Weddingbee Blog

I got the price proposal and linen rental samples from our florist the other day. In a word:

WHAT???

We’re not planning on having a lot of flowers at our wedding. First, since the ceremony will take place in a garden—which will be in full bloom this spring—only altar arrangements will be necessary.

Spa Garden

Second, the reception ballroom has plenty of interesting architectural details, chandeliers, and old Southern charm, so it also doesn’t need that much embellishment.

We’re thinking of having 10 very loose arrangements with garden roses, hydrangea, veronicas, greenery, and maybe some peonies for the tables.

Source

As I mentioned in my previous flowers post, I’m not exactly sure what they should look like, but I know I don’t want anything too manicured or labored. I had hoped that would translate to not too much work or cost.

Third, the cocktail hour will be held on the lawn behind the resort–which is lined with large and lovely hydrangea bushes–and also needs very little in terms of decoration. We’ll add some cocktail highboys that we’ll rent from the florist (who is also providing linens and chivari chairs).

On the tables, we’d like simple mint julep cups filled with one large flower like a hydrangea or peony, and a couple loose arrangements of hypericum berries, curly willow, spray roses, hydrangea, etc. for the bar area and display table.

Hydrangea in julep cups. Source

Then there are the personal flowers. For me (plain cream mini cala lilies), for the attendants (some white hydrangea), for the moms (corsages), the flower girl (pomander), and the boutonnieres for the guys.

Estimate for flowers and rentals: Over $6000.

HUH???

I soon realized that there is a lot of price gouging in the wedding industry. There was a fee of $150 to change five chair cushions (you know, the tie in the back, removable ones). There was $150 fee for moving the altar arrangements 50 feet from the garden into the ballroom… seriously? For the table linens, we’re being charged $150 rental per table. We have 10 tables. That’s $1500 for linen rental.

The mint julep cups: four in all=$100. You’ve got to be kidding me?!

Originally, I picked out a bluish-green damask called Nile Danube. It’s pretty, and has a bit of champagne damask design on the aqua background. But…

Source

I think it’s probably too busy (and expensive). So I maybe I’ll just get a basic simple linen (in ivory or aqua), with a bit of sheen.

Apparently, we can get the linens for $9.95 per table if we bypass the florist and go directly to an online linen rental place (Dovelinen.com). That’s right, if we eliminate the middleman, we can get them for 15 times less. So we can dress all 10 tables for about $100 rather than $1500. Quite a savings.

Regarding the flowers, the florist proposed a glass bowl–I’m not liking that idea. But Mr. P’s mom has three silver vintage champagne buckets, and I’m sure we can find various others. Maybe that will cut down some of the cost. Plus, I’d rather have vintage silver than glass!

I love the idea of having different ones for each table… and they relate to the fact that Mr. P is a wine enthusiast. So, maybe the arrangements can be a little dynamic and overflowing if we use the buckets, which will give the table some shine.

When I talked it over with Mr. P, we agreed that we needed to cut the fat off of the flowers (as it were). So I described some of the cost cutting ideas we might consider, including doing the cocktail hour tables ourselves, providing our own containers for the reception flowers, handling all our rentals through a direct vendor, etc. He said he didn’t think we should have to worry about setting up and lugging things like ice buckets and flowers (if we do some ourselves). So we’ll just have to look for a different florist. The problem is that the Homestead is in the middle of NOWHERE. So… the saga continues. I will report back on what we figure out! Grrr!!!

Were you shocked by some of your initial vendor proposals? What did you do to cut the fat?