I also would be a +1 to don’t underestimate the value and convenience of a good grocery store floral department. They don’t all do it, but we also had one family wedding where they did a fabulous job very reasonably.
I would also say that you should NOT feel you have to rise to this occasion without some real specific guidance on what your daughter wants in terms of colors, size, styling, etc. At the very least she can provide you with some photos of online bouquets or arrangements that she is really likes. Or have her attend (in person or virtually) with a first meet with a florist.
OR she should tell you very specifically (get it in writing, lol!) what she does NOT like. Colors, styles, size etc!
Few weeks ago D1 had a one year old birthday party for GD2. The cake was a round two layered cake, beautifully decorated with flowers, strawberries. Some guests said it look nicer than some wedding cakes. I later asked D1 where she got the cake and the cost of it. She said it was 150 instead of 500-600 in a store. She found a woman who made it from her home. It was her own business making cakes without a store front.
My S&DIL chose an outdoor venue with lots of greenery so not many flowers needed. They had arrangements for ceremony, also used at reception and very simple arrangements for tables. They rented vases so left them after reception. No idea what was spent but it was perfect!
A store that exclusively does floral may have more options, and higher prices generally that floral departments at Safeway, Kroger, Publix (our local Publix doesn’t have floral manager like Kroger).
DD1 had a woman who did floral out of her home – she had the floral cases and did beautiful arrangements for the wedding. DD1 learned about her via word of mouth.
For businesses run out of a person’s home generally in our area, they have a business license just don’t have the storefront.
A friend of mine made wedding cakes as her hobby and she did not have a business license due to small numbers.
Yes, we used a person who made wedding cakes out of her house that mom knew of. The flowers were done by friends of mom & dad. Mom’s friend did arrangements for church and reception and dad’s friend did bouquets, floral headbands, corsages & boutonnières. One of dad’s friends even flew in orchids for wedding.
Our wedding cake came in a lot of different parts and had bridges and pillars and fresh orchids on it. The baker assembled it and then we saved all the plastic pieces and made sure she got them all back. It looked great and tasted fine. There was lots of sheet cake for anyone who wanted cake as well, since we had TONS of guests, but because it was already a 7 course Chinese meal, not many people will hungry for cake.
Oh, ha ha. She gave me 2 pictures and said she liked X about one of them and Y about the other, and I should just give the pictures to the florist and they’ll get it. Ummmmm, I certainly can’t figure out her design aesthetic, but maybe someone more artistic might? The more comments I read, the more I realize that I better just information gather and then circle back to her. And one of the more important questions is, just how much does she care about the flowers? Maybe she only cares about the bouquets and will leave the centerpieces to me as long as they coordinate?
One of the things I love about where she is having her reception is we can bring our own cake, and there is no plating fee! A true win over some of those other places that wanted $3,000 for a cake!
I adore flowers but if you’re on any kind of a budget (I don’t know your situation) flowers just is not the place to overspend. It’s sort of like spending a ton of money on fancy papeR products and then throwing them all in the garbage can! - disposable!
Two ways to “preserve” wedding flowers. If you have a good photo of the bridal bouquet, there are watercolor artists who paint beautiful paintings of them. You can also send a bridal bouquet (in a special designated way) to companies who encase the flowers in lucite or something similar, also artwork. We have both of these in our family (painting and preserved) and they are beautiful.
I think the plating fee was what had my niece have cupcakes. I have also seen this at several weddings that were elaborate in other ways. Niece had twice the flowers that would have been necessary (huge arrangements all around the tent).
The florists she got quotes from showed her what I imagine were their stock photos. There was a bit of back and forth as D tried to determine how flexible they would be to her personal style. When she decided that she “clicked” with one, she asked for less expensive alternatives to the flowers quoted. The florist gave her options, sending her pictures of the flowers she recommended, along with pricing. The florist knew the reception venue and explained that the flowers there could be simple because the venue was ornate Art deco. She persuaded D to have some flowers in the church, which D wasn’t sure were necessary, by telling her that they could do double duty at the reception (the day of planner coordinated that part - and it was a good call on the part of the florist). D felt comfortable that the final product would be perfect, and it was.