Tag: flower cost

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The Top 4 Worst Ever Wedding Flower Tips from the Internet

Purple Wedding Bouquet by Garden by the Gate, photo KristinLeanne Photography

The internet is your friend. When planning a wedding you simply can’t live without the tried and true stalwarts of the wedding world; sites and blogs like The Knot, Wedding Wire, Style Me Pretty, and of course Martha. But there are a few duds out there. I’m not going to call them out here, but I’ll just anonymously share some of their worst advice. Where do they get this stuff? They clearly didn’t interview any florists before writing these clunkers.

Dud Number 1

 “Try to have a meeting with your florist two weeks prior to your event so you can get a true sense of what is in season that close to your special day. ”

Wrong on so many levels! Two weeks before your wedding, your flowers have been ordered, your arrangements and bouquets carefully planned down to the last stem of stock. Your florist knows what is in season during your wedding, he or she doesn’t need to wait until the flowers are ready to ship from the farm to find out. If you’re living on the edge, trying to get, say, peonies in January, then there might be some last-minute shuffling.

Dud Number 2

“In season, fluffy-headed blossoms like hydrangeas and peonies can stretch a budget, because you need only a few to nicely fill a vase. “

This one is part dud and part true. Hydrangeas are HUGE, and not very expensive, so they do give you a lot of bang for your buck. I use them in practically every wedding. Peonies, however, are never cheap, even when at the height of their season, despite what the wedding websites may say. That said, they are beautiful, fragrant, and are a favorite with brides. I suggest that they be used in bouquets where their beauty and fragrance will be most appreciated. If you are on a budget, substitute less expensive flowers in table and ceremony decor. I love white cremones, which are a type of large mum.

Dud Number 3

” One costly mistake people make is adding the word “wedding” before everything . . . “

This little dud would have you believe that florists mark up the flowers just because they hear the word ‘wedding.’ Wedding flowers are special and they require specific techniques of designing, ordering, conditioning, and arranging. They are not your cash and carry grocery store bouquet. This is really a disservice to the floral industry; florists are not rip-off artists just looking to separate you from your hard-earned dollars. Believe me, we could find a more lucrative way to make a living if that were all that mattered. We are florists because we love beauty, we love to create, and we are wedding florists because we want to make your wedding day very special. The best thing you can do is be honest and upfront about your wants and budget. Then we can do our best to give you the best of both worlds.

Dud Number 4

This little gem was written by a wedding photographer:

” It is no secret that wedding flowers can be very expensive . . .”

Well, they certainly don’t want you thinking about how expensive your photography package is! (Community, not competition people!) Everyone wants to get the best photographer they can afford because “the photographs last forever”, but when it comes to flowers they’re all like “but flowers just die.” Oh really? Check out any wedding photo album and you’ll see that it’s full of pictures of, you guessed it, flowers! The bride is holding flowers, the bridesmaids are holding flowers, the men and women in the family are wearing flowers, every couple and group shot at the ceremony site shows the flowers that were used. Your flowers will last forever, just like your photos!

So where should you look for wedding flower advice? Talk to a wedding florist. Do they listen to what you’re saying? Do they try to talk you into something that doesn’t ring true or do they truly get your vision? Do they respond promptly and answer all of your questions? When you find a florist that understands you and your vision, who has a reputation for doing what they promise, then you can trust them to guide you to your perfect wedding flowers and give you a good value.

Call me today and let’s talk. I’ll give you my best effort and hope you’ll trust me to bring your wedding vision to life.

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Joy Walko, owner & lead designer
Garden by the Gate Floral Design
[email protected]
234-262-1253

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Tropicals are Trending for Weddings

For 2019 Weddings, one big trend we see is the use of tropical flowers and foliages. Since they come in almost any color, tropical flowers can be included with any color scheme. Weddings using tropical flowers do not necessarily have an island feel or rainforest vibe; tropicals can be used in tandem with many kinds of flowers and incorporated into many wedding styles. For an elegant look, tropicals are your go to. There’s nothing more elegant than a bouquet of white Phalaenopsis orchids or a tall centerpiece with stems of cascading Dendrobium orchids. In addition to orchids Anthuriums, Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise), and Ginger are striking tropical flowers.

