Wedding Planning Checklist:
What To Consider Before Meeting With Your Florist
Congratulations on your engagement!
A wedding is an exciting, memorable occasion but one that requires thorough and thoughtful planning. For many brides and married couples to be, acquiring flowers and booking a florist capable of capturing and executing their vision can appear simple–deceivingly so.
To borrow from Walt Disney, “There is no magic in magic, it’s all in the details.” Let us pull the curtain back and share what it takes to achieve seamless and stunning floral designs that are an expression of you and your partner on your most important day!
Booking an experienced florist is key to eradicating floral anxiety, of course. But before booking your first meeting, thought and preparation is essential. We’ve created a thoughtful and comprehensive checklist–drawn from many years of experience–to help you and your partner navigate the wedding planning process.
Attention to all your details upfront coupled with an awareness of budget, timing and overall expectations ensures on your very special day, your wedding florals are personal, and fabulous!
1. What is Your Budget?
This piece of the planning puzzle must be addressed as early in the process as possible. Budgetary information is vital and allows your florist to match your vision with the resources available. A full-service florist like Copper Penny Flowers is part of the process from beginning to end, coordinating with other vendors and providing a delivery team that includes one or more professional designers on site for set up. Your full-service florist is handling the following:
- Floral and greenery availability [What’s in season? At what cost?]
- Equipment rental [Arbor, chuppah, lanterns, pedestals, table numbers, vases, votives]
- Timing and proper staffing [When are the venues available for set-up]
- Flower delivery and set-up [Are their multiple locations?]
- Coordinating your vision with other vendors [Where’s the cake?]
- Pick up fee for any rental items afterwards [Immediately after the event or next day]
Ironing out all these details allows your florist to take you and your partner out of the process as much as possible–less stress!–so that you can concentrate on other things.
In general, you should expect flowers and decor to cost 10-20% of your overall budget but the three items that most impact the budget are:
- Size of guest list
- Size of wedding party
- Any special requests for large ticket item
In our experience, we find that for full-service weddings of 100 to 125 guests with bridal parties of two to three attendants, the cost of wedding flowers starts around $5,000 (which includes tax, set up and delivery). Weddings with larger guest counts, wedding parties, arbors or other large floral installations, or with multiple delivery locations, rental items, or venues requiring staff to stay on site to transition or pick up, should budget $7000 and up. Our average wedding is a $7000-8000 event.
What floral designs fit your special event? Numbers will come into play for your budget; if you have five bridesmaids and five groomsmen you need to multiply!
- Bridal bouquets $200 – $450
- Bridesmaids bouquets $90 – $140
- Flower girl ringlets $60 – $100
- Corsages $35 – $50
- Boutonnieres $20 – $30
- Table centerpieces (low) $100 – $250
- Table centerpieces (high) $250 – $500
- Garlands (priced per foot) generally $20 – $50 per foot
- Ceremony arrangements $250 – $500
- Escort card table arrangements $200 – $500
- Cocktail table arrangements $25 – $75
- Arbor or chuppah rentals $350 – $3000
- Arbor florals $350 – $3000
- Table number rentals $3 – $7 each
- Votive candles $3 – $15 each
Couples should note that if they are going to hire a florist whose location is more than 15 miles away from their ceremony and reception location, they will pay additional delivery fees for time and travel. Multiple delivery locations will also incure additional delivery fees. At Copper Penny Flowers, we offer an option for flowers to be picked up with a packing fee.
- Set up and delivery 15 – 25% of total
- Pick up packing fee 7% of total.
For couples planning an intimate wedding or not in need of our full service, we invite you to shop our Wedding Boutique for a la carte floral designs created in Copper Penny Flowers signature style.
2. What Is Your Vision?
Working with a bigger budget means more leeway in terms of the types of flowers and greenery to choose from. Prices vary greatly, and demand for flowers and greens in peak months drive up the price.
