Why are flowers SO expensive??

It depends if flowers are important to you or not really. DIY is a great way to go! And it doesn't even have to be flowers... I've seen a lot of sparkly jewelled things, paper creations. You can get creative!

One of the reasons why wedding floristry is so expensive compared to bunches of flowers in M & S (or anywhere else) is mainly because a bunch of flowers isn't actually a wedding bouquet but a gift bunch that is popped in a vase at home. Wedding floristry is a skill that has to be trained for, and exams taken, in order to qualify. The training is very expensive and takes a long time - 6 years in my case. Flowers are not cheap anymore but a luxury item. The floral market has to invest substantially in producing new varieties each year. These have to be grown and nurtured in specialised conditions both in this country and abroad. A lot of the flowers you see in the shops are grown abroad and have to be flown into this country each day. Some also come by sea each day and are delivered to the flower wholesale markets and shops by Dutch freight lorries which are air controlled to ensure that the flowers reach the shops in exactly the right state of growth for the florist to condition before they are put on sale to the public. On top of all these costs which are phenomenal because of rising fuel costs, are the florists' overheads, rent, rates, wages, advertising, phone bills, energy bills, water rates etc. Most florists earn around the minimum wage, including the owners, which is why more and more shops are closing down. People just don't want to enter into the trade anymore because the wages are so poor. This is why flowers are so expensive I'm afraid but the good news is that you don't have to spend £100 on a wedding bouquet as there are many other styles available that would cost a lot less! Shop around and be honest with your florist about your maximum budget and allow him/her to come up with ideas that won't break the bank. All florists are trained to work within budgets so it is worth getting at least 3/4 quotes. Out of town florists tend to be less expensive than town centre florists as their rates aren't as high. Hopes this helps!

Very interesting read RF/Over the rainbow. I hadn't realised it took about 6 years to train.

Yes, flowers are expensive but IMO it's worth it if you can afford it. My florist was recommended to me on here & she is fantastic, her knowledge is amazing & worth every single penny.

Usually 4 years to Diploma level but I did 2 years flower arranging before going onto commercial floristry.

This is why we're not having many flowers, I got a massive bunch in Morrisons for my gran the other day for £5 so prices are ridiculous. We've budgeted £200 on flowers, thats a bouquet for me, my one bridesmaid, buttonholes and a display for the registrar table / top table. We're not having flowers as centerpeices and decorating the venue in other ways.

Over £100 does seem alot for a bridal Bouquet. I think mine is about £80-90 and that's with pricey flowers.

It does seem that when you mention the W word that the price goes up 70% lol. But where flowers are concerned, a lot of skill goes into the bouquets. Im paying £85 for mine, so I think it depends on what flowers, style (tear-drop, hand held etc) that goes into it. x

My flowers were rumours to be £700. and everything over the rainbow said is true. Even though i picked stuff in season all of mine came from holland. On top, all of them were made the day before working ending at 11pm to make sure the flowers survived the day. so my advice would be to buy in season, research cheaper blooms.

I charge less per hour for shooting a wedding than I do for any other service I offer.

The wedding premium is massively over stated and amongst ALL the suppliers I know their prices are completely justified.

I'm sure there's a lot of other suppliers who can chime in to justify their costs too.

I was shocked by the prices of bouquets too, but like many wedding-related things, you soon accept that that's just what it's gonna cost. I think after all considerations I'm gonna go for a fake bouquet just for practical reasons, but the one I like actually costs more than I was quoted for a real one! But then I get to keep it, so.

Fantastic, it really annoys me in a way when you see the "W word and prices go up" and I totally agree with the above.

Edit to say my wife did 5 years in college for floristry when we lived in London

And what Chris said, my wedding prices are lower than all other types of photography that I do, I can do 4 Boudoir shoots in one day, a few hours editing and I'm done and those 4 shoots will bring in nearly 2-3 times as much as a wedding.

