As wedding planning goes, I think I have fallen into the hell of the "you're running out of time and nothing is falling into place" zone. I was steamrolling along and everything was coming together until I got to the dreaded FLORIST. Why this should be the particular wedding thing that has stopped me, I could not say, but for some reason I seem incapable of meeting the right kind of professionals.
Exhibit A
The very nice blogger who was recently married (last May) in Palm Springs, has a fledgling succulent and florals business for which she has done exactly two weddings (one being her own), and who quoted me a price of $3600 including a $400 "travel fee" to create the flowers for our big day. When told this would just not possibly be in our budget she reduced the price to $1400 but in so doing not all of our bridal party would have bouquets, boutonnières, or corsages.... Really? (PS: I know you drive a Prius, you blog about it... why does it cost $400 to drive from LA to Palm Springs?) Out.
Exhibit B
The very professional and personable Joey from Artisan Events. Before meeting with this well-known Palm Springs florist I emailed him saying (direct quote) "We really do have a tiny floral budget, so if that is a problem I would rather know than fall in love with your work and then not be able to afford it" to which he responded "I am good with working with all ranges of budgets." That sounded great so the FMIL and I met up with him in his very yummy smelling and gorgeous studio to discuss details. He later wrote me back a proposal for $2600. When I told him that was just way too much for our very small wedding and could he work more within the budget we proposed he said back (direct quote) "We will not be able to work within that budget for all the components of your wedding." Seriously? That would be why I asked you if you could work with our budget before we met. I don't know about you guys, but that doesn't sound to me like someone who is good at working with all budgets. Out.
Exhibit C
The more down to Earth and friendly men at Cache Fiore that regaled us with stories of the million dollar Palm Springs wedding they had just finished working on and how generously the bride tipped. They were able to come closest to our budget but were still about $300 too high. When asked if there was anything possible to do to get to our actual budget and not just in its vicinity, we received a quite haughty phone message about how we were already being offered a $500 value on free delivery and wasn't that good enough it's not like they can just do this stuff for free... (Your studio is less than 1 mile from the Ace and I now know you just made a ridiculous amount of money this year already). Seriously? I'm not sure yet but possibly... Out.
So the question remains. What the hell are we going to do about wedding flowers? My amazing boss gave me the name and number of a florist here in LA but I just don't want to deal with the logistics of getting them to Palm Springs. Maybe that florist doesn't even have a Prius so how much would that delivery charge cost me? Sigh.
All I want is this:
Is that so much to ask? Does it seriously have to cost $1200-3600 for 8 centerpieces, 5 bouquets, 8 boutonnières and 6 corsages? Really?
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5 comments:
I know you don't want to worry about doing another DYI thing for your big day, but what about buying the flowers you want at the LA flower mart on your way to Palm Springs and getting some moms and lady friends to help you assemble them (based on these photos) when we're in the desert? You could put them in a cooler or something on the way there. Succulents are beyond hardy... I mean,those centerpieces look entirely do-able. I bet there's one of those green foam thingys in there. Have you thought about this? I can volunteer to help arrange them in the morning on Sunday.
Oh, btw this was Tiffany JQ. I still can't figure out how to make a profile.
I'm with Tiffany. If you can't find a florist who is from planet Earth, I'm more than willing to help out with the assembling process. Stick with something mostly hardy since you'll have to get them several days in advance and travel with them. A few more delicate blooms to round out the centerpieces might keep in a hotel room fridge or two, or you could transport them in couple of ice chests upright in cool water with some of that fresh flower food florists sell for cut flowers. You could also find out how much to just have a local florist do only your bouquet and maybe your bridesmaids' bouquets since those will be the most noticeable, most stressful to make, and most memorable arrangements.
BTW Tiffany: If you pull down the comment as menu and select Name/URL, you can just type in your name to comment and leave URL blank.
About the local florist doing the bouquets- I agree. Great idea. Those are by far the most memorable. Candles and other centerpieces could go a long way in creating ambiance, so you shouldn't fret about the perfect floral centerpiece. Everyone's eyes will be on you anyway, girl!! (no pressure)
Haha, you guys are awesome. Having a florist do our bouquets and us doing the centerpieces is definitely our plan A.5 (almost plan B but probably going to happen). We are trying to exhaust all possibilities of having the florist do everything before throwing in the towel.
When my Matron of Honor Lindzee got married she and I prepped all the flowers the day before and then everyone helped make the centerpieces on the day of and it was completely stressful so I am trying really hard to avoid that.
I think we could make something really pretty with succulents and roses and candles too, I just don't want to have too ;)
Thanks for being so supportive guys, it means the world to me.
xoxo
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