Pricing for wedding flowers can be super confusing. Different florists offering different designs at different price points. At Emma Jane Floral Design, I always aim to be transparent in my pricing to allow my couples to make informed decisions when wedding planning. So here are 5 things you didn't know would affect the price of your wedding flowers.
1. Big Calendar Events
The flower markets run very much on a supply / demand pricing system (think similar to the stock exchange!). The more people that want a particular type of flower on that day, the higher the wholesale price gets.
Keeping this in mind, when choosing your wedding date do have a look if it is close to any big calendar events which can affect flower prices. A few holidays which cause higher flower prices are; Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter and Christmas.
Remember too that flowers are produced and sold globally which means, although in the UK we celebrate Mother's Day on a different Sunday to other countries, their Mother's Day celebrations will still affect our UK wholesale flower prices.
The flowers at peak prices during these holidays are going to be the most traditional / popular varieties for that holiday. For example, roses and especially red roses around Valentine's Day will be at a premium.
If your wedding is planned to be close to a big calendar event, try to choose a different colour palette / flower variety to reduce the impact of it on your wedding flower prices.
Photography by Wyldbee Photography.
2. Colour
This is another supply and demand issue. Over the last few years certain colours have become very popular for weddings; blush, dusky pink, terracotta and muted neutrals to name just a few.
There tends to be less supply of these colours anyway, as they are fairly unusual in nature (you don't tend to come across many muted browny-blushy coloured roses, do you?) but, with increased demand for them too, prices can really soar come wedding season.
Photography by Dearest Love Photography.
3. Wedding Season Popularity
You'll be bored of hearing this by now! Wedding season popularity does create a supply and demand issue for certain flowers. As discussed above, this leads to premium pricing.
One example of this is Gypsophilia. Gyp is a super popular wedding flower but can come with the misconception of being "cheap". During peak wedding season, with so many people desiring it, prices really rocket meaning it's not that "cheap pretty filler" you thought it was!
4. Energy Prices
I know, I know! Who wants to hear any more about rising energy prices?! Er... No one.
That being said, energy prices do heavily affect the wholesale cost of flowers. From production to machinery to deliveries etc etc. Increased fuel costs = increase wholesale flowers cost = increased wedding flower costs. Boo!
Photography by Eva Murko Photography.
5. Venue Access
This is definitely one you might not have thought about! Okay so, you've budgeted for a swoon-worthy floral installation piece at your venue... but have you considered venue access for your suppliers?
Some venues will allow suppliers set up time in the days running up to the wedding, however, other venues have such a high volume of weddings that they simply cannot allow suppliers to set up until the morning of the wedding. If this is the case, it's likely your wedding florist will require more staff to put together larger designs more quickly.
It is also worth considering, when your suppliers will need to remove and breakdown any designs. If there is a wedding the following day, they may be required to come back late at night after your celebrations finish or very early the next morning. Staff usually get paid more for working unsociable hours so there is likely to be a cost increase for providing this service.
If you'd like to find out more about prices of your wedding flower, please fill in my contact form and we can get started planning your wedding flowers! Yay!