How Much Does A Bridal Bouquet Cost?
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!
Some PRicing Transparency for 2025 Weddings
Photos by Kate Elizabeth Photography
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!
I do need to give the caveat, of course, that flower pricing varies widely — what types of flowers you’re interested, what time of year you’re getting married at (stay clear of Mother’s Day if you’re on a tighter budget!), how many guests you have, how full and lush you want everything, and of course, what your personal priorities are.
I know the internet loves to talk about “the wedding tax,” which is one of the most annoying myths out there. So, let’s talk about bridal bouquets and what they cost.
There are a few things that florists would love for couples to understand:
1) We’re not trying to rip you off.
2) We’re not interested in taking advantage of you.
3) We really do want you to have a beautiful wedding, but we’re not responsible for paying for your wedding for you.
And at the same time:
1) Flowers are a perishable, luxury item that are flown in from around the world. No one NEEDS flowers to get married.
2) The entire supply chain of the floral industry, from seed to stem, is costly. The amount of labour, of supply cost, of resources that go into growing your wedding flowers (whether they’re grown in Manitoba or elsewhere in the world!) is incredible.
The voices who parrot the “wedding tax” conversation love to say that they could walk into a flower shop and pick up a grab-and-go bouquet and pay $50 for it, or they could order a bridal bouquet and be charged $350 for it. “That’s a rip-off!” they moan. And you could just walk in and buy that $50 bouquet if it’s what you want and what you can afford.
But there’s a very large difference between those two bouquets.
And if you’re coming to me and asking to order a custom bridal bouquet, then naturally I’m assuming that you’re looking for something far more beautiful and detailed than that $50 grab-and-go bouquet. I assume that you’re wanting premium flowers, carefully arranged by a designer with a certain skill level and knowledge base.
That $50 grab-and-go bouquet literally takes 5 minutes to plan and put together. The $350 bridal bouquet is carefully crafted in around 1 hour, not including all the time that I’ve spent mulling over your colour palette and texture preferences to select the perfect ingredients, order them from multiple farms or wholesalers, and conditioning them carefully so they’re at their absolute peak on your wedding day.
There’s nothing wrong with either of these options — they’re just very different, and therefore have a different price tag associated with them.
One last thing before I really get into the pricing: tariffs. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure how these are going to impact us in Manitoba. During the summer, most of my product is sourced locally, so that’s great and relatively unimpacted. I do know that most of the foliages that we order come from the US, so those are going to have that annoying 25% addition (don’t believe the lie that greenery is cheaper!), and there are certain things that are popular for weddings that literally ONLY come from the US (like smilax, everyone’s favourite vine), which will sadly just end up being way more cost than it’s worth.
What I don’t quite understand yet it is how the shipping of items from other countries is going to be impacted. For example, most roses come from Ecuador, but they typically ship to Miami before heading up here. Does this mean we’re going to see the additional tariff? Or can the shipping routes be changed to accommodate? I feel like all of Canada should be a large enough market to justify changing a shipping route…but I guess we’ll find out. I think we’re going to see a lot of shifting back and forth over the next few months and just hope that it’s easy enough for us all to understand. You should prepare yourselves to either be flexible with your floral selections, or with your budget.
How much do you think this bridal bouquet costs?
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients:
Sweet Pea
Pieris
Brownie Tulips
Muscari
And finished with hand dyed silk velvet ribbon from
Stella Wolfe
BRIDAL BOUQUET COST: $385
The ingredient selection in this bouquet is minimal — there are just 4 varieties, and I normally include more than that, but I love the elevated feel that simplicity brings. Each of these ingredients is premium and higher priced, as is the Canadian silk velvet ribbon (hand-dyed here in Winnipeg, actually!).
I typically price my bridal bouquets around $350; I usually only increase the price if the client has very specifically asked for premium product or a very large bouquet. To be honest, most of my client bouquets should likely be charged more for, but I generally just make sure that pricing is made up for throughout the rest of the order and it works out just fine that way.
