How It All Adds Up {Real Advice}

Take this bouquet for example: It's a very popular one at Studio Stems. It entails the following ingredients:  

• 10 stems of mini sunflowers - $9
• 1 bunch of poppy pod - $9.60
• 1 bunch of freesia - $10.75
• 2 bunches of cockscomb $18.50
• 1 bunch of mondara - $9
• floral supplies - $2
• Ribboning - $3 

The basic cost of goods to make this bouquet rings in at $61.85 (this is a pre-tax wholesale price for these goods).

Now let's consider what a few other less visible elements are worth, such as design expertise, time and branding. 

Design and Expertise: What about the design of this bouquet? The establishment and production of a well-planned design? The experience that backs that ability to design something artistic and unique? What is that worth and what value does that affix to the price tag?

Time: What about the time and expense it takes to order the goods, pick them up, hydrate them, store them, actually arrange and finish the product, and finally deliver it successfully? What value does that add?

Branding: Last but not least branding. We seem to assess value to a brand as consumers on a regular basis, so why not with wedding flowers? Would you pay more for a bouquet from Banana Republic then at Old Navy? Why? The same principal and the same reasons apply to your wedding vendors: their value and quality.

So now what is our cost? You know the number your thinking in your head. Maybe it's double the cost, around $120. Maybe those things are worth more to you and ring in at $200, maybe less maybe more. But surely they are more than $61.85.

Sure, the expense of these added costs can be avoided by doing it yourself if you have expendable time, resources, skill, or a great friend or family member with all of the above willing to work for free. But what is the value of the outcome of such a DIY endeavor?

Have you ever noticed how impecable the flowers are at the events you most admire? You know the ones, in magazines and on blogs? They are delightful aren't they? Flowers really can make or break the style and quality of your wedding. They aren't perishable—they remain in pictures for as long as the images are in existence, and in this day and age that is forever.

So lets say you recognize the value in hiring a floral designer for your event. Above and beyond the costs you see above, there are a few more expenses to consider that go into the pricing of even just a single bouquet. Company overhead, the dreaded word—you know we don't like it much either, but it is a necessary evil that we must cover, this includes insurance that protects both the vendor and the client, advertising that lead the bride to the vendor in the first place, refrigeration, and many other small necessities. A professional florists needs to “account for their costs and pay themselves a living wage,” as my friend David with Mayesh wholesale floral would say.

So what I want you to know is that “you do get what you pay for!” Your wedding vendors are not hiding from you nor are they making unimaginable profits. Wedding floral design is often seen as a fun DIY wedding project, other services are likewise in the industry like: invitations, photography, catering and countless others. But there really is a value in a solid professional offering a product and service that is above par.

I do realize the doom and gloom of the current financial crisis and how it is truly curtailing the dreams of many betrothed. I don't doubt that a DIY path may be the only option for some brides, and I don't mean to offend or downplay the great possibilities that can come out of this—I sincerely wish you all the best. I merely mean to educate you as consumers as to what you get when you get flowers versus art or food versus catering or images versus photography and the values associated with both sides. There are ways to work around the economy with your vendors, they are full of options. Seek them out and utilize their expertize.