You won't believe us if we told you how much we earn an hour, everyone thinks photographers are raking it in and that's why there are so many new photographers starting up, wait until they have been doing it for a year when they have to start paying taxes then they will see they will have to put their prices up because they just can't make a living out of weddings alone, note that's why you suddenly see new photographers putting their prices up after a year being in the business.

Also remember these are not off the shelf mass produced items that you want for your wedding.

Just wanted to add that I still find it mind-blowing that a single carnation in a florists' shop has travelled thousands of miles from either Columbia or Turkey and still arrives in perfect condition, disease and insect free and yet can still be sold for around 50p after going through all those processes and such a long journey! Ah, Mother Nature is wonderful and the whole army of people who work in the industry to make this all possible!

Hi,

We too do not inflate our price for the 'W' word. Some couples won't mention the 'W' word and call it a party when enquiring about their reception. We don't increase our price for a wedding even though there is more preparation and extra rehearsal. But that's why we love playing for weddings.....it's great to be part of a couples biggest day!

James

My flowers were very expensive (£175.00 for my bouquet) however they are the one thing that pretty much everyone has commented on. If you like flowers and that is how you want to decorate your room and the expense is and was, in my opinion, well worth it (and we are by no means rich just save v hard!)

xxx

I was surprised at the cost of flowers as well and had no idea how expensive they were. Was going to go down the DIY route and then thought of the work going into it all the night before and preparation etc.

Glad I did as it's so much work and one less thing to worry about, plus we got a really good deal from the florist as she deals with our venue all the time.

Seen some lovely DIY bouquets though and it is doable, and great if you have a budget and want to save on this.

I am going down the DIY route, and making a bouquet for me, and 8 bridesmaid bouquets. We're not having any other flowers at the wedding.

I love flowers, but know nothing about them! I am lucky enough to live not too far from the New Covent Garden Flower Market in Vauxhall, London, so popped along there very early one morning a couple ofmonths ago to have a look around, buy some nice flowers and see if it was feasible to make my own. They turned out so much better than I expected they would! But, I only used 3 different types of flower in my bouquets, and it's obviously more difficult (and more expensive) the more variety you add in. I have £100 to spend on all 9 bouquets, and if I stick to the flowers I practiced with, I should be able to stay on budget and get some nice flowers!

I know some florists who are absolutely amazing and worth every penny. I for one couldn't deal with the mega early mornings, the freezing cold working environment and the low pay!

(Eeeeeek, having lurked here for a while gathering advice from all of you, this is my very first post!!)

Hello everyone

Thanks so much for all the replies!

I was definitely too hasty to say that the "W" word means more £££, because in fairness I have been really pleasantly surprised by the cost of some things (my dress for example, and also the videographer - both of which I way over-budgeted for! Also, the string quartet is coming back at an incredibly reasonable price!) However, I do know that the DJ I was going to book has changed his prices considerably since my birthday 2 months ago!

As I said in the OP, I think my shock was mostly down to me thinking that for £30 I can get a huge bouquet of really gorgeous flowers from a lovely local florist, so I suppose I expected the bridal bouquet to be only slightly more than that. When the first quote I got was 4 times that amount, I definitely panicked!! However, I'm going to take the advice and get a few quotes, explain that I only have a low budget, and hopefully find a florist who feels they can work to it.

My centrepieces are birdcages and candles, so the only flowers that I need are ones for the church and then the bouquets for myself and 4 bridesmaids. I'll definitely do some more shopping around.

After our venue, our flowers have been our largest single quote. Shocking, as i've said the whole way through planning so far that flowers were not all that important to me.

My initial reaction to the quote looked something like this --> ? but I soon realised that floristry (in a business sense) isn't that different to any other area of the wedding industry.

i.e, people think you're raking it in when very often all the hidden costs mount up and can leave you with little more than minimum wage. As with all areas of life, some people will do it cheaper, some will be more expensive. Some charge more for their time than others.

There are endless options when it comes to flowers, so there are always alternatives out there if you need to scale things back ?