Additional Wedding Flower Pricing Posts You May Find Helpful:
(And to note: Stone House Creative is not really more or less expensive than any other established floral designers who specialize in weddings and use the premium quality product that I do. There are definitely companies who charge too little, but that doesn’t mean that I’m charging too much — there’s a big difference between the price tag associated with a company that undercuts or doesn’t charge industry standard markups and a company like mine that is built on solid business practises and isn’t interested in going into the red to pay for other peoples’ weddings.)
I hope this is so helpful for you! I know that wedding flower budgeting is incredibly unsexy and also very mysterious. It’s not a world that you’re familiar with, and that’s okay. Generally speaking, online resources are completely useless and out of touch with reality, so that doesn’t help you either. That’s what we’re here for :)
And many thanks to Kate Elizabeth Photography for these beautiful images from the recent portfolio builder I hosted with Vanessa Renae Photography! Much more to come from this beautiful day!
Getting married in Winnipeg?
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 us for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
Feminine Late Spring Wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery
While setting up this late spring wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery last year, I knew it was going to be a favourite of the season. It was so sad that one of my favourites was already over, so early in the year! But here we are, finally sharing the details with you.
I love weddings at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It’s a very versatile space, but can fall flat very quickly. The combination of a subtle palette with feminine florals went a long way — let’s get into it!
While setting up this late spring wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery last year, I knew it was going to be a favourite of the season. It was so sad that one of my favourites was already over, so early in the year! But here we are, finally sharing the details with you.
I love weddings at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It’s a very versatile space, but can fall flat very quickly. The combination of a subtle palette with feminine florals went a long way — let’s get into it!
Photos by Brittany Mahood
“Lauren and her team at Stone House Creative were a dream to work with for floral design at our wedding. Not only is she exceptionally professional and kind, but her knowledge, expertise, and creativity was apparent from the very first meeting we had with her. She made every decision SO easy throughout the entire planning process, providing her thoughtful recommendations on how to best incorporate florals into our overall wedding design as a key focal point.
From our wedding party florals, to the table designs, statement arrangements at the ceremony, welcome sign and bar, and our floral cake meadow - Lauren created the most stunning florals for us, we were absolutely in awe of what she designed!! She took our vision and made it more beautiful than we could’ve ever imagined, carefully designing each piece to be unique and suit our elevated garden party design.
I can’t thank you enough Lauren - you are truly the best of the best and I’m so happy that we were able to work with you - couldn’t have imaged our day with anyone else!!” — Alannah
Soiree Event Planning did a beautiful job on the overall design for Alannah and Bryce’s wedding. Alannah had a distinct vision but had an internal dilemma: she wanted to leave it all up to the pros because she knew that would create the best end result, BUT she also wanted to make every decision herself. ha! I had a lot of fun with her. One of the things she wasn’t sure about was using tulips…but when I showed her these locally grown specialty tulips, she LOVED them. Case in point, friends!
One of my favourite aspects to this wedding was the bridesmaids’ dresses. The varied blue shades were just PERFECT, and I always love seeing a bit of pattern layered in. I designed really petite bouquets for them, which felt more elevated than large bouquets.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: sweet pea, specialty tulips, cafe latte roses, butterfly ranunculus, and phalaenopsis orchids.
The traditional ceremony was held at Bryce’s family church, and aren’t these photos so beautiful? There’s something about a grand swooping aisle dip in a classic church that gets me every time.
We kept the floral at the ceremony pretty classic, with 2 large urns at the front of the church and flanked the end of the aisle with 2 ground-based floral pieces.
The locally grown white lilac was just PERFECT in here, and Alannah really fell for the trailing movement of the phalaenopsis orchids so I made sure we included those as well.
I almost never see your reactions to your wedding all set up, so when your photographer is able to capture it, I get so excited. And clearly, Alannah was incredibly excited ❤️ Truly, helping you feel this way on your wedding day is such a joyful honour!
