How Much Do Wedding Flowers Cost? Warm Neutral Wedding Reception at Novella
It’s not all that frequent that I get to design the entire reception from start to finish, and I really enjoy digging into that complete process. For this warm, neutral wedding reception at Novella, I started with a brief overview of the colour palette and textural elements I wanted to highlight.
As I got going, I knew I wanted to share a glance at the real life costs behind a reception design like this. Many of my clients come to me asking for designs like this, but have no frame of reference for pricing. So, let’s jump into the design and then the cost!
PS - If you’re wondering, YES, I do offer event design services where I can do this for you! Find more info here. I take on a maximum of 3 event design clients per year and I do require that I’m designing your florals, too.
Photos by Vanessa Renae Photography
The Design Plan
Below you’ll get a glimpse at the brief visual overview I created to help guide my decision making. I find this to be a really important step that a lot of people overlook when planning their weddings. Anyone can make a pinterest board but it’ll likely still feel disparate, disjointed because it’s usually lacking that thread that ties everything together. A single page, just a few images and colour swatches, is one of the first things I do when working through event design, to set the mood, confirm colouring, and keep my design goals in mind.
For this wedding reception design, I had a few things in mind: mostly warm, neutral tones with touches of cool blue added in, multi-tonal drapery above the tables to soften the industrial ceiling and warm up the white walls, and bringing in natural textures through stone elements.
When it came to the floor plan, I really didn’t need to go this all-out as this was an editorial shoot. But, I believe strongly in doing things right the first time (when I’m tempted to be lazy, this always rings through my thoughts!) and I think that a photo shoot with 1 single table looks, quite frankly, dumb. It doesn’t give a potential couple a proper frame for how the entire wedding could look, and it doesn’t give the wedding professionals imagery that actually reflects the reality of our work.
Novella works amazingly as a single space for both ceremony and reception for an intimate wedding, and the floor plan below is just one example of how you can utilize the space.
A few things I knew right away: I wanted to use Collective’s black bentwood chairs because I love them, and the Melodia glassware because they really elevate a design with a subtle, elegant air. I wanted to layer in stone fragments, and thought this would be a great way to catch any candle wax drips.
The Completed Design
Normally I am fully invested in colour, so choosing to work in a neutral palette felt a little out of left field for me. I really enjoyed the warmth that I was able to create — this isn’t yet another basic white and green wedding. The short cappuccino toned candles (I wanted them as stumpy as I could get them) picked up on the brown veining in the pieris and the tulips. This kind of blending and colour play is essential, no matter what your palette is.
Layering in taupe napkins and sand toned vessels added more warmth, and the black cutlery and lamps tied through to the chairs in a clean, simple way.
How Much Does a Wedding Tablescape Cost?
It's important to note that every tablecsape is going to be different in terms of the elements included, the quantities, and additional rental items. For our purposes today, I've included everything that came from me: florals, vases, candles. The glassware, flatware, lamps, napkins, linens, chairs, and stationery would be in addition.
I also want to note that if you're looking to save on your floral budget, long tables may not be the best choice for you. There is simply more empty space on long tables, which makes them really fun to style but would also be more costly.
For each 8 foot table, I included:
1x fuller, low floral arrangement
2x petite flower frog arrangements
2-3x stem vases
4x chunky pillar candles and stone remnants for styling
8 Foot Table Cost: $345
When I first approached Kayla from Sugar & Salt Bakeshoppe about this project, I shared my full design board and asked for a simple, textured buttercream cutting cake. I didn’t want to be an imposition when she was likely already busy. Her response? “Let me put a spin on it and challenge myself!” And look at this stunning masterpiece inspired by the wedding dress we used! What incredible art.
The Bar
Including a bar feature was a must-have for me, to show how we can extend a design further. Collective’s Waverly collection was perfect. We added a champagne tower (one of Vanessa’s only requests!), layered in some stone vases, and repurposed florals from the ceremony aisle to the base of the cake table to make it a moment.
I hope this was helpful to you in your planning! I’ll link a few more budget-related posts below to assist you in building a realistic wedding flower budget. It’ll either come down to “I will pay what I need to in order to get what I want” or “I have $xx to spend, what can I get within that?” My top advice for couples is to be open about your goals and budget when you’re talking with a floral designer. Knowing which way you lean means we can get creative and make sure we’re proposing the best things for you.
Lead Photo & Host: Vanessa Renae Photography
Floral and Event Design: Stone House Creative
Venue: The Novella
Rentals: Collective Rentals
Drapery and Linens: Planned Perfectly
Stationery: Rae & Dot Studio
Cake: Sugar & Salt BakeShoppe
Hair: Isabel Nayet
Makeup: Jessica K Artistry
Dress: Vintage J Mendel
Jewellery: Mokada Jewelry
Models: @meghanheppner and @brendanzebrynski
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL and Event DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
I love taking a venue and making it into anything but ordinanry.
Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
I remember what it was like to be engaged, attempting to plan an budget for a wedding when I had ABSOLUTELY no idea what anything could cost. I have a specific memory of sitting at my fiance’s (now husband’s) computer and googling “wedding photographer in Winnipeg”, opening up every single website on the first 5 or so pages of Google, and sending a form submission to every single one. Because NONE of them had any pricing information available (and I only heard back from about 5 of them!).
That was a long time ago, and pricing transparency has definitely improved in the Winnipeg market, but I think that now, more than ever, couples are anxiously seeking pricing information. Since covid, costs on a lot of things have increased and not gone down, and now we get the joys of all this tariff business. All that to say, I understand where you’re coming from and I’m here to give you some insight on wedding flower pricing!