The Protea family includes a wides variety of species that were originally found in South Africa but are now grown in many countries having a sub-tropical climate. Protea range from the delicate Blushing Bride Protea to the huge, King Protea. Pincushion Protea are another form and come in shades of orange, yellow, and red. Closely related to Protea are the Leucadendron. Grown mostly for their foliage, they come in yellows, greens, and burgundy. Safari Sunset is a popular Leucadendron that is often used in wedding flower arrangements for its range of color from green to burgundy on the same stem.

One of the most popular ways to go tropical for your wedding flowers is to use tropical foliages, with the Monstera leaf leading the way. These leaves have been the inspiration for artists like Henri Matisse and were a common motif in decorating during the golden age of Hollywood. There is a resurgence of popularity for use of the Monstera leaf and images in decor.

One of the most traditional wedding flowers, the gardenia, is actually a tropical bloom. And their scent is heavenly.

Tropical flowers and foliages are perfect for summer weddings, not only because their bright colors and lush shapes evoke an island paradise, but because they love the warm, humid weather typical in summer.

For those brides looking for cheap wedding flowers, you’ll have to get creative if you want to use tropicals. Because of their delicacy and the distances they must be shipped, most tropical flowers are on the higher end of the price scale. There are ways to incorporate tropicals without breaking the bank, however. You can often pick up potted orchids very reasonably at Walmart or other big boxes stores. A potted orchid plant can make a nice centerpiece if surrounded by candles and perhaps a few small vases of inexpensive flowers like Peruvian lilies (Alstroemeria). You can also keep the cost down by using just a few large high-impact tropical leaves like Monstera leaves surrounded by less expensive foliage such as ferns, which are also trending for wedding flowers.

Find out how Garden by the Gate Floral Design can design stunning wedding flowers for you, whether you prefer tropical, locally grown, or a mix. Fill out the Wedding Inquiry form to tell us more about your wedding ideas!

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Florals pictured by MV Floral, image by Dulcet Creative, Design by Beijos Events

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Ten Questions to Ask your Wedding Florist

As a bride looking to line up your wedding vendors, you have certainly been cruising all the big wedding websites for information and advice. Quite a few of these sites have a list of questions for you to ask your florist. One site actually has 33 questions you should ask your wedding florist! I don’t think anyone wants a four-hour consultation! But some of these questions are important and The Knot has a list of ten questions. Okay, I can handle that! And to save time in your consultation, I’ll answer them for you right now!

  1. Have you done many weddings? Yes, the Garden by the Gate has been in business for five years and we have done about 75 weddings. Weddings are almost all that we do; we also provide flowers for wedding showers, rehearsal dinners, and we have actually done flowers for a number of our previous brides’ baby showers! It’s almost like we’re part of the family.
  2. Can I see photographs or live examples of your work? Of course! We have some photo albums of our work and lots of photos on our website and Pinterest boards and on our blog. It would be kind of hard to show you an actual wedding arrangement because when we are designing a wedding, we’re way too busy to do a consultation! We like to focus on one thing at a time and give you our full attention.
  3. Have you done weddings at our ceremony or reception venue before? We may have worked at your site before, but if we haven’t, we love to take a road trip with you and check it out! We’ll look it over and together discuss what type of decoration it needs. Then we’ll talk to the venue manager and find out what is allowed, when we can begin, when things have to be removed, etc.
  4. How many weddings are you handling on the same day or weekend as mine? Will you simply be dropping off flowers, or will you be helping set up too? We only do one wedding per weekend, because that’s the way we like it. We’ll concentrate on your event alone. Wedding florists who do several weddings per weekend do a great job, too, because they have the staff to do it.
    Our prices always include delivery and set-up, unless you are more than 30 miles away from our studio, then there is a delivery charge.
  5. How do you like to work with clients? We treat our clients like friends; we sit around the table and get to know you as a person and as a couple before we start talking about your wedding flowers. Then we want to know all of your thoughts and ideas. We even want to know what you don’t like! There is never a charge or limit on consultations. Before we meet the first time, we start a Pinterest board for you and start gathering ideas. We invite you to pin on it too! But we give it a secret name so it’s just between us and anyone you want to invite. After we find out what you want, we will send you a detailed proposal that includes a slide show with inspiration pictures and photos of the flowers we might use. An itemized quote shows the prices of the individual items. This is a working document that we work with until it is to your liking.
  6. Are you willing to work within my budget? We can almost always come up with a proposal within your budget. Sometimes that means different flower choices or it might mean scaling down some aspect of the decor, such as having flowers only on every other table. The most important thing is to be open about why you want some changes in the proposal and we’ll work with you.
  7. Will you be responsible for working with my venue to find out about any restrictions they may have in terms of décor and installation? Our first idea is to just ask you what the restrictions are; your venue will have given you a contract containing those rules, such as whether flame is allowed, or how things may be attached to venue property. If it is something more complex, we’ll be glad to talk directly to the venue manager.
  8. What other services do you offer? We would LOVE for you to ask us this. We can provide many things besides flowers, such as table runners, rental of chalkboards, lanterns, candleholders, backdrops, cake stands, and more. We also can custom craft things like escort cards, table numbers, banners, or custom water bottles. Check out the rentals page.
  9. Who will handle setup and delivery? What about breakdown? How long will you need for both, and what are the fees? We do all the setup and delivery for you. Breakdown the night of the wedding is an extra charge (you’ll feel it’s well worth it when your friends and family can walk away from it all at the end of the evening). Timing depends on the individual event, but if time is short, we’ll bring on extra helpers.
  10. What happens to the flowers after the wedding? It’s really up to you, but it is something we need to talk about early on. If you want to send your centerpieces home with your guests, then we’ll need to include the cost of the containers in your price. If you are renting the containers, we’ll discuss the return timeline. We can also donate your flowers to our local assisted living home for the elderly or disabled. They love to see the beautiful flowers and it’s so much better than tossing them in the trash!

