Wedding Flowers and why they cost so much!

I started my business as a Wedding Planner and Event Designer almost 7 years ago, one year after being in business, I also decided to take on the task of Emily Burton Designs doing in-house floral designs. I never in a million years thought I would ever “do flowers”…but see people in my industry tend to be “control freaks” yes I’m admitting it, in all honesty, we’re control freaks for the right reasons, to protect our client’s and the brand that we have worked so hard to build. (and trust me those that have built their own businesses from the ground up “working hard” would be an understatement!!!

Getting back to flowers.

Where do flowers come from?

Flowers typically are sourced and grown in and around the world. Most flowers come in from Ecuador, Holland, and California. So, let’s look at the process, step by step!

Step 1: Seeds are planted or flower was grafted and Grown in Field

Step 2: Flowers are Cut by Grower

Step 3: Flowers have to be timed and cut for peak and holidays seasons (that’s why holidays tend to be more expensive.) 

Step 4: Flowers are graded (removing bad from good.

Step 5: Flowers are then Loaded based on matching colors and sizes.

Step 6: Packaged and Sent to Shipping Location (plane, ups, fedex etc.)

Step 7: When it arrives: (see below) 

When your flowers Arrive: 

Depending on the type of flower, and where your flowers were ordered, will depend on where and how they arrive (meaning by plane, fedex, ups or etc.) If your flowers arrive via a plane, then they have to go through customs and can sometimes lay on a conveyor belt for hours (however, the cool thing is they have conveyor belt baby sitters, or at least that’s what I call them) To make it simple, the conveyor belt baby sitters are supposed to watch out for the flowers to make sure they don’t get damaged or the flowers don’t bake in the sun for a period of time. Once the flowers have gone through the entire customs process they are loaded back up on a truck to make their way to the Floral Wholesale Warehouse.

What Happens at the Wholesale Warehouse?
Once the flowers are received at the wholesaler, they are then sorted and the re-hydration process starts. All of the stems on the flowers have to be re-cut, prior to putting the flowers in water. Some flower require an ice-bath for optimal hydration, while other flowers are put in warm water and sit out so the petals can open.

{ picture above: Magnolia Flowers }

Warehouse to Florist/Floral Designer: 

Once your flowers have been ordered and received by your florist or floral designer, then the “processing” kind of starts all over again! Depending on the florist, or floral designer’s style, and they way they like to work with their flowers, or perhaps the style of the wedding or event they are executing (garden style vs. modern style)  the flowers then will be left out of the cooler to achieve different open bloom times. Some flowers you may want to have a wide open bloom, while other you may only want a half open bloom. Using different open bloom techniques will create more texture. I used to love using this method on garden themed weddings. While using a more closed bloom technique is great for a more modern approach to a bloom. Either way, there’s certainly no wrong way, it’s all about your design and application.

Whew! I’m already out of breath and the process isn’t finished.

Building Arrangements for Weddings + Events:

Before the building process even happens, a precise floral count is required to insure enough flowers are ordered for each and every piece, arrangement and or bouquet. So yes, every time you change your mind brides and grooms, that’s why this affects your overall order, hence your overall price. Next, all materials required to build your flower structures have to be accounted for and priced out and then ordered. Once all materials are in, flowers are then prepped, and it’s final time to start building the arrangements. Building your flower arrangements can take anywhere from 3 days to 1 week (depending on the size, scale and number of florists/floral designers executing the job) True story, the longest consistent time I’ve ever worked on (1) total arrangement was 3-1/2 hours. The arrangement was for Celebrity Wedding Planner David Tutera. It was an intricate all white huge centerpiece that had over 318 flowers per piece in it and it was a texture blocking wave technique I designed for Cynthia Bailey (Real Housewives of Atlanta)  I had to execute a total of (8) of these…yes I was shooting myself in the foot, and downing shots of expresso left and right.LOL!

Loading + Stabilizing for Delivery: 

The tricky part!  It’s all about gravity and balance, and sometimes speed and hitting bumps at the right angle. But yes, there’s a trick to it. I always preferred to pre-build everything so I could “juzz” or finish the final details on-sight. But some florist/floral designers prefer to build everything on-site. The loading and stabilizing process starts simple, you cut boxes and make shims with boxes, and you tape and tape some more. Once all of the boxes are cut and you carefully determine that you can fit everything in one vehicle to save on gas, then your flowers, products, and extra mechanics are loaded into the cooler first to sit, then loaded on dolley’s to be rolled to into the truck, then only to unload again.

So by this time you’ve put in about 36-48 hours in the last 3 days, after the party is over at the end of the night, which is typically about 12-1am, it’s time for breakdown.

Before I got into the industry, I didn’t think twice about the cost of a flower nor did I think about “field to table” process. I’m so glad I understand this process. I will say, after working with flowers directly for 2-1/2- years I have a whole new respect for florists and floral designers.

Even though I personally don’t design huge arrangements anymore, I do work closely with all of my contractors, pulling textures and specific flower colors in order to achieve and maximize the vision that I have created in my mind for my clients. So, potential clients, flower lovers, flower buyers, mothers of the bride, father of the bride, grooms or anyone else that wonder’s why flowers aren’t cheap I hope this helps you understand where and they why behind the costs as well as the labor of love and time that goes into making your wedding or event day flowers perfect.

xo,

Emily

Main Photography: Sarahdipity

Floral Designs: Emily Burton Designs