You have pinned hundreds of bouquets. You’ve researched which flowers might be in season for your special day. Agonized over whether or not blush or ivory would look better with your bridesmaid’s dresses. All your hopes and flowery dreams have come to a head in the moment that you start contacting your top florist picks. “$2000 minimum? What?” ” But I only need bouquets!” “ But it’s a very small wedding!” “But you’re my favorite” “Can’t you make an exception??”

I have heard it all over my 15 years as a wedding florist. At the start of my journey with Charmed I had no minimum spend for Brides. At that time, I had lots of time to spend chatting, emailing, making changes, etc. Even on a single $200 order. That was not a sustainable way to do business and only make sense when you are eager to get people booking to build your portfolio. After a few years I started implementing a minimum spend for wedding orders. I started at $1000. By the time we discontinued our wedding services my minimum for wedding orders was $3000.

Why does this happen? Why can’t we make you just the bouquet you have always dreamed of? Here are the main reasons a wedding florist implements a minimum spend policy:

#1 - We have to buy in bulk.

A florist has to buy flowers in large quantities from wholesalers.

Let say for example your dream bouquet has: 6 pink roses, 6 lavender roses, 3 ranunculus, 3 lisianthus, 3 freesia, 3 eucalyptus stems, 10 greenery stems, 3 filler stems.

Due to the quantities we have to buy in and the specific colors and varieties we have to order in for a bride we would be left over with a lot of product in just this one order!

Here is what the florist would be stuck with after your bouquet is made: 19 pink roses, 19 lavender roses, 7 ranunculus, 7 lisianthus, 7 freesia, 7 eucalyptus stems, 15 greenery stems, 7 filler stems.

If you do the math here, a florist would actually be losing money if they are not able to sell the remaining flowers from your order.

#2 - Weddings take up a lot of time

Time is money! This is a very old saying, but I feel a lot of people forget it. Although a consult may be “free” the florist’s time must be accounted for and that is simply hard to do when it comes to small weddings.

Typically with one of my Brides I would have:

*An initial consult: 45 minutes

*Time to put together the proposal: 30 mins

*Emailing back and forth over the year: 1 - 3 hours

…..this point is often overlooked. Booking a year ahead of time often means you have time to change your mind, ask for second quotes, ask a million little questions etc. This can really add up!

*Ordering product and sourcing hard goods: 40 mins

*The two day process of processing and putting together the designs: 14 hours

You can see why based on the time involved alone, a florist insists on a minimum to cover their time.

#3 - Couples want very specific items

It’s very stressful for a florist to think of letting you down on your wedding day. We will often move mountains to get in the beige roses or pink peonies you dreamed of. This often means paying extra to secure an on demand bloom. This cost is not passed onto you simply because the florist cares and wants to stick to their quote/proposal.

#4 - The same amount of work goes into a $1000 wedding as a $5000 wedding

This probably doesn’t sound quite right to you, does it? The truth is, with the exception of actually putting the designs together, the lead up work is exactly the same. Florists are typically limited in staff and time. As a business we have to make sure we are using our time in a effective and profitable way. If a florist can only book two weddings in a weekend, the minimum spend helps them make sure it is a profitable weekend.

Where does this leave you? My advice would be to plan accordingly. If you have a specific florist you love, call and ask them their minimum. That way you can allocate it in your budget before you get too far into planning. At Charmed we no longer take on full service weddings as our everyday business has grown immensely. We have, however, created an A La Carte service which bridges the gap between high end floristry and minimum spends. This service provides luxury wedding flowers with no minimum.

Why Does Our A La Carte Service Have No Minimum?

You might be feeling a little confused about why we can offer this service after reading the above.

#1 - The “buying in bulk problem”

The flowers in our A La Carte section are mostly made up of varieties that we have in our cooler every week. This limits the amount we have to custom order in for you.

#2 The “time” issue

This service does not include a consult and only has a very small amount of customization. This eliminates the back and forth emailing and meetings.

#3 “Specific Items”

Florals that will be included in your designs are not guaranteed. This eliminates the extra cost sometimes incurred and stress on our end.

#4 You trust us

This is a new subject not covered above. Bride’s that book our A La Carte service have typically used us before for an everyday occasion. That, or they know our reputation and 10 year history. Leaving the decisions up to us means we can offer you just a bouquet and boutonniere. Or just centerpieces etc. The flexibility of our online service allows us to serve more Brides and Grooms in the long run.