How Much Do Wedding Flowers Cost in Manitoba
Over the years, I’ve written multiple blog posts about wedding flower budgets in Manitoba, how much bouquets actually cost, ideas for maximizing your flower budget, and more. I personally think those posts are extremely helpful…except for the fact that in this post-(ish)Covid world w’ere living in, with inflation and costs being what they are, literally everything has changed.
So, I figured it was time to revisit the topic of what wedding flowers actually cost in Manitoba, and hopefully it’s a good time of year for you as you’re planning your 2023 and 2024 weddings!
The other day, I was talking with a wedding planner friend of mine. I had just received an inquiry that was so unrealistic in her budget expectations that I had to vent about it. Her answer was amazing, and it’s everything that you need to keep in mind:
“If you’re planning a wedding in 2023, you have to be willing to spend 2023 money.”
AKA if you’re planning a 200 person wedding at a high end venue, and your floral requests are “lush and full,” you absolutely cannot expect to spend less than the $2500 budget this particular bride had budgeted. In fact, you can’t expect to spend less than probably $7000.
To be clear, inflation hasn’t risen so much that a $2500 budget from a few years ago is now equivalent to a $7000 budget…it’s definitely risen BUT that $2500 budget wouldn’t have been sufficient for that bride’s floral wish list for at least the last 15 years. Maybe never, I don’t know. I’ve only been doing this for 12 years 😉
So, here we go. What do wedding flowers, in Manitoba, in 2023 and beyond, ACTUALLY COST?
Figuring out how much to budget for your wedding flowers can be a major challenge — for most newly engaged couples, it's just going to be a major shot in the dark. Most of the online resources available are in American dollars, from very different markets than we are in, and are written by magazine editors — not florists — who haven't bothered to do their research on how much things actually cost, making their supposedly helpful suggestions to be completely unrealistic. Some of the big magazines and wedding planning sites offer "helpful" wedding budget breakdowns, with a suggestion for spending 10-20% of your overall budget on flowers, but there's a big difference between 10 and 20%!
So, before you even try to figure out a preliminary wedding flower budget, start here:
1) Figure out your priorities and what aspects of the flowers you really care about, and what aspects may be less important.
2) Understand that your budget needs to match your wants and needs list. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on flowers (which is perfectly fine! I was a budget bride, too!), you can't expect the world.
Probably the worst part of my job is finding a way to delicately tell a couple that their wish list is just way too enormous for the amount of money they're comfortable spending. While I adjust some prices on my end, most of what I have to charge is set by the growers and the wholesalers. There are a LOT of hard costs in this industry, which means that as much as we would love to, your floral designers can't just give you everything you want without a price tag attached to them. If you take just one thing away from this entire post, please know this: we aren't trying to rip you off. Believe me, we don't make a lot of money, especially when compared to the intensive work we do. There are simply very definite hard costs in the floral industry, and that just kind of sucks, because it means that we can't necessarily give you as much as we would honestly love to!
There are many things to consider that contribute to the overall amount of money you're spending on wedding flowers, including:
-The flowers themselves (duh).
-The amount of items your florist needs to make (8 bridesmaid bouquets add up really quickly!).
-The time of year (sorry to everyone who wants to get married in February, but all growers increase wholesale flower pricing for the month of Valentine's!).
-What your style is (some design styles require a lot more or less floral than others).
-The supplies required to create a design (you'd be surprised at how much time floral designers spend in Rona!).
-There's also, unfortunately, the border crossing factor. While I love to use locally grown flowers as much as possible, there are many things that just don't grow here in Manitoba. Anytime a flower crosses the border, there are increased expenses. It's a bummer, but a simple reality. What a florist in California might pay $0.50 per stem for, I have to pay $1.50 for.
-You're also paying for the service that you receive and the experience and expertise of the floral designer you've chosen. Perhaps you've chosen to work with someone who's been working with flowers for 15 years. Their experience deserves a higher pay grade. You'd expect to pay an experienced accountant more than a brand new one, wouldn't you? Or maybe you've chosen someone based on their creativity and the unique designs they create. Part of what you're paying for is their brain, which no one else has - being able to access their creativity is a benefit to you!
