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The challenge with ceremony flowers is that they're used for a very short amount of time in comparison to the rest of your reception flowers. Sometimes you can reuse your ceremony pieces at your reception, but some churches ask that your flowers remain at the ceremony as a donation. There are quite a few options to consider when designing your ceremony flowers:
Altar Arrangements
Aisle Adornments
Aisle Runner
Entrance Arrangements
Entrance Wreaths
Chuppah
Arbor Flowers
From our previous post about flowers for your wedding, here is what you should expect to spend depending on your overall wedding budget:
$2,000.00-$2,500.00 8%-10% of an under 25k overall wedding budget (based on 25k)
$3,000.00-$3,750.00 8%-10% of a 25k-50k overall wedding budget (based on 37.5k)
$5,200.00-$6,500.00 8%-10% of a 50k-80k overall wedding budget (based on 65k)
$8,000.00-$10,000.00 8%-10% of an 80k and up overall wedding budget (based on 100k)
You should expect to spend about 10% on your ceremony flowers. That would break down to:
$200-$250.00 - under 25k overall wedding budget
$300-$375.00 - 25k-50k overall wedding budget
$520.00-$650.00 - 50k-80k overall wedding budget
$800-$1,000.00 - 80k and up overall wedding budget
Altar Arrangements: Probably the most popular choice for ceremony flowers, altar arrangements are used to bring the focus to the bride and groom. They can be used at any location, indoors and outdoors. The containers can vary greatly- galvanized buckets, glass urns, silver compotes, stone or ceramic urns would work perfectly well for large-format arrangements. I would suggest larger scale blooms for these arrangements because they will be placed very far away from your guests.
Examples of large blossoms include: hydrangea, roses, spider mums, football mums, bells of Ireland, stock, dahlias. Other items that will help create a large arrangement: curly willow, bear or lily grasses, dendrobium orchids, and even some leaves - lemon, variegated pittosporum. Altar arrangements usually range in price from $75.00-$750.00 depending on the size, scale and type of flowers.
flowers by Flora Fauna
photo by megan dey photography
flowers by Flora Fauna
photo by Linsday Flanagan Photography
Aisle Adornments: Although these aren't necessary, aisle adornments add a lot to your ceremony decor. Some people use these adornments to delineate VIP seating, others use them for aesthetic purposes only. The simplest option here is ribbon - either in a bow form or in a simple knot with tendrils to the floor.
Expect to pay around $10.00-$15.00 per ribbon. You can then “upgrade” and add fresh flowers to your ribbons. A simple option would be a single hydrangea blossom for each of your ribbons, which will cost you $15-$25.00 per ribbon and hydrangea. Adding more flowers to each aisle adornment adds costs. You can also create arrangements in containers that can be tied to a chair or pew, or they can be placed on the floor next to the chair or pew. Some brides want to go more ornate for their aisle adornments so you can always add more flowers to each aisle adornment. A typical range for a flower and ribbon aisle adornment can range from $15.00-$150.00 a piece. You can also add fabric and drape it from each chair for a dramatic affect. Remember, if you have aisle adornments that close off that side of your aisle for guest seating, let your ushers/groomsmen know that they have to seat your guests on the outside of each row.
photo by Melissa Koren Photography
photo by Lindsay Flanagan Photography
photo by Studio Nouveau
flowers by Floral Fauna, photo by Emilie Inc. Photography
Aisle Runner: If you wanted to add another element to your aisle, consider a runner. A simple white runner can be purchased from your florist or you can splurge and consider a colored or custom runner. We love working with The Original Runner Company in NYC. They create all of our custom runners for our clients. These runners can be cut to any length and can be hand painted with your monogram, wedding date, or even a quote. Pricing ranges anywhere from $75.00 for a standard runner from your florist to $150-$3500.00 for a custom runner.
photo by megan dey photography
photo by Claris Photography
Entrance Arrangements: Smaller versions of your altar arrangements, entrance arrangements can be placed on either side of the first pew or row of chairs or they can be placed in the foyer of your ceremony area. Pricing will range from $50.00-$500.00 per arrangement.
photo by Studio Nouveau
Entrance Wreaths: A classic wedding staple, a wreath of flowers on the door of your church is a simple and elegant statement for any New England bride. Wreaths can come in multiple sizes and shapes and the flowers used can vary from carnations, hydrangea, roses, orchids and the list goes on and on. Most wreaths will hang on a door using a coordinating ribbon. Make sure you ask your church or ceremony location if you're allowed to put a nail in their doors or if there is a nail already in place for you to use. Wreaths will range in price from $75.00-$300.00 a piece.
photo by Melissa Koren Photography
Huppah or Chuppah: A traditional Jewish wedding ceremony element, the Chuppah can be very elaborate or very simple and understated, depending on the style of your wedding. Four simple poles and a top cover is all you really need to have a chuppah, but brides will add fabric, branches, garlands of flowers, and even candles to suit their taste. Prices can range from free if it's already in the family to $7,000.00 for an elaborate, fabric and flower covered chuppah.
photo by Studio Nouveau
photo by Studio Nouveau
photo by Lindsay Flanagan Photgraphy
Arbor Flowers: A simpler version of a Chuppah, an arbor doesn't have a religious connotation and can be used for any type of ceremony. Some arbors are covered in garlands of flowers, greenery, or even simply twigs. These will range in price from $75.00-$750.00 depending on how elaborate the design. Some arbors are already existing at your ceremony location and your florist will adorn it as opposed to bringing in an arbor from scratch.
flowers by Flora Fauna
photo by Studio Nouveau
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So many beautiful ways to decorate a ceremony space! I’m sure many brides will gather inspiration from these photos!