At one time, the floral industry developed three general categories of flowers, standard, premium and deluxe florals, largely related to the price of the blooms. With flower prices and availability ever changing, these categories have become more fluid. Also be aware that premium green prices can be comparable to premium floral prices. Copper Penny Flowers is a boutique floral design studio working almost exclusively with premium and deluxe blooms and greenery. Examples of such florals and greenery would include:
Roses, spray roses, garden roses, delphinium, stock, hydrangea and Dutch hydrangea, lilies, hyacinth, foxglove (in season), zinnia (in season), peonies (in season), dahlias, ranunculus, clematis, lilac, hellebore, astilbe, anemone, jasmine, parrot and French tulips, freesia, stephanotis, orchids, sweet peas, pittosporum, ruscus, eucalyptus, olive, bay laurel, maidenhair fern, fiddlehead fern, sea star fern, and magnolia.
3. When Should You Meet With a Florist?
This varies depending on the size of the wedding, the season and how prepared you are. For example, if you’re planning a large wedding in wedding season and wish to use a specific florist, then you should consider booking at least a year in advance. Planning a wedding May to October, the busiest wedding months? Book your florist ASAP, and expect to pay a nonrefundable deposit to hold the wedding date. The earlier you book the more selection you will have for a florist.
Once booked, most couples will meet with their florist four to six months prior to their wedding day. If it’s a smaller wedding with uncomplicated arrangements, two to three months can be sufficient. But again, it depends on the season, so working ahead will always be in your best interest.
Ideally, when you meet with your florist you’ll want to have the following details in hand:
- Date of wedding
- Location of ceremony and reception
- Number of guests
- Number of attendants in the wedding party
- Your budget
- Specific thoughts, ideas and inspiration with regards to wedding florals
How We Work at Copper Penny Flowers
We are a multi-award-winning boutique florist with locations in historic Concord, MA, and near Kennebunkport, ME, providing fresh flower arrangements for weddings and events of all kinds. Our highly-experienced floral designers have a penchant for detail and a discerning eye for design, color, and the latest trends to create custom florals and floralscapes for the wedding of your dreams. Included in our pricing structure:
- Ongoing one-on-one consultation
- Creation of Pinterest page and design board
- Dedicated lead floral designer
- Personalized sample appointment
- Coordination with other vendors
- Delivery and set up
Our peak wedding months are June, September, and October, closely followed by May and August. During wedding season, May through October, a typical Copper Penny Flowers custom wedding with set up and delivery starts at $5000-8000. For weddings November through April, our minimum is more flexible for smaller weddings, weddings more local to Concord, or if flowers are picked up at the shop with no delivery or set up.
To initiate the process of getting to know each other, we ask our couples to schedule an appointment to discuss plans and ideas for the wedding in question – please review the prior section for guidance on what information to bring. A picture is worth a thousand words. We don’t need flower names from you. We just want to know what you like! The appointment can be video conference, phone call, or in person and scheduled for daytime or evening to fit your schedule
During this initial appointment, owner Jennifer Eaton covers an overview of our services, a brief discussion and preliminary estimate of potential floral cost, and a a brief overview of popular wedding flowers. We ask that you come prepared for this session with a wedding date, color palette, and basic floral budget. Moving forward from the initial appointment, we craft an estimate based on our detailed discussion. To secure your date and Copper Penny Flowers as your wedding florist, you return a signed contract with a $1000 nonrefundable deposit.
How important are flowers to your wedding day?
If flowers are not a critical piece of your vision, the full-service Copper Penny Flowers custom floral artistry may not be the match for your event. If you are looking for a simpler approach, consider picking from our newly launched a la carte Wedding Boutique, where you can order as little as a single bridal bouquet. Please allow a minimum of two weeks lead time for us to obtain premium seasonal fresh goods and designate design time to create your custom pieces. Designs can be ordered up to one year in advance; for orders beyond this time frame, please call us. Three color palettes are available: Whites and Neutrals, Seasonal Pastel, or Seasonal Bold. Pick up is available at our full-service shop in Concord, Massachusetts, or our design studio near Kennebunkport, Maine. Your flowers will be packed for transport; there is a 7% packing charge.
Ready to Get Started?
So are we. Please use the button below to schedule a consultation and start the process. Be prepared with two dates and times when you can be fully present. Choose dates at least a week beyond your inquiry date. This is your opportunity to share your vision for your day! We’re excited to discuss your wedding details, bring clarity to your vision, and create the day of your dreams!