-Set up and delivery has a price tag attached to it, too (more on this coming in a future post!).
So, how much do wedding bouquets cost?
The graphic below has long been one of my favourites, though the pricing is no longer relevant. My wholesale costs have risen, on average, 30% this past year. So, add 30% minimum to each of these bouquets and I guess you’d be closer to accurate pricing; $150 is now $200, $250 is now $325, and $350 is now $455. The graphic is still a great visual comparison. For those of you who like a certain style but aren't so picky about the types of flowers that are used, be sure to take a closer look - this might give you some thoughts on how you can lower your overall budget!
For reference, my bridal bouquet pricing now starts at $300 each, with some exceptions.
Quill + Oak, a florist friend of mine in Ontario, recently put together this comparison on centrepiece sizing and pricing, and it's also a pretty good estimation on what you could expect to receive in Manitoba!
Floral designs by Quill + Oak | Photos by Olive Photography
I’d suggest that if you’re looking for a nice, medium sized centrepiece, you start your budget at $100 each. A bud vase trio can be more cost-effective, while a tall arrangement you’ll want to budget minimum $150 each, and keep in mind that that is the bare minimum and not the lush, full arrangement you’re seeing on Pinterest and Instagram.
Candles are always a must-add, in my opinion. Whether you’re looking at taper candles, pillar or floating candles, or simple votives, aim for 3-7 per table depending on the centrepiece design and combine smaller votives with larger/taller candles for a more interesting look. But there’s this misconception that candles are the cheap option…I mean, if you’re doing 1 candle on a table, sure. That’s $10-$15. But that’s not what’s shown in the inspo pic that you’re giving me…you’re probably showing me something with $75 worth of candles and rental, per table. Just keep that in mind.
If you’re looking for an arch of some kind, those price ranges can vary wildly. A full floral arch is going to be a minimum of $1500 - $2000, but I’d really suggest planning on $3000+ if you want full coverage. If you like the idea of a single floral piece added to an arch, plan for at least $500 per piece.
So, let's get down to IT. How much can you expect to spend on wedding flowers in Manitoba?
For full service florals (bridal party and family flowers, ceremony decor, reception decor), my clients are spending an average of $7000 + taxes. This might not apply to your specific needs, your guest list, your vision, but I hope that’s helpful as you budget!
And if you need to reduce your spend, here are my top tips for lowering your wedding flower quote:
-Cut out all boutonnieres and corsages. They’re small details that don’t get much attention and are kind of tacky and outdated, anyways.
-Cut or reduce your bridesmaids’ bouquets. I’ve had quite a few weddings this year opt for single roses just for the girls to have something in their hands walking down the aisle. At this Spanish-inspired wedding, the women carried hand fans and it was so chic!
-Create a couple of large, focal design moments that your guests will interact with, that will set the tone, and simplify the rest. Scaled back candle centrepieces are all you need if you’ve got a killer hanging installation above. Forgo aisle flowers and increase the arch. Eliminate boutonnieres and corsages to add a beautiful floral arrangement at your welcome table.
-Forget about the lie that greenery is cheap. It’s not. Costs on foliage have risen so high that I honestly can’t afford to include much greenery in my floral orders anymore. You get WAY more bang for your buck with colourful floral than you ever will with a couple of stems of greenery.
-Cut out the flowers on your signage. For the last maybe 5 years, everyone has wanted a “floral or greenery touch” on their welcome sign, their seating chart sign, etc etc. Man, this is a waste (in my opinion). Unless you have the budget to really make this special, save the $150 and push it to something that will actually be noticed and make your design more impactful.
Here's what I offer to clients:
-Full Service Floral Design (with a minimum investment budget of $3500)
-Event Design (in addition to floral design, and you can find out more about that here!)
I would love to discuss your wedding flower needs. I can help you narrow down your style, determine what are the most important aspects of the flowers to you (and therefore, where you should focus your budget and where you can reduce your spending), and also come up with some great ideas for unique designs that your friends didn't all have at their weddings.
I’m currently booking 2023 weddings, and have a waitlist started for 2024 weddings (I’ll be opening up those bookings in January or February).
Don't hesitate to reach out by clicking the button below!