DO WE LOVE THIS CAKE MEADOW? Yes, YES WE DO.
Making the cake a spotlight was a major design focus for Alannah. I can’t remember all the story behind the cake — but there’s something about Bryce’s family having a history of stealing wedding cakes. Alannah was like “oh heck no, no one is stealing my wedding cake.” So we put flowers all the way in front of it like a little guard, ha!
Kayla from Sugar & Salt created the cake, and I cannot tell you how perfectly she matched the sugar flowers to the real — and that’s without having seen them in real life. It was divine!
This room was so beautiful! I always love working at the WAG (I think I have like 7 weddings there this year alone!) and a couple of the things I love about it are the warm neutral tones of the stone, as well as the way it can be laid out so differently when you have someone like Soiree Event Planning leading the planning.
They chose to centre the head table in the middle of the room (a bit more than the head table — they had their wedding party and all their partners at a big king’s table), with a mix of round and rectangular tables around. Toffee linens and cane back chairs elevated the warmth of the space, with champagne flatware and these fluted soft soft pink glassware finishing the place settings. A delicate touch of blue in the personalized place cards kept the overall design from leaning too feminine.
We went with a few different styles of centrepieces that fit with each of the table shapes. The round tables featured a round compote vase with a fuller floral arrangement, the long tables were accentuated with petite ikebana inspired florals in mauve, lavender, and white, and the head table had larger, fuller rectangular shaped vases with lush runner-inspired arrangements.
Planning a wedding at The Winnipeg Art Gallery and want to elevate the space?
I’d love to be your floral designer.
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 (like a greenery canopy hung above your dinner tables!), 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!
Floral Ideas for Your Wedding Cake
One thing I will always love, even though I didn’t have one at my wedding and even though I have a gluten allergy, is wedding cake. The reason is possibly quite frivolous, but I’ll admit it: I love the moment that a wedding cake provides. The way that tradition revolves around them, that there can be a pause in a chaotic evening for the two of you to enjoy a moment together, and of course, I love the design opportunities that a cake can bring.
I know people have their ups and downs with wedding cakes and whether they’re a priority or not. In my mind, it comes down to this: if you’re going to invest in a wedding cake, then make 👏🏻 it 👏🏻 a 👏🏻 moment 👏🏻
Floral Inspiration For yOur Wedding Cake
One thing I will always love, even though I didn’t have one at my wedding and even though I have a gluten allergy, is wedding cake. The reason is possibly quite frivolous, but I’ll admit it: I love the moment that a wedding cake provides. The way that tradition revolves around them, that there can be a pause in a chaotic evening for the two of you to enjoy a moment together, and of course, I love the design opportunities that a cake can bring.
I know people have their ups and downs with wedding cakes and whether they’re a priority or not. In my mind, it comes down to this: if you’re going to invest in a wedding cake, then make 👏🏻 it 👏🏻 a 👏🏻 moment 👏🏻
Photo above by Brittany Mahood
Cake Meadows
I have loved designing cake meadows these last few years. If you’re going to make your cake a design focal point in your reception, then this is such a great way to do it. Florals surrounding the cake is delightful for a few reasons — no stems actually have to poke into the cake, so we can use whatever type of flower we want (even if it’s poisonous!), they can have a constant water source so stay fresher longer, and it’s also just a WOW moment.
Simply Rosie Photography // Baked Expectations
Things to know if this is what you want:
Please budget accordingly. I don’t think I’ve ever charged appropriately for these, to be honest 🤦🏼♀️ This labour should be done entirely on-site because it’s difficult to deliver, and you really can’t design it well without the cake present so you can get the scale right. Additionally, be sure to ask your florist to design this floral foam-free, because that $h!t is toxic and we don’t want that anywhere near anything you’re eating.
Dramatic Floral Moments
This is a go big or go home kind of moment.
