A SPRING + SUMMER FLORAL GUIDE BY:
Hi, I’m Naomi, Owner and Designer at Beautiful Savage Flowers. I have created this Floral Guide to help and insipre you whether it be for your upcoming wedding, special event, or if you just love creating floral bouquets...then this guide is just for you!
Why are flowers so expensive? Why are they even important? Why do I need them for my wedding? I know nothing about flowers, I don’t even know where to start. Does any of the above sound like something you have said or feel? If yes, then this Floral Guide is definitely for you. If you love flowers and are so excited to begin the process of bringing your vision to life, but just don’t know where to start…then this Floral Guide is also for you! So where to start…
Let’s begin with, “Why are flowers so expensive?” There are a lot of factors that go into flower pricing, the first being the type of flower. Flowers can be divided into these four categories: Premium, Standard, Filler and Greens/Foliage The number of flowers included in each of these categories is endless, but to help give you a general idea, here is a list for a few of the basics: Premium: Peonies, Orchids, Garden Roses and Ranunculus Standard: Classic Roses, Hydrangeas, and Lilies Filler: Lisianthus, Carnations, and Spray Roses Greens/Foliage: Eucalyptus, Ruscus, Lemon Leaf
The second factor that goes into flower pricing is the season and time of year that the flowers are being ordered. Just because our client asks us to use “seasonal” flowers, doesn’t mean that the flowers are going to be less expensive. This is a common misconception, people tend to think that “seasonal” = cheap and it does not. For example: If you are ordering flowers in the Spring, this is the best season for Peonies, but Peonies are considered a Premium flower which means they have a much higher cost than say a Classic Rose for instance.
Flower prices are also affected by several major holidays, the biggest one being Valentine’s Day. If you are planning a wedding for the month of February, there is a good chance that you will end up spending 20% - 30% more for your flowers because of the demand for flowers during this time. It won’t matter that you aren’t using the flowers for Valentine’s Day, it only matters that you are ordering them during that time of the year. Same goes for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and even Christmas and New Years.
The last factor and probably the biggest one that affects your pricing is LABOR. There is so much work that goes into creating each and every item that is ordered for a wedding and the process alone can take a week or more for some of the larger events. The process starts with a florist sitting down and using her creative talents to create designs and flower assortments that will best match each Bride’s flower vision. Once a flower proposal is accepted and confirmed, that florist than begins the process of ordering and sourcing each of the flowers she plans on using. Next she goes to pick the flowers up and bring them back to her shop. Flowers are than unloaded and processed – this means that each individual flower stem is taken out of their packaging, cleaned, given a fresh cut and put into a fresh bucket of water. From there the flowers are given time to rest, drink fresh water and open. Once the flowers have rested, they are moved into a cooler to keep then as fresh as possible. Then the actual design portion of the process begins and each of these flowers are pulled out of the cooler and put into the arrangements. Once each arrangement is complete, they are put back in the cooler and stored until it is time to deliver them.
On the day of the Bride’s event, the arrangements are taken out of the cooler and loaded up into the delivery van, driven to the event location and then unloaded. Once the flowers have arrived at the event and been unloaded, the set up portion of the process begins. Centerpieces are placed on tables, bouquets are delivered, ceremony arches are built on site and candles are lit! At this point, you might think that the florist’s job is done, but it’s NOT! Because once each Bride’s event is over, the florist needs to come back and clean up anything floral related; this is often called “strike” or “tear down”. While a person might think that doing “tear down” doesn’t sound so hard, consider the fact that the average wedding ends between 10:00pm and 12:00am…which often means that your florist will have worked anywhere from a 10 – 16hr+ day by the end of each event. And she does all of this because bringing her Bride’s flower vision to life is what she loves doing the most.
The next question, “Why are they even important…why do I need them for my wedding?” is much easier to answer. Flowers create the ambiance for your wedding. They set the mood and tone of your wedding. They are also a way of saying “Thank you” to your guests for coming out and attending your wedding. Flowers help to create a space and environment that is welcoming, beautiful and pleasant to be at. Your friends and family are there to celebrate with you, make it as enjoyable an experience for them as you want it to be for yourself.
The last question “I know nothing about flowers, I don’t even know where to start” is exactly why you are reaching out to a professional! No one expects you to know anything about flowers and this is something that you should never feel bad or embarrassed about. We, as florists, honestly do not expect our clients to even know flower names. That is what we are here for and that is why you are coming to a professional who can help to guide you through the process. All your florist needs to know is what your colors are and do you have a theme for your wedding. From there, your florist will provide flower options to help you choose flowers that will best fit your vision. Now...let’s get to the really good stuff. Flowers, colors and themes!!