The following comment is in no way meant to denigrate the choices of brides who spend upwards or $25K (or even upwards of $100K) on a wedding:
Why do you not have any advice for brides with budgets significantly under $25,000? Like Mrs. Bunny, by budget is somewhat less than $10K. By far, MOST brides spend much less than $25K on a wedding. When you put up a post like this, I wonder if you understand that the message you give brides like me is “Sorry, I don’t have anything for you”? Is that really the takeaway message you want to send to a large portion of your readership?
@Sarah: Kate provides general floral cost estimates for various budgets that may not include your budget, but I think the ranges she provides for each item, such as altar arrangements, wreaths, etc. are helpful for brides of all budgets?
thank you so much for this series! i am just in the process of finding a florist and it has been so helpful! 
Thank you so much for the budget guidelines I’m on a smaller budget but any advice or inspiration is ALWAYS very welcome! so thank you again for this post
I agree with Miss Bunny and Sarah - this seems high. My overall wedding budget is just under $20k - does that mean I spend $2k on flowers! I’m actually spending only $500 on flowers… budget friendly!
@Sarah: I wrote this post with every reader in mind, trying to provide valuable information to those who might not be familiar with all of the ceremony flower options that are out there. The point of this post was to give a general guideline for what certain ceremony flowers might cost. I never intended to exclude any bride’s budget. I tried to divide each budget in 20-25k increments so the under 25k budget would include certainly include a bride who has 10k total to spend. The prices of each ceremony element would apply to any bride’s budget and if a bride has 10k or less to spend on their overall wedding budget they will most likely not be spending money on ceremony flowers as they need their entire budget for their personal flowers and reception flowers- approximately $800.00-$1,200.00 for a 10k wedding budget. With a 10k budget you would have around $80.00-$100.00 to spend on your ceremony flowers which doesn’t really allow you to get a big bang for your buck. I would suggest saving your flower budget for your reception and personal flowers and either using the natural beauty of an outdoor setting or creating non-floral elements for your ceremony decor. Ribbons are inexpensive and bring in your color theme beautifully. Shells, sea glass, branches and candles are also inexpensive ways to decorate a ceremony area without spending a lot of money. If you choose to have ceremony flowers please ask your florist to reuse them for your recepetion to help save a bit of money. I hope this helps clarify my intentions and gives a little insight to everyone! PS- I think the national average of a wedding in America is currently $20,398.00 according to the Wedding Report, a wedding statistics and marketing firm, so you’re right on the money for what most brides are spending and that puts them exactly into our under 25k overall wedding budget range.
I guess I’ll log off for the night with this final thought…. the wedding industry standard for flowers is 8%-12% of your overall wedding budget. That being said, everyone has priorities and a bride is free to choose how much money they’d like to allocate for each vendor. Some will splurge on flowers, others on photography or music. It would be very challenging to write budget guidelines assuming how much a bride might want to spend on their flowers so I simply wanted to work off the industry standards. There’s nothing wrong with having 20k for an overall wedding budget and choosing to spend $500.00 or $5000.00 of it on your flowers. Each bride has their own vision and list of important elements and each bride is smart enough to plan according to that list.
@Mrs. Bunny: I would try to incorporate not so many floral elements to your ceremony flowers or if you are, make sure you can reuse them for your cocktail hour or reception… your place card table or stationary hors d’oeuvres table are great places to reuse altar arrangements. Try working with the space instead of adding a lot to it. Candles do AMAZING things without breaking the bank, and you can often times use them in the reception and then even at your home after the honeymoon! Of course, if your ceremony is important to you, by all means spend a lot of your flower budget here… just be prepared to cut back elsewhere, maybe your personal flowers or centerpieces. Hope this helps a bit. KP
Katie, I think what you said in your comments above is fantastic advice. I’m glad that you added this information!
@Kate Parker @ Kate Parker Weddings: Great advice! (sorry, just checked back and saw your response a month late!) I was fortunate in that my wedding was outside and had some giant planters with beautiful flowers on site. The only thing we did to spruce up the ceremony location was add some rose petals to the aisle. I spent about $500 on personal flowers for myself and the wedding party from a florist and an additional $50 or so buying white roses from Costco for the reception. If I was in an indoor setting, I don’t know what I would have done! :/
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Kate Parker, New Hampshire
Vendor: Wedding Planner
Website: Kate Parker Weddings
About Me: Kate Parker is the owner of Kate Parker Weddings, a wedding planning and floral and event design studio located on the Seacoast of NH. KPW specializes in simple and sophisticated weddings throughout New England and New York and also provides lighting services, paper products, custom out of town welcome baskets and music entertainment. Kate loves to work with as many details as possible- ribbon banding, monograms, favor tags etc to make each wedding unique and fabulous! She lives in Somersworth, NH with her husband Ryan, son Zachary, and chihuahua Lola. Although she doesn't have much free time, Kate loves to travel, read a good book, and entertain for close friends.
Great budgeting guidelines. What about for brides on a budget under 10K?