If you’ve got a really large venue space to fill, if you’ve got an impressive floral feature like this 20 foot wide hanging floral installation (yes, we really did that!!), then take the opportunity to really go for it and make the cake a focal point in the floor plan. This design (laid out so carefully by Soiree Event Planning) saw the cake elevated on a circular platform, and set in the middle of the lounge and underneath the hanging florals, right in front of the dance floor, so that everyone could see it. It made for such a sweet cake cutting moment and was really spectacular!
Partial Floral Meadow
I designed this many years ago, before floral meadows were becoming popular, and I still love it. The crescent moon shape allowed me to add some height behind the cake, while still allowing full access to cut into the cake. The combination of sugar flowers, hand-painted flowers, and fresh flowers was such a flirty, fun combination and I really love that the fresh flowers accented the sugar flowers without taking over the design that the baker lovingly created.
Fresh and Sugar flower combination
Things to know if this is what you want: This is a combination that you need to trust to a cake artist. I LOVE placing fresh flowers on a cake. I would NEVER dream of touching the sugar flowers. The idea of accidentally breaking or causing damage to those delicate sugar flowers that were handmade by someone else is so stressful to me.
Additionally, this needs to be done by a cake artist with the eye for detail that you’re in love with. Not just anyone could do what Jenna Rae Cakes did here and make it look this amazing.
To do this, I’ll connect with your baker to ask about the design they’re planning, and then figure out roughly how many loose florals they’ll need. The bakery will typically send someone to pick up the flowers from my studio a day or two before the wedding, so they can have everything they need in-hand to create their masterpiece!
**Please make sure to ask your florist and baker for food-safe flowers and floral applications. Flowers should never just be shoved into cakes because a) many are toxic to humans, and b) without proper care they will die really quickly, and c) most commercial flowers are grown with a LOT of chemicals, so even if it’s not a toxic flower, it could still be covered with icky things. We don’t want any of this going into your body.
Petite Floral Touches
Because you don’t always need something huge! Here are some sweet, petite floral moments — from a few blooms that I carefully inserted into the cake, to a small arrangement placed beside the cake, to locally grown, edible flowers sprinkled on top of the cakes. Sweet and simple!
Photos by Bennett Murphy-Mills, Kass Donaldson, Nicole Plett, and Brittany Mahood
Simple cake, big placement
I personally love a small cake, big placement moment. You may not wish to serve wedding cake to your entire guest list, or maybe you have specific allergies so a small cake just for the two of you is the way to go, and you maybe don’t even wish to add flowers to the cake. But placing the cake intentionally in your floor plan in a place where it gets more attention because of what it’s placed by (in this case, in front of the floral-covered bar), is just a smart move!
Repurposed ceremony arch
Top Photos by Keila Marie, Jenna Rae Cakes // Bottom Photos by Brittany Mahood, Sugar & Salt
Things to know if this is what you want: Chances are pretty good that your arch is the piece that will need to move locations. If this is what you want, then you have to contract your floral team for a flip and refresh, which means that they either stick around during your ceremony (instead of leaving when their work is completed), or they come back, so they can move the arch for you (and will incur an additional service fee). This really should not be done by anyone else — firstly, it’s that floral designer’s art, and it’s BIG, and someone else touching it just isn’t that appropriate because a lot of things can go wrong. Secondly, a lot of damage can be done during the move-over, and the florist may need to redesign some elements, or remove spent blooms and refresh them with new. Additionally, your planner and your family are busy doing other things. This shouldn’t be their responsibility.
Ground-based pieces around cake table
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
We can design a beautiful, unique wedding environment for you. Find out more about our floral services by inquiring below!
Call me biased, but 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!
Organic, Lively Wedding at Hawthorn Estates
I love weddings I’m hired for full scale event design, I love working at Hawthorn Estates, and I really love working with couples from out of town. Truly, Liz and Dan’s wedding was pretty perfect for me and I looked forward to it for a long time.
