We are often asked questions about costs, prices and budgets, and truthfully, most people are less satisfied with "it all depends" than we might hope.  Unfortunately, that is often the right answer, but sometimes we can do better if we adjust the question.  Believe it or not, there is no bouquet or flower whose price is consistent throughout the year.  There are obvious examples, like Cherry Blossoms, that make sense to most people who understand a little about fruit trees (they bloom in the Spring, so if you want Cherry blossoms in August we either have to use silk, import them from a mystical place where Spring weather occurs in August, or find a crazy farmer who grows Cherry trees in a Greenhouse and has been 'tricking' them into believing that August is Spring for the past 12 years.)  But even flowers that are readily available year-round can have vastly different prices.  For example, the spot prices of roses around Valentine's day are roughly double the price in March.  This means that a hypothetical arrangement of roses and Cherry blossoms that might be priced at $50 in March could cost $100+ in February and might cost $500 if you absolutely positively had to have fresh Cherry blossoms in August.  That's why we hedge our responses at trade shows or in response to email requests.  It also matters "when" you commit to delivery.  A substantial portion of the world's orchids come from Thailand.  During the Tsunami period a significant fraction of that crop was lost, and the ability to transport an additional fraction was also impacted.  Orchids we ordered prior to the Tsunami were delivered on schedule (although many ended up coming from elsewhere), at the contracted price.  Orchids ordered after the Tsunami were quoted at SIGNIFICANTLY higher prices, and some suppliers simply weren't accepting orders for certain varieties at any price.  This means that two identical weddings booked a week apart would have been priced at vastly different levels.  (By the way, earlier is ALWAYS better - it is extremely rare for the advance prices to exceed spot prices.) 

Price isn't always your best metric anyway, unless you know an awful lot about flowers.  This morning, I was looking through the "bargain bin" at a local wholesale flower mart.  I was looking for roses I could take apart and use as aisle decoration tomorrow morning, so I needed open heads, and neither stem length, foliage nor overall blossom shape mattered a lot to me.  Those roses were the same variety as the 25 bunches we had preordered that were sitting in our cooler, but the bargain prices were around 1/3 of the prices we paid wholesale for the top-grade stems.  Those bargain roses probably ended up in a bouquet from a local flower shop this afternoon, but they might just as easily have found their way to a wedding bouquet.  Assuming the florist priced them fairly (i.e. same markup as on quality product), the price would have been significantly lower, and TODAY the blossoms would have looked OK.  On a pricing sheet, the estimate would have described the same varieties, but the price would have been lower, so if you didn't know anything about them or us, and you compared on price, they might have looked to be the better deal, price-wise.  Most florists who would even contemplate using poor-grade blossoms aren't terribly ethical anyway, so more likely than not their price would be proportionately higher than the quality level implied - i.e. you get lousy quality at only slightly lower prices; a bad deal all around.  What you wish you could know is the margin we all charge, because then you'd know that the florists with the lowest markups/margins are probably the best deal.  But you also need to know who is biggest, because the more flowers you buy, the better prices or quality you receive.  Of course, despite the fact that you're reading here that we are the best value you're going to find, you might still be just slightly skeptical, or at least you'd like some way of verifying this for yourself.  The trick is value - receiving the most you can for each dollar spent.  This is actually pretty close to the way we select our vendors too.  We control almost all of the parameters, then let them compete on the ones we leave open.  The way that this works best for you is if you control your budget, then let each vendor compete on quality and overall delivery.  This also eliminates or exposes many of the deceptive pricing practices that are common in the industry.  Here's what we suggest:

First, set a reasonable budget for your wedding flowers.  Depending on the size of your wedding, this could be between $15-$50 per guest who will be attending.  The bigger the wedding, the lower the amount per person can be for the same flowers, but at the same time, bigger weddings need everything to be bigger so that the scale factors work.  Suppose you'll have around 200 guests, and you decide to set a budget of $4,000 for flowers.  Choose the two or three floral designers who's work you like the best, and talk to them about your wedding.  Ask them to provide you with a firm proposal that falls within your budget, that uses top quality perishables (flowers) in all cases.  When you get the estimate, check if it includes everything (delivery, setup, breakdown, samples you want, etc.), and if not, you can score it based on how much more the vendor is asking you to contribute.  We tend to overweight the "ding-ding" charges because a vendor who feels you should pay one extra charge will undoubtedly discover another by the time all of the billing is finished.  The easiest way to recognize a disreputable vendor is when these additional charges are "discovered" in the last week before the wedding when your options/recourses are most limited.  Assuming your vendors are all reputable (and most will be), you should have very comparable proposals, and you will probably get an almost instant feeling of which proposal is most likely to result in the wedding of your dreams.  Your next step is an easy one - of the vendors who are still in the running, ask them to explain why you should choose them.  If the answer is anything other than product quality, customer service, or related items, I'd be reaching for the eraser.  You wouldn't believe how many florists try to convince people that being 5 miles closer to the wedding site is somehow relevant, or that some special knowledge of the garden at the local Hilton should influence your decision.  A good designer is going to visit every site as often as necessary, even if they have worked there repeatedly.  A good floral firm shows up on time no matter where the event is held.  Here are a few important questions that DO matter: how many weddings do you do per year?  Firms that focus on weddings have encountered just about everything and can avoid all but the most unusual problems.  How many wedding teams do you have?  If "Sheila" gets sick a couple days before your wedding are you going to be in trouble, or will the firm be able to get the job done without impacting your wedding?  How have you dealt with things that have gone wrong (which tells you both their ability to solve problems, but also their propensity for getting into trouble in the first place.)  How do you stand behind your work?

Now comes the hard part.  Use common sense when you're comparing the vendors.  If the sales pitch is high-pressure, you might want to worry a bit - are they having trouble finding business?  (This might mean not very many referrals, a very bad thing.)  Are they making up questionable reasons and arguments about why you should choose them, and why you have to act immediately?  You are trusting your vendors with your wedding - be intolerant of integrity weaknesses.  Are their business practices sloppy or unprofessional?  If they can't make a professional proposal, do you think they will do better on your bouquet?  And finally, and probably most importantly, do they give you that sense of confidence that they are ethical, competent, professional, and capable?  If you aren't sure, then probably you need to keep looking.

We hope this helps.  If there's anything we could clarify, or otherwise improve, please let us know.  If you would like to discuss anything particular to YOUR wedding, please press the contact button at the top of this page and ask any questions you like (or better yet, sign up for a consultation if you haven't already!)  And if you ultimately do choose us as your floral designer, rest assured that you will get the best product at the best price, and that we will do everything to make sure your wedding is fabulously beautiful, and completely consistent with your dreams and wishes wherever we can.  Thank you for your time.

Copyright © 2005, 2006 Mayumi Miyata Floral Designs
Last modified: 06/23/06