Budgeting For Wedding Florals

“How much of my wedding budget should I allocate to flowers?”

When I get asked this question from prospective brides I always give the dreaded “it depends…….” answer.   And when I say this it isn’t to be misleading or vague or to confuse you about pricing.  Flowers are the one component of your big day that lies in the unknown area for most brides.   Your venue has a set price with a set number of hours.   Your photographer has a set price for different packages.   You often have a set budget for your wedding gown.   I had a bride recently say “I don’t know why the flower piece is so hard!”  Wedding flowers are generally not preselected package choices.   So when a future bride asks me how much she should be allocating towards her flower budget I ask her how important flowers are to her.   Sometimes I use the handbag analogy to explain.   In the world of handbags there are ultra- high luxury brands such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Fendi.   These handbags are for the lady who does not mess around and wants the most luxurious materials and design money can buy. There are well made bags such as Coach and Michael Kors that are stylish and still get attention but do not break the bank.   And then there are handbags that you can pick up for a fraction of the cost at any department store.  I explain to my brides that I do not judge anyone if they decide to buy a $10,000 bag or a $500 bag or a $20 handbag.   This is their right to spend as much money or as little money depending on how important that bag is to them.  There are some women who place enormous value on that $10,000 handbag and that is wonderful.   There are women who rank a costly handbag extremely low on their list of priorities and that’s wonderful too.   My sixteen year old daughter has zero interest in any handbags and wears a backpack instead.   It’s all good.  So how do handbags relate to flowers?  There are brides who absolutely love flowers and want the arbors decorated, lush bouquets and centerpieces, hanging floral chandeliers, rose petaled cover aisleway, flowers and greenery everywhere.   These brides place a higher value on flowers and will allocate more of her budget to see  that her vision comes to life.   There are some brides who want flowers to complete the theme of their vision but not be the focal point.  They want full centerpieces and beautiful bouquets and a lightly decorated arch.  And there are the brides who are happy as can be with a bouquet and some greenery on the tables.  Flowers are not their passion.   And that is perfectly acceptable!  So if we break this down into real figures you can see how this works out in actual dollar amounts and percentages based on the 2019 average wedding budget:

Entire Wedding Budget: $38,000

Louis Vuitton Flower Budget: 20-30% or $7600 - $11,400

Coach Flower Flower Budget: 10-15% or $3800-$5700

Target Flower Budget: 5% or $1900

So, to answer the question as to how much you should allocate it really depends on the importance you place on flowers.   When talking to a florist and they recommend 15% of the budget because this happens to be a national average please challenge this assumption if you know flowers are going to play a very important part.  You will need a bigger budget.   And conversely, if you do not have flower filled dreams for your wedding day, go with the 5% and spend the extra money where it does matter to you!