When I’m working on an event design plan, I often find myself focusing on colour and texture, the floor plan, and rentals options. I want to create an event that has the perfect atmosphere for you (for this, fun and lively atmosphere!), and is a combination of elevated and realistic.
I’m excited to share Liz and Dan’s organic, lively wedding at Hawthorn Estates!
I love weddings I’m hired for full scale event design, I love working at Hawthorn Estates, and I really love working with couples from out of town. Truly, Liz and Dan’s wedding was pretty perfect for me and I looked forward to it for a long time.
When I’m working on an event design plan, I often find myself focusing on colour and texture, the floor plan, and rentals options. I want to create an event that has the perfect atmosphere for you (for this, fun and lively atmosphere!), and is a combination of elevated and realistic.
I’m excited to share Liz and Dan’s organic, lively wedding at Hawthorn Estates!
Photos by Izabela Rachwal
Don’t these bouquets perfectly set off the bridesmaid dresses? My favourite wedding parties are always those that are dressed in the palette, rather than all matching exactly.
Colour is always where I start when I design a wedding. Putting together the perfect palette makes me so excited and gets my head in gear for the rest of the design elements. Liz really wanted soft, romantic tones, and I wanted to add in some mauve and brown tones for depth. As you can see from my palette above, we ended up with soft sage greens, blushes and peaches, light pink, mauve, and moving into taupes and browns.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: So much locally grown! Lisianthus, foxglove, zinnias, cosmos, dianthus, with ranunculus, roses and garden spray roses, and olive foliage.
The church (like most churches!) has a lot going on. The stage and altar are quite wide, giving us lots of space to work with.
I knew we’d be fighting against the red tones, but that’s just the nature of the church! The back wall is really quite beautiful, and the angled architecture brings the natural focus to the front, so I simply aimed to bring in brightness and colour through the florals.
Ground-based floral pieces lined the front of the altar, incorporating the full colour palette and similar flowers to the bouquets, while adding in more height and fullness.
Guests were welcomed into cocktail hour in the solarium at Hawthorn, greeted with a polaroid guest book along with custom cocktails (featuring locally grown floral garnish!) and oyster bar.
Inside at the reception, I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do with the design. Hawthorn is a warm space, but too often styled in exactly the same way. I wanted to use more saturation, punches of feminine colour, a great floor plan, and a few focal moments to make the wedding design more interesting, leading to a more engaging atmosphere. Situating the dance floor in front of the head table made for a perfect space for the party to get going!
First up on my to-do list, was minimize the “rustic” vibe that people often play to at Hawthorn, and create a welcoming, elegant Italian-inspired atmosphere instead. I focused my attention to the floor plan, allowing the fireplace and the stone to have its moment.
The fireplace is the natural focal point in the room — when you walk into Hawthorn, the first thing anyone sees is this very large, very gorgeous fireplace. Why on earth it’s ever relegated to the side of the floor plan is beyond me, but most people choose to not use it as a design focal point.
So, I knew I wanted to place our head table in front of it, and created a large floral piece on the mantle.
Guest tables alternated between two long feasting tables perpendicular to the head table, and round tables around the exterior of the room.
The tablescape base focused on natural, organic textures of linen and velvet. I added in fluttery florals and warm candlelight, with stone table numbers and handmade paper place cards.
I loved the combination of taupe and mauve linens, combined with the mahogany chairs. The depth that the mauve brings brought the elegant elevation that Liz was after, and created a really luscious base for the fluttery pink florals. I added in sandstone candles in fluted glass hurricanes, ribbed stem vases and soft pink ceramic compotes, and vintage floral inspired table lamps.
A few little touches that I loved adding — this funky little floral base around the heart shaped cake, and the calligraphy seating chart on linen hung with pink silk ribbon.
Handing your bridal bouquet to you is one of my favourite parts of the day — Liz was SO excited, so joyful, and so ready for their wedding. And she sure loved the bouquet, which was everything I could have wanted!