For this portion of our Floral Guide we are going to show you what your best options are to create the design of your dreams for three common wedding themes: Whimsical, Modern and Rustic.
FREE FLOWING WHIMSICAL ARRANGEMENT PRICE RANGE: $150-$200
This theme allows you the freedom to get in touch with your wild side! This is the best place to use all the bright and bold colors you have always dreamed of! There is no right or wrong to Whimsical, it’s all about you and freedom of expression. Our favorite way to express Whimsy is by creating designs that are free-flowing and organic. Here is where you can also play with fun vessels in non-traditional shapes and colors. For this arrangement we chose to use a glass footed vase in a bright blue color, that added some contrast to our slightly darker pinks and yellows. For our design purposes we chose to work with the following flowers: Ranunculus, Sweet Peas, Poppies, Garden Roses, Heather, Plumosa and Bay Leaf.
Whimsical is your opportunity to just have fun with flowers and it is personally my favorite type of arrangement to make. Here is where none of the rules apply and you are free to be you and think outside of the box.
FREE FLOWING WHIMSICAL COLOR PALETTE
FREE FLOWING WHIMSICAL FLORAL SELECTION
heather
plumosa ranunculus
sweet pea
garden roses
poppies
bay leaf
MODERN ROMANCE ARRANGEMENT PRICE RANGE: $200-$250
Modern‌what we like to call “Modern Romanceâ€? The great thing about having a more Modern theme for your wedding is that this style can translate to any and all colors. You can do bright and bold colors, or stick with one solid color, like white or burgundy. For our arrangement we chose to use white, silver and black to add a more contrasting effect with light and dark. Modern relates more to the way the flowers are arranged and the style of the design. For our design purposes we chose to work with the following flowers: Peonies, Tuberose, Umbrella Fern, Phaleonopsis Orchids, Standard Roses, Black Plumosa Fern and Calla Lillies.
As you can see from our arrangement, a modern theme has a much more structured look and feel and uses flowers that display hard lines and angles, such as the Calla Lily. This is a great flower to use because it has a gorgeous contour and a softness to its stem. This helps to create structure that still achieves a smooth and romantic design while it maintains its elegant curves, texture and color.
MODERN ROMANCE COLOR PALETTE
MODERN ROMANCE FLORAL SELECTION
standard roses
phaleonopsis orchid peony black plumosa fern umbrella fern tuberose
calla lillies
MAGNOLIA CHARM ARRANGEMENT PRICE RANGE: $120-$150
Rustic...what we like to call “Magnolia Charm” Over the last several years, Rustic has definitely started to get a bad rap. When the word Rustic is mentioned, you tend to think of mason jars, burlap, lace and twine. While this is still considered the basics of Rustic, we are going to show you how to do this in a very updated, fresh and clean way.
Let’s start with our flower assortment: Scabiosa, Queen Anne’s Lace, Lisianthus, Standard Roses, Spray Roses, Ranunculus, China Mum, and Dusty Miller. As you can see we chose to illustrate this theme using the very classic colors of ivory, white and blush with soft, sage green accents. Along with these flowers we chose a rectangular vessel made out of distressed cement. Because the cement is distressed and discolored in some places, it has a “rustic” feel. Other good alternatives for a vase or vessel would be a square wooden box. The great thing about using a wooden box is that they come is so many different colors, from tan to brown, to white wash and grey.
MAGNOLIA CHARM COLOR PALETTE
MAGNOLIA CHARM FLORAL SELECTION
scabiosa
queen anne’s lace
lisianthus
standard rose spray rose china mum
ranunculus
dusty miller
Overall Spring and Summer is the perfect time of year to explore bright, bold colors or your classics such as ivory and blush. We hope that this guide has given you a close up look into various options and design styles...while also giving you some insight into the life of a florist. We know that choosing flowers for your big day or special event can be overwhelming. Hopefully by answering a few of the most commonly voiced questions, we are giving you the tools and confidence you need to create the event of your dreams. Thank you for following along! Stay tuned for our Fall & Winter Floral Guide coming later in 2019!
FLORAL DESIGNER: @beautifulsavageflowers PHOTOGRAPHER: @joekathrina CREATIVE VISUAL EDITOR: @watch.her.shine