Floral Tips: Costing saving tips

Recently our poll showed that the Budget is the #1 stress for couples. Though many of you might recognize a few of my wedding tips, it's always a good idea to revisit them. Here's a few tips on how to save and still have a great event.

Modest Flowers in Abundance
This is nothing novel but I'm a firm believer that a good floral designer can make any flower (well - almost any flower) look beautiful, elegant, and timeless when you give them a chance.

One of my favorite recent designs is using a beautiful container filled with 40 stems of Peruvian Lilies which are one of the most readily available and underused flower. People can't stand them because like the other modest flower(carnations) they have been treated so unfairly. Give this flower a chance.

Another great flower is the bright and sunny sunflower.

Remember also, that a few bunches of flowers here and there won't give your florist a position to negotiate price with their wholesaler however, if you do flowers in abundance in one particular hues of colors, that means that a florist can order in bulk quantities. In the wholesale world, 5 bunches of flowers is not very much but 30 to 60 bunches of something has impact.

Play Nice. Be Fair. Help Vendors, Help You.
What do I mean by that. This isn't a new revelation of any kind. Remember the saying, "you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar." Well, it's so true. You treat your vendors with professional respect. Whenever possible, try to soften your "negotiations". Diffuse potential awkwardness with sincerity, honesty, diplomacy.

Most especially in this economy, do not feel compelled to add that "you are strapped financially" in your conversations unless you mean it because many professional vendors already know that a 'budget is necessary and value is important'. Vendors know that they have to be competitively priced. They know that they have to work hard to get your business. If you want to work with someone, then I think you should "hint" to them that you would like to move forward and mean it. If they want your business bad enough, they will make the effort. If you don't want to work a vendor, tell them that you are not interested and move on. Don't drag them along if you really don't plan on working with them. Write a simple note of thanks and find someone you do want to work with.

Be Within Reason.
If you can't afford a vendor because they are out of the range but you really like their style and work, ask the vendor if they can come up with some alternative solutions but it has to be within reason. If you want a $10k wedding for $2k, that's really going to be difficult. However, if your ideas are $5K and your budget is $4k, that's close enough where each party might make it work.

If it's a photographer, ask them if you cutting down on the # of hours will reduce costs.

Ask a floral designer, if buying your own props, containers, candles, will that help with the invoice. (Although, I don't recommend this for many many reasons.)

When talking with a cake maker, ask them what designs are less labor intensive and will that help decrease costs?

Ask a venue if you can bring in your own wine, will that help costs? Ask them what tips do they have to make the process easier and how would that benefit in the costs.

Recently, I had to throw an event for my husband and I. Instead of dictating what I wanted, I asked La Mar Restaurant in SF, how many people I could invite based on my budget. Having determined what the max guest count could be, I further asked the catering manager what menu I could do to get the most variety for my 32 guests. I also inquired about the difference in price between dinner and lunch service. It turned out that brunch was 20% less than dinner so I opted for a Sunday brunch on their outdoor patio which saved a lot in terms of the wine bill and was the perfect solution for a large group.

All these things happened because I let the venue help determine what date worked best for them, what time was beneficial for them, and what types of dishes worked best with a limited budget.

Bottom line: Realistic budget, flexibility, and requests within reason helped to make an event smooth and easy on both sides. It's a Win Win!

Downsize and Value Size
Every wedding has opportunities to downsize. There's nothing wrong with it.

For example, you have 10 bridesmaids. If an average bouquet is $100 per bouquet, that's $1000. Maybe, you ask your floral designer to make a smaller bouquet. Make sure the bouquets aren't labor intensive. Or more importantly, how about limiting your bridal party. And doing away with traditional floral bouquets for something else(though I hope you don't!). There are so many ways and things that you can do. The less you order, the less you spend.

Guest list - means less tables potentially and a few less centerpieces perhaps?

Avoid pricey shipping
Shipping some flowers from Mexico, South America is cheaper than local flowers - believe it or not. However, getting peonies from Holland's wholesale market in the winter is going to cost you some money. If you handcuff your designer with your need to have only anemones in white with black centers, you are going to have a difficult time if the flowers aren't readily available. If you only like mini callas in the shade of deep burgundy that are shipped from Holland or New Zealand, then it's unlikely that there may be wiggle room for errors, late shipments, breakage or other substitutions. (These dark New Zealand mini callas can cost as much as $6.00 to $9.00 per stem)

Make sure that you give your floral designers enough floral choices so that they can make a better decision. Or even better, leave it to their discretion.

Hope these tips help.

Enjoy!