Liz and Dan live in the US, so we planned everything long distance. Thank goodness for Google Meet! But it really went so smoothly — once the design plan is put together and approved, I take the reigns on getting all the quotes and proposals we need from other vendors, and then tie up all the design details so that on the wedding day, the couple has nothing to worry about!
If you’re interested in more about my event design services and if it’s the right option for your wedding, check out my services here.
Izabela Rachwal Photography ~ Stone House Creative ~ Hawthorn Estates ~ Studio Lavender Design ~ Kind REgards Calligraphy ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Collective Event Rentals ~ Jenna Rae Cakes ~ Union Table ~ Wave Sound & Lighting
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
No matter where you’re hosting your wedding, we’re up for it! We love working on private properties, restaurants, and traditional venues, creating magic in your special place. Reach out to inquire about your date availability!
Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, reach out to find out how we can create the perfect ambiance for your wedding.
How To Choose Your Wedding Florist
Every couple getting married has different priorities. And let’s be straightforward — weddings are typically expensive, and no matter what your budget is, we each care about different things and how we spend our wedding budgets are going to vary from person to person. I want to make sure that no matter how much you’re spending on your flowers, you’re spending it wisely
How to Choose Your wedding Florist
Every couple getting married has different priorities. And let’s be straightforward — weddings are typically expensive, and no matter what your budget is, we each care about different things and how we spend our wedding budgets are going to vary from person to person. I want to make sure that no matter how much you’re spending on your flowers, you’re spending it wisely (my husband is a financial planner…so we seek the balance between wise decisions with some fun expenditures around here!).
When it comes to weddings, I like to think that I know a little about a lot of things. But when it comes to wedding flowers, I know a lot. My experience in the wedding industry started in serving weddings at a golf course, and then I worked as the editor of a small, local (now defunct) wedding magazine. From there, I went on to manage the weddings for one of Winnipeg’s largest floral shops, followed by a couple of years working in sales and editorial writing for one of the largest fine art wedding blogs in the US. During this time, I started Stone House Creative, and we’re now looking towards year 11 in business! So yes, I know a fair bit. I also know that most of YOU don’t really know much about weddings. And how could you?! You probably haven’t done this before.
All that to say, let me help YOU make a wise decision on how to hire a wedding florist.
What to look for in a wedding florist:
The first thing is possibly the most basic, but often overlooked: ask yourself, what’s important to you? What’s IMPORTANT TO YOU needs to line up with the unique value that each designer offers.
For example, one of my unique values is my holistic design approach: attention to the overall and complete event design, to make sure that the florals seamlessly become part of the design. For example, I absolutely hate to see flowers placed on a cake by the baker that have absolutely no tie to the wedding flowers themselves. So I’m a proactive designer, communicating with the client and often the bakery directly what the plan is, so that your cake doesn’t stand out in a bad way. Or, you might be after the lowest quote that you can get because you don’t really care much about the flowers. Instead of inquiring with a designer like me, rather look for a florist who markets themselves as budget-friendly. The types and quality of the flowers they use are different, the design approach they take is different, and they will fill that need you have.
—Other things that may be important to you:
-a beautifully curated rentals collections that suits your aesthetic
-a focus on environmental sustainability within the florist’s business
-a small business or a larger team (*and note: all of the floral shops and studios in Winnipeg are considered “small” businesses so no matter who you choose, you’re supporting a small biz!).
-a dedicated wedding studio vs a large retail shop
-if you’ve seen their work first-hand at the wedding of a friend, that can be great!
-maybe you really need a designer to guide the entire process for you, and someone you can trust to take the reigns
prior to reaching out to florists, here’s what you need to do:
-Take a good look through their portfolio. If they don’t have a lot of images of their work readily available on their Instagram or their website, or if they don’t have a lot of images showcasing the style of design that you want, then just move on.
