Bride on a Budget - Small Town Florists Are The Way To Go

Lazy Daisy

When my mother and I attended the Beautiful Beginnings Bridal Show a few weekends ago it got me thinking about flowers and flower arraignments. I did another post about the gorgeous flowers local florists offered and I was surprised at how AFFORDABLE flowers can be when you purchase them from a small town florist. This is not to say flowers are cheap - because they are not. However, after attending a smaller bridal show in Muncie that featured florists from around my hometown and a large bridal show in Indianapolis, the prices between using a "mom and pop" shop and a major florist are HUGE. Realistically, the larger florists are going to be double what a small shop will charge you. Furthermore, I think you get a much better level of customer service with a smaller shop anyway.

Hand Tied Memories

There were two florists I spoke to at the Muncie bridal show. One was Lazy Daisy and the other was Hand Tied Memories. Lazy Daisy was amazing because they let you RENT their fabulous vases for FREE, and they seemed to be very easy going and accommodating. They had their bouquets wrapped in vintage handkerchiefs and were placed in Mason jars which is what attracted me to them in the first place.

Hand Tied Memories was also wonderful! Marta King and her shop had been recommended to me previously because she uses unconventional flowers to make her arrangements. This was a HUGE plus in my book! Furthermore, Marta told me that she strives to make the most of a brides budget. This was taken from her website: "We can price each item individually or as a package. After determining the flowers needed, I will figure out what to order to build your wedding. All flowers ordered for your wedding will be used for your wedding. Our brides often comment on the extras, or a surprise arrangement, because when we get done with every item that has been ordered, if there are flowers left over, we will create an additional floral surprise. We are not just selling flowers to someone for a wedding, we are creating a beautiful wedding with flowers." Most florists will NOT do this and will use extra/left over flowers to sell as bouquets in their shops for other events or needs. I was very pleased to learn Marta will do this for the brides!

Photo I took of a Lazy Daisy Bouquet

Another GREAT thing about small flower shops is they will tell you costs in a very straightforward manner. When I spoke to a big name florist at the Indy bridal show, both attendants would not even give me price points for the bouquets they had on display...they were polite but simply handed me a brochure and cards and was told to call and make an appointment. Another vendor who had a florist as part of their design group simply stated their flowers START at $2000 and go up from there - so in other words don't even bother calling them unless you plan on spending that and more. This was a bit discouraging because as a bride planning out a budget it would have been nice to know the prices of samples so I could have gotten a better idea of what certain things would cost....

No worries! The florists at Beautiful Beginnings were SUPER helpful and said they I could get a realistic price list on their websites. Both Lazy Daisy and Hand Tied Memories have average costs on their FAQ pages.

Hand Tied Memories

Both florists were comparable in pricing and both had very easy to understand pricing menus. Their pricing of course is probably for averages of all the brides they have provided a service, and I feel like they are accurate and realistic. Keep in mind some flowers like peony and calla lilies cost more than hydrangeas or roses.

For what I would need from:

Hand Tied Memories

Hand Tied Memories: A bridal bouquet, flowers for 3 bridesmaids, boutonnieres for 6 groomsmen, 2 mother's corsages, a boutonniere for my father in law, centerpieces for 16 tables (not sure of this number yet), and an altar arraignment would cost between $1855.00 on the high end to $711 on the low end.

Lazy Daisy - Pinterest

Lazy Daisy: A bridal bouquet, flowers for 3 bridesmaids, boutonnieres for 6 groomsmen, 2 mother's corsages, a boutonniere for my father in law, centerpieces for 16 tables (not sure of this number yet), and an altar arraignment would cost between $2330.00 on the high end to $725 on the low end.

As you can see, you can get into the high dollar with really expensive arraignments, or you can obviously cut costs dramatically by having something more modest. $700 for ALL that seemed very reasonable and is quite a savings from $2000. Keep in mind that some florists will charge extra for any vases or vessels for the flowers unless you buy your own (I will be purchasing my own). There are also delivery fees, deposits, set up/take down, tax, after wedding preservation and so on for flowers as well. Also plan on having an additional budget for "extras". For example, since our venue is a park, we will need to use real flower petals for the aisle. We also might need something for a flower girl, additional corsages for grandmothers, flowers for the cake/treats table, aisle pillar arraignments, and so on. Since we are planning the details of our wedding so far in advance we have not discussed specifics with a florist yet. But, to be safe I would say add an additional $300 to your floral budget just in case of extras that might crop up.