It’s basically impossible for someone who’s not in the floral industry to have any clue how to budget for or price out a floral installation. Let me help!

I recently had an off-putting encounter with a bride (not one of my clients), who walked into the tent at Pineridge Hollow while Deanna and I were setting up a wedding. 

She was just checking it out as her wedding was upcoming there, and she asked which floral company we were with. When I responded “Stone House Creative,” she kind of muttered “of course” and I politely responded, “was I already booked for your date?” She replied no, and kind of fumbled over the words: “you’re too expensive.” She then proceeded to say that she was willing to splurge because she wanted the ceiling covered in greenery and the tent entrance poles covered with florals and greenery exactly like she had seen me design for another wedding at the same venue last fall. 

So…she thought that I was too expensive, but hadn’t even inquired with me or received a quote from me, all at the same time as wanting TWO very labour-intensive and product-intensive installations. 

I was so confused and a few weeks later, it’s still so unsettling to me. I know that you all don’t know what goes into the costs of floral design and what it is what we do — and you don’t have to know! That’s totally our jobs. 

But there are a few lines that need to be drawn, and that’s this: don’t assume something is too expensive without looking into it, AND if you’re supposedly on a low budget (because I’m too expensive? that’s the inference I assumed from the conversation) then don’t assume that you can afford multiple large installations.  

(And to note: Stone House Creative is not really more or less expensive than any other established floral designers who specialize in weddings and use the premium quality product that I do. There are definitely companies who charge too little, but that doesn’t mean that I’m charging too much — there’s a big difference between the price tag associated with a company that undercuts or doesn’t charge for rental items, and a company like mine that is built on solid business practises and isn’t interested in going into the red to pay for other peoples’ weddings.)

This does give me the perfect opportunity to talk to you all about budgeting for installations. When a floral designer or wedding planner uses the word “installation,” we’re referring to those large focal moments that are massively eye-catching and make a huge impact on your wedding design. These are also going to be large budget line items, as they generally require a lot of labour, a lot of product, and a lot more logistical consideration than just designing a centrepiece and popping it onto a table. 

So, let’s talk about floral and greenery installations, and what they cost. 

First, I have to give the annoying caveat that every installation is going to cost a completely different amount than the next. The very nature of an installation is that it’s 100% customized to the space, the product used, the amount of time and labour it takes to put together, and so on. 

Second, I’ll give the broad-scale notice that nothing large is “cheap.” Ever. Nothing. You can look at a very floral-heavy installation and think “if she makes it out of carnations, it’ll be cheap.” That’s just not true — large, statement making pieces require a TON of product, time, expertise, and labour, and none of that is inexpensive. It’s like if you’re buying a car, and you think “a Mercedes is too expensive for my budget; I’ll get a Corolla instead,” but then you upgrade to literally every single premium option in that Corolla, you’re still going to be spending a lot of money. It’s still not cheap. 

Greenery on Ceilings

If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest or Instagram looking for wedding inspo, you’ll have seen images of tents or ballrooms with greenery vining across the ceiling. It can be incredibly gorgeous, yes! 

Here’s what you’re not thinking about: the rigging or lighting company needs to first go up on ladders or a lift, and install cables or line for the florist to then go up and attach the greenery to. This takes them a few hours. 

Then the floral designer gets up on the ladder or the lift and attaches the greenery. This takes a few hours, and at least 3 staff. And not everyone is comfortable getting up on a ladder! 

Now, the vining greenery that we often use for this type of work is called smilax. It comes in a large quantity, often in a giant garbage bag crammed into a cardboard box. It does not come in smaller quantities. You can’t just get a small bit of it. It’s also covered in thorns, and twisted up in vines and it’s really time consuming to carefully pull apart to get the right pieces. And quite frequently, by the time it gets to us in Manitoba, it’s partially rotten and so we have to buy more to account for this.

