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Everything to do with weddings comes with a price tag.
Whether you’re planning a big, traditional wedding or a stylish Las Vegas elopement, setting a budget and getting an idea of costs is useful before booking your vendors.
When it comes to understanding the average cost of wedding flowers and budgeting for that part of your special day, we can help. Gaia Flowers has been creating wedding florals for 25 years. We know that the cost of flowers can come as a surprise (pleasant or otherwise) for many couples.
To help you set a realistic wedding floral budget (and avoid any shocks), we’ve put together, this guide that covers:
- how to choose your flowers
- factors that can affect the price
- the average cost of wedding flowers in the US
- how much wedding flowers cost in Nevada
- traditions around who usually pays for the wedding flowers
- quick tips for keeping the cost down if you’re on a tight budget.
Choosing your wedding flowers
To help your florist give you a ballpark figure, try to approach them with an idea of what you want. For example, would you like:
- bouquets or corsages for the bridal party?
- small or large boutonnieres for the groomsmen?
- free-flowing florals like wild waterfalls or tight posies?
And how about any extra floral event decorations, such as a floral frame for selfies or a flower arch?
Thinking about your wedding theme or the overall aesthetic you want to achieve, is a great way to start getting clear about styles and the amount of flowers you’ll need.
Tying your wedding flowers in with your theme
As you plan your wedding, it’s likely a theme (however subtle) will emerge. We’ve seen couples get inspired by a huge range of things, including:
- the seasons
- favorite colors
- fashions and trends
- hobbies and interests
- famous festivals (such as Burning Man)
- popular culture (favorite bands, films, TV shows)
- sports and specific sports teams
- animals and nature
- fantasy and sci-fi.
A theme can make it easier to design wedding stationery, such as the invites, and may also influence what you wear and the dress code for your guests. And, yes, a theme or style can also help to plan and cost your wedding flowers.
Floral arrangements and decorations can be a subtle and easy way to express your theme. For example, we created a bridal bouquet in a lightsaber for a Star Wars-themed wedding. We used black flowers, preserved flowers, and translucent skeleton leaves in florals for a Halloween-themed wedding.
To keep track of the flower arrangement ideas you like, start a Pinterest board. This is an easy way to capture appealing styles and show them to your wedding florist. Seeing what you have in mind makes it even easier to give you an idea of the price. If what you’re imagining ties in with your budget, great. If not, the florist may be able to suggest similar styles and ideas that are more in line with how much you’d like to spend.
4 more factors that affect the cost of wedding flowers
Your wedding’s theme can guide and influence the style, sort, and cost of the flowers you want. But there are other traditions and practical elements (such as economics, yawn) that play a part in the final estimate.
1. The actual size of the wedding party
The obvious members of a wedding party are the couple, the bridesmaids, and the groomsmen. They all need flowers. But what creeps up on many couples—especially those having a large wedding—is that the traditional wedding party is more than just this group.
Who wears flowers at a wedding has great significance, which is why it’s customary—but not essential—that the couple’s parents and any other VIP guests also hold or wear flowers. For example, it’s traditional for the couple’s grandmothers to have a corsage or boutonniere. Plus, you’ll need flowers for any flower girls, and anyone who is doing a reading or speech.
2. The size and complexity of the arrangement
Arrangements and bouquets that use a lot of materials or have complex designs will have a higher price tag. Hanging or floating arrangements, and flower arches are rarely under $1,000.
3. The time of year
Using flowers that are naturally in season can keep the cost of your wedding flowers down. Seasonal flowers are more readily available (so the stock price is lower) and they won’t need extra encouragement to bloom, such as artificial light or heat.
| Season | What’s in bloom |
|---|---|
| Spring | Tulips, daisies, poppies, daffodils, irises, roses, waxflowers, calendulas |
| Summer | Sunflowers, peonies, cosmos, jasmine, roses, chrysanthemums, lilies, daisies |
| Fall | Pumpkins, cabbage, chrysanthemums, foxgloves, seedpods, violas |
| Winter | Snapdragons, pansies, waxflowers, poinsettia, hydrangeas, kale, evergreens, holly, calendulas, amaryllis |
4. Fresh flowers or not
Generally, fresh flowers cost more than faux or dried flower arrangements. This is due to growing, labor, storage, and transportation costs. Cultivating fresh-cut flowers also comes with an environmental cost, which is why eco-conscious couples may support a rising trend towards using dried flowers.
