy your needs. If your event is in Wisconsin, be sure to contact Blooming Envy, we would love to help.

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