Based on the amount of product that we have to order, the absolute bare minimum that you’ll need to invest in ceiling greenery is $1000, and that’s just the cost of product. That’s not including labour, time, or logistical needs like renting a scissor lift. Depending on how large of a space you’re covering, or how dense you want the coverage, this is most likely not going to be nearly enough. Without knowing anything about your space, I’d suggest budgeting at least $3000 for anything on the ceiling. This could easily go up to over $8000 depending on the size of space you’re working with.

Tent Entrances or Staircase Installations

I love a good tent entrance moment ✨ Read more here to find out why (and some of my other favourite ways to design a tent wedding!). 

Tent entrances and staircase installations are relatively similar in the way that we have to design. Basically we need to take the amount of space that we’re designing (50 stairs approx 12 inches deep each, or 2 tent poles approx 8 feet high, etc) and then figure out how much product we need per foot, and multiply that by the dimensions we’re working with. We also need to consider how much volume we’re using, if we’re trying to camouflage something like a tent cable, and so on. 

Another important question to ask is, are we using all greeneries/foliages or are we incorporating floral, or is it entirely floral? This is going to affect the final cost, as well as how long it’s going to take, what the mechanics are, what needs a water source, and so on. A tent entrance could likely start around $2500 for a foliage-focused design, while I’d suggest that a full staircase installation like the photos you’re looking at on Pinterest would start more around $10k.

Hanging Installations

Hanging installations can come in many shapes and sizes. This season alone, we’ve done medium to large pieces hanging over a bar or a head table, to greenery-dense grids hanging over a dance floor, to floral clouds hanging over an aisle. You can see how it’s impossible to give a blanket quote for these types of things. 

7 years ago, when I started doing a lot of hanging ceremony installations at the now closed Cielo’s Garden, I priced them starting at $500. Just as with every other industry in the world, floral costs have increased much since then. 

If you’re wanting a single hanging piece over a head table or a bar, for example, I’d suggest budgeting at least $800 (similar in size to the picture above). This will also vary if you need it completely double sided, or single sided (as in, is the back going up against a wall and no one will notice if there are no florals on the back side?). 

If you’re wanting something more dramatic, like flower clouds down your aisle or a large piece over your dance floor, I’m going to again suggest budgeting a minimum of $3000. If you have a large space (like a 20x20 dance floor, for example), obviously that will take more product to cover. You also don’t need to fully cover it! A few hanging pieces here and there can be absolutely dreamy!

Fireplace Mantles

Fireplace moments are SO delicious to me. We’ve got a few wedding venues in Winnipeg and area that have some glorious fireplaces that I love flowering, including St Charles Country Club, Hawthorn Estates, and Lilystone Gardens. 

One thing that’s great about fireplace installations is that it can be a great place to repurpose a ceremony floral piece! Make sure to measure the fireplace and ensure it’s deep enough (some are mostly decorative and don’t have much space on the mantle). If you have aisle pieces or an arch piece, these might find a good home on the fireplace. 

Floral designs always come together best when they’re designed for one particular spot, so if budget does allow for you to give the mantle it’s own moment, you’ll be the happiest with the final product. Mantles can be done as a lush, full floral and greenery piece, as well as easily done as a collection of candles and mixed stem vases and varied size arrangements. 

The cost is going to depend on the size of the fireplace, but if you’re looking at a large floral piece, I’d start your budgeting around $200/foot of coverage that you want, and if you’re looking to incorporate candles and stem vases, you could probably budget that at $75 - $100/foot of coverage. 

Custom Backdrops and Focal Points

Sometimes we’ll get requests for a floral spotlight at a welcome sign, as part of a photo booth backdrop, a cake table, and so on. These prices are also going to range widely, but I think you’d be safe to start your budgeting at $300-$500 for a “smaller” floral piece, and $500+ for a larger moment. 

I hope this is so helpful for you! I know that wedding flower budgeting is incredibly unsexy and also very mysterious. It’s not a world that you’re familiar with, and that’s okay. Generally speaking, online resources are completely useless and out of touch with reality, so that doesn’t help you either. That’s what we’re here for :) 

Getting married in 2024?
Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, reach out to us for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!