How to not get screwed by your florist, by Tiffany Saul
Posted by Offbeat Intern · Advice, OMG OBT

Awesome!! Thank you so much!

So flattered you used one of our pics for this article… I can honestly say that I have nothing but praise for my florist. The first thing she asked..unlike all the others…. was how much was my budget? She then managed to come in under budget (she said that that would give me breathing space to cover unforseen floral needs, and she was right!) and gave me exactly what I had asked for. This was especially difficult as I knew exactly what I wanted and would not be swayed but she didn't really try to change my mind anyway. She was careful to meet all the "special needs" we had too, my mother is allergic to Lillies (Calla's are ok)chrysanthamums and any highly pollenated and scented blooms, so filler flowers were a difficult issue.
As for what my flowers looked like… all I will say is I shed my first tears of the day when I saw my bouquet… it was stunning… and the rest were equally so. I think if you find a florist that works for you, shout their name from the rooftops… because mine was just an unassuming little local shop and she doesn't get the volume of work she deserves… and yet she produced the most amazing work for a tiny budget!

Amen! The first time I got married, I only needed bouquets, corsages and bouts. I had $300.00. I went to three florists that did exactly what Tiffany said–tried to convince me I needed centerpieces and arrangements for the church, etc. One of them reluctantly put together a bouquet/corsage/bout quote for me and it came in at $1200!!!. I finally found a floral designer who worked out of a studio instead of a shop and I said "Look, this is what I need, this is the style of my wedding, and this is my budget." I had GORGEOUS flowers, she delivered them personally and even pinned the corsages and bouts for me, and the bill was $275.00. Because I didn't care about what flowers she used (only colors), she was able to accomodate me.

Don't ever let a vendor dictate to you. If they won't listen to you, it's time to spend your money elsewhere.

So true! For our wedding I just wanted bridesmaids bouquets, a bouquet for me, three simple corsages and a crown of silk daisies for the flowergirl. I tried to go really local but the place quoted me $1,300 for 6 bouquets, 3 corsages consisting of daisies & hydrenga!! I went to another local shop but it was a chain of local shops, $450 for everything and she helped pick out flowers and even included hand-dyed orchids in my bouquet to set it apart & gave me extras for my hair. The other place didn't even sit with me to look at flowers, they just tossed me some books. I get the feeling the 1st place didn't want to really do it because it wasn't the whole big event with centerpieces & church.

great article! no one wants to be taken advantage of.

but you could be disappointed if you try out #13 at some places. i worked for a large floral wholesaler and they ALWAYS asked for a tax exempt number thus proving your business or organization is legit.

Wow, such great advice!

I actually wasn't considering a florist, but now I may actually at least have a few pretties, and feel better that they didn't stick it to me.

Thank you so much!

Dang, will you do a podunk little town like 45 minutes-hour away from Richmond? You sound awesome!

Yup great article, my friend did somethin fun about the church flowers. So she found out that there will be a couple that will be married in the same church before them, and there's another one after. So she contacted the other couples and the three couples pay for one floral decoration for the whole day ! Smart ..

thanks so much! brilliant article. i have been putting off going to florists, but now i feel equipped!

As a business owner and florist I am actually affronted by this note. Yes there are some florists who are in it for the money and will try to talk brides into more expensive flowers but most of us are not that way. (and they are easily felt out if they do practice poor business pratices)
I do charge 45.00 for a consultation. The reason? 45.00 is a minimal amount when you actually receive a full consult with me. I offer websites and information to help you save money on your whole wedding. I show how certain days of the week can be cheaper for you to get married on. I offer 3 hours of my undivided attention to you and your needs to get exactly what you want for the budget you are working with. Each estimate my customers receive has at least 4 different options that the bride can mix and match that will allow her to make her own choices and go up or down in price for each piece. It usually takes 7 – 8 hours of my time and efforts to give my brides all the information I feel she deserves and needs to make a good decision that works within her budget. 3 of of those hours are with the bride at the shop and taking a tour at the local wholesalers to see the whole color and flower pallete available. That works out to about $6.00, under minimum wage I might add for my hourly time.
I encourage my brides to contact me at any time and offer my cell for contact on weekends. I do not charge extra for brides that are picky or that call often. I am creating the flowers for the most important day of their lives. I want as much information as she can offer so I can make her day perfect.
Every wholesaler I know would ask for a Tax ID slip listing the church and or organization for which you are trying to buy flowers. Lying is never good business practice!

Given the number of incendiary/hateful comments we're having to moderate on this post, this is clearly a hot topic — especially for florists. (CapSquare: thank you for being one of the few to be even-tempered and constructive in your feedback.) Trackbacks/pingbacks are still open if you'd like to discuss the subject on your own blogs, but comments are now closed.

As someone working part time in a flowershop, I must say most of this is true. But I would like to add couple points, from our side of the cash stand:

When you order a wedding bouquet and hear the price, don't be suprised it's more than your average rose bouquet for your grandmother's birthday. There's a lot more time put into your wedding bouquet. Also the ribbons and pearls and such aren't free, as said. We are not (or I think atleast most aren't) trying to rip you off, we're asking compensation for the time used to perfect -your- bouquet. It's not like it's going to magically appear out of thin air.

Another thing I'd like to note is this: When your florist asks if you want bouquets for your mother, mother-in-law and so on, PLEASE, do tell us if you don't want. We only ask because some brides might not have thought of these things, or forgot in the hassle of explaining what kind of bouquet they want. Since we're in the business, it's our job to ask – we are NOT trying to force you to buy more than you want (if your florist is trying to force you to buy what you don't want, escape!). It's time saving for you and us, when you don't have to storm back and forth and add people on the flower list.

If you did forget to add someone or something, don't be ashamed to come back and add, though – the earlier you do so, the better it is for us (and you). We wouldn't want to end up in a situation where we have to tell you we can't do a bouquet for your mother-in-law, because we can't get more flowers in time. We don't grow the flowers on our backyard, we order them, and that's probably the case with most florist shops.

And a hint for getting the exact bouquet you wish: Bring pictures. It's easier to see what you mean by "simple and modern" when you have a picture. Your modern might be completely different from the other bride's opinion of modern. Also, if you want certain color, bring example, be it small piece of your dress' fabric or a serviette. It's sometimes difficult to hunt down the exact shade of pink you wish to use, and it's especially difficult if we have nothing to compare to. If you don't have any ideas what you want, that's alright too, the person doing the wedding flowers has done plenty and seen many ideas, and skips through wedding albums regularly to see the new trends. But you can hardly blame her if you say nothing, don't know what colors or flowers you like when asked and shown and she can't come up with anything that pleases you. This might be the reason Ariel had to start moderating the messages. It can be difficult to fish out what the bride wants if she brings no pictures herself, and everything you show to her only makes her shrug, and it ofcourse causes frustration both ways.

Thanks for understanding! We always do our best – a shop that didn't would soon be out of business, but sometimes collapses happen. Most of them could have been avoided and that saddens us. A happy customer is the best advertisement for us and it also gives self confidence to the maker when the bride is happy with the flowers!