Have more questions? Check out our FAQ page, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. If you’d like to find out what we can do for you, start by filling out the wedding inquiry form.

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Three Tips to Save Money on your Wedding Flowers

Loren Jackson Photography

Wedding blogs and magazines

are full of articles about how to save money on your wedding flowers. Some of these have useful information, but some of it is inaccurate or incomplete. The best advice I can give brides today is that your greatest ally in keeping your flower budget under control is us, at the Garden by the Gate. That may surprise you, but it’s true! As experienced professionals, we know THE BEST ways to save money on your flowers and we will never steer you into anything that isn’t going to be beautiful. After all, our reputation is on the line every time flowers go out of the studio to a wedding or event. We want your guests to be wowed by your wedding decor just as much as you do.
Three tips for saving money on wedding flowers

Spend your money where you can make the biggest impact, both for your guests on the day of your wedding and in the wedding pictures that you’ll cherish for years to come. Of course, if your budget allows, by all means, go all out and have every gorgeous flower you desire! It will be a beautiful, fabulous day that you’ll never forget. But if you need to trim the budget a bit, we can advise you. One thing that usually isn’t seen in pictures, and not always noticed by guests, is the aisle decor. So flowers on every pew or a thick carpet of rose petals are some things you may wish to forgo. In a church wedding, overly decorating the altar area is not always necessary, after all, the time spent there isn’t nearly as long as at the reception.  A couple of arrangements that can be moved to the reception site are an economical way to go.

 At the reception, it’s not always necessary for every table to have the same centerpiece. You can alternate large or tall arrangments with low, less expensive ones. Another good idea is using a grouping of candles on alternate tables. Pillar candles are a striking look, but they are relatively expensive; for more savings, consider using floating candles instead.  We always make sure to use unscented candles; you don’t want any additional smells in the air in addition to the food, flowers, and guests’ perfumes.

Another way that we can help keep within your budget is by the types of flowers that are used. For example, garden roses are about three times the price of long-stemmed roses. White hydrangeas are about half the price of fancy-colored ones, so we may use white hydrangeas then use other flowers to bring in your color scheme. Of course, if this is your first time planning an event as important as your wedding, you don’t know all these things but you can trust us to steer you in the right direction. After all, that’s the most important thing about choosing your florist; having faith and confidence that we have your best interests at heart.

At the Garden by the Gate, one of our strengths is the relationship that we build with our clients. We want to be your ally and advocate for having the wedding that is exactly what you have been dreaming of. If you are interested in finding out what we can do to bring your vision to life, start by filling out the wedding inquiry form.