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A recent poll we condusted showed that the budget is the #1 stress for couples. Though many of you might recognize a few of my flower budgeting wedding tips, it may be a good idea to revisit them. Here’s a few tips on how to save and still have a great event.

Modest Flowers in Abundance
This is nothing novel but I’m a firm believer that a good floral designer can make any flower (well - almost any flower) look beautiful, elegant, and timeless when you give them a chance.

One of my favorite recent designs is using a beautiful container filled with 40 stems of Peruvian Lilies, which are one of the most readily available and underused flowers. People can’t stand them because like the other modest flower (carnations) they have been treated so unfairly. Give this flower a chance.

Another great flower is the bright and sunny sunflower.

Remember also, that a few bunches of flowers here and there won’t give your florist a position to negotiate price with their wholesaler, howeve, if you do flowers in abundance in one particular hue of color, that means that a florist can order in bulk quantities. In the wholesale world, 5 bunches of flowers is not very much but 30 to 60 bunches of something has impact.

Play Nice. Be Fair. Help Vendors, Help You.
Remember the saying, “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” Well, it’s so true. Treat your vendors with professional respect and whenever possible, try to soften your “negotiations”. Diffuse potential awkwardness with sincerity, honesty, and diplomacy.

Especially in this economy, do not feel compelled to add that you are strapped financially in your conversations unless you mean it because many professional vendors already know that a budget is necessary and value is important. Vendors know that they have to be competitively priced. They know that they have to work hard to get your business. If you want to work with someone, then I think you should “hint” to them that you would like to move forward and mean it. If they want your business bad enough, they will make the effort. If you don’t want to work a vendor, tell them that you are not interested and move on. Don’t drag them along if you really don’t plan on working with them. Write a simple note of thanks and find someone you do want to work with.

Be Within Reason.
If you can’t afford a vendor because they are out of your range but you really like their style and work, ask if they can come up with some alternative solutions, but it has to be within reason. If you want a $10k wedding for $2k, that’s really going to be difficult. However, if your ideas are $5K and your budget is $4k, that’s close enough where each party might make it work.

If it’s a photographer, ask them if you cutting down on the # of hours will reduce costs. Ask a floral designer, if buying your own props, containers, candles, will that help with the invoice. (Although, I don’t recommend this for many many reasons.) When talking with a cake maker, ask them what designs are less labor intensive and will that help decrease costs. Ask a venue if you can bring in your own winel will that help costs? Ask them what tips they have to make the process easier and what might decrease costs.

Recently, I had to throw an event for my husband and I. Instead of dictating what I wanted, I asked La Mar Restaurant in SF how many people I could invite based on my budget. Having determined what the max guest count could be, I further asked the catering manager what menu I could do to get the most variety for our 32 guests. I also inquired about the difference in price between dinner and lunch service. It turned out that brunch was 20% less than dinner, so I opted for a Sunday brunch on their outdoor patio which saved a lot in terms of the wine bill and was the perfect solution for a large group.

All these things happened because I let the venue help determine what date worked best for them, what time was beneficial for them, and what types of dishes worked best with a limited budget.

Bottom line: Realistic budget, flexibility, and requests within reason helped to make an event smooth and easy on both sides. It’s a Win Win!

Downsize and Value Size
Every wedding has opportunities to downsize. There’s nothing wrong with it.  For example, you have 10 bridesmaids. If an average bouquet is $100 per bouquet, that’s $1000. Maybe you ask your floral designer to make a smaller bouquet. Make sure the bouquets aren’t labor intensive. Or how about limiting your bridal party. And doing away with traditional floral bouquets for something else (though I hope you don’t!). A smaller guest list means less tables potentially and a few less centerpieces. There are so many things that you can do. The less you order, the less you spend.

Avoid pricey shipping
Shipping some flowers from Mexico, South America is cheaper than local flowers - believe it or not. However, getting peonies from Holland’s wholesale market in the winter is going to cost you some money. If you handcuff your designer with your need to have only anemones in white with black centers, you are going to have a difficult time if the flowers aren’t readily available. If you only like mini callas in the shade of deep burgundy that are shipped from Holland or New Zealand, then it’s unlikely that there may be wiggle room for errors, late shipments, breakage or other substitutions. (These dark New Zealand mini callas can cost as much as $6.00 to $9.00 per stem)

Make sure that you give your floral designers enough floral choices so that they can make a better decision.

Hope these tips help.

Enjoy!