Earth-friendly dried flowers also last longer without you having to do anything extra to preserve your wedding flowers.
The average cost of wedding flowers
As well as your choice of blooms influencing cost, all the technical stuff such as market rates, transportation costs, and demand will impact the final bill. The cost of cut flowers has increased by about 10% in the last 12 months.
According to wedding industry data from The Wedding Report, couples getting married in America can expect to spend an average of:
- $427 on bouquets
- $191 on boutonnieres and corsages
- $638 on wedding venue flowers and arrangements.
The average cost for each of these increases slightly if marrying in Nevada, with couples spending:
- $448 on bouquets
- $200 on boutonnieres and corsages
- $669 on wedding venue flowers and arrangements.
Of course, your choice of florist will also affect the price. Overheads, supplier prices, and flower delivery to your venue vary from florist to florist. We can only speak from our experience in creating wedding flowers in Las Vegas.
Gaia Flowers current rates for frequently requested wedding flowers
| Arrangement or Style | Cost | Extra Notes | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom bride’s bouquet | $145-$300 | Personalized for the bride, usually including some imported florals. |  |
| A dozen roses bride’s bouquet | $86 | Most commonly in red or white, but other colors can be accommodated. |  |
| Boutonniere | $15 | Includes flower and foliage, and a magnet for easy fastening. |  |
| Corsage | $45 | Includes flower, foliage, and ribbon/band to slip around the wrist. |  |
| Bridesmaid flowers | $65-$85 | Posy or loose and wild design with wrapped stems. |  |
| Simple table arrangement | $85-$155 | Including vase. |  |
Hopefully, our current prices, plus information on the average cost of wedding flowers from The Wedding Report will help you with the ballpark figure you need. Of course, the only way to be sure of what you’ll pay is to ask for a quote from your wedding florist
Paying for wedding flowers. Who covers the cost?
Weddings come with a lot of traditions, including who pays for what. Traditionally, the bride’s family pays for the wedding venue, while the groom and his family pay for the wedding rings and honeymoon. The cost of the flowers largely falls to the bride and her family, but according to The Knot, there are rules within that rule.
If following tradition, then:
- the bridal bouquet is paid for by the groom,
- the bridesmaid bouquets are paid for by the bride,
- corsages for mothers and grandmothers of the couple are paid for by the groom,
- as are boutonnieres for all the gents
- and decorative arrangements for the ceremony are paid for by the bride.
Follow all that? Lots of couples don’t.
Today, many wedding bill-paying traditions have been given the boot. Today, it’s common for couples to split the cost of their flowers in a way that suits them. If parents and family offer to contribute, then the couple may ask for the cost of their flowers as a wedding gift.
5 ways to spend less than the average on your wedding flowers
Not every couple wants to spend big. So if you’re a couple looking to keep the cost of your wedding flowers down, here are some savvy money-saving tips. (Many of which are eco-friendly wedding flower ideas, too.)
- Choose more readily available, seasonal blooms.
- Use plants in your bouquets and arrangements. They’re easier to cultivate than flowers and are generally more affordable.
- If you have a green thumb, grow your own plants and flowers in your garden or pots and then harvest them just before your wedding. This is very feasible if you’re having a small celebration.
- Small bouquets and arrangements use fewer flowers and cost less. Consider choosing posies, corsages, and single-flower arrangements.
- Order with a florist that’s local to your wedding venue. This will keep delivery costs down and avoid you having to source suitable transport.
If you’re getting married in Las Vegas, then we can help with tip number 5.
As an eco-friendly, sustainable wedding florist in Las Vegas, we work hard to create beautiful wedding flowers that will fit with your budget without sacrificing style. (Or the planet.) Choose a ready-made design or work with our florists to create custom wedding flowers that still match your budget.