-One of the most important ways that you can make sure you’re going to love the florals you get on your wedding day, is if your aesthetic and the designer’s aesthetic are aligned. If you don’t love your work, then don’t bother reaching out.
-Read through their FAQs or pricing information they have on their site, to find out what type of budget range you should be expecting for the designs that you want. It’s helpful to at least have an idea of how much you absolutely CAN’T spend on your flowers.
Questions to ask a wedding Florist:
*I don’t usually have couples asking me that many questions. I think that’s likely because as we talk, most of these questions are answered. It’s better to have a great conversation with your florist, rather than pepper them like it’s a job interview. You’re hiring a creative and you need to trust their process. But if you have any red flags, then ask the questions you need answered.*
-again, what’s important to you? If keeping strict to your budget is the top priority, be CRYSTAL CLEAR about that. I’ve always got floral design ideas swirling around in my brain, but if I know that you absolutely need to stick to a strict number, then I’m not going to fill our conversations with ideas of things that you cannot afford.
-what is included in their service fees (do they deliver and set up, do they offer 1 am teardown at your venue, can you pay them to stay and flip the ceremony flowers to the reception, can you pay them to re-deliver to their brunch the next morning, mileage, etc)
-Do they offer creative and personalized design plans? If the florals and overall event design are a priority for you, then it can be really helpful to hear them talk about their design process.
-What rentals do they have in inventory that will fit your style?
-Can they take care of candles, if desired?
-How large of a team will be needed for your particular wedding? (and don’t worry if the answer is 1-2 people. Most weddings in Winnipeg are perfectly well taken care of by a floral team of 2 people).
-What sustainability practises do they follow? (and if this is important to you, then specifically ask: do you compost? Do you use dyed or preserved flowers? Do you use floral foam? If the answer is no to composting and yes to the dyed flowers and foam, then this is not the florist for you).
-Have they worked at your venue before? (Note: it’s really not crucial that a florist has worked at your venue. If we need to go and take measurements of a fireplace mantle or consider how we’ll suspend a hanging piece, then we can do that. It doesn’t mean you can’t trust someone who hasn’t worked at your venue yet. BUT if the designer you’re interested in HAS worked at your venue, then it can be a bonus to be able to rely on their experience.)
-HOWEVER, if they have worked at your venue, they can often offer very valuable insight into what it’s going to take to create the look you’re going for, given the scale of the space. Someone might ask for me an arch corner piece, but if I know the venue’s arch is 10 feet wide, that corner piece is going to look like you spent $5 on it. We might need to go more. Similarly, I’ve had people ask me about doing fireplace mantle installations but I know that the mantle just doesn’t have the depth to actually add flowers to it, so it would be a waste.
-How long will it take to receive a proposal? and, what is the booking and payment process?
-Don’t ask if they offer packages. That’s a very 1990s thing. Pretty much no florist offers a set package anymore; we’re designing for you, and figuring out what you love and dream of. It’s going to be a custom quote, baby.
When to hire A wedding floral designer:
There’s not really a wrong time to hire your floral designer, but generally: if you’re particular about your flowers and the florist you hire, then book earlier. If you’re not picky, then you can hold off a bit. My clients usually seek me out for my elevated approach and unique designs, and flowers are a budget priority for them, which means that my calendar is usually booked farther in advance. I typically book 6-18 months in advance of your wedding, with a lot more date flexibility in the off months (November through April).
Bonus Question:
If you need recommendations on other vendors to hire, then don’t hesitate to ask your florist for referrals! Vendors have the inside track on which other vendors have similar work processes, or who they work well together with. You can usually trust a referral from a vendor a lot more than a referral from a past client.
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
If what you’re looking for is a designer to guide the vision for your wedding, come and ask me any questions you want — I might just be your girl. I offer custom designs, creative and unique design boards that communicate the vision, have countless testimonials that speak to the creative trust the client had in me, and I also just love what I do.
Reach out to check your date!
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!