Getting proposals from florists question??

I have now gotten a bunch of proposals from florists. I have met with them, gone through everything and now I have to decide.

The only stipulation is....alll of them are more money than I want to spend. I told them my budget and they came back with higher priced proposals.

Do I now call and negotiate with them? Maybe see if they can give me better prices on some things and maybe take some things out?

Or is that it and I need to either pay more or find another florist to visit???

I agree with Diane...

I would also say to them that you told them what your budget is and they came in higher than that....ask them how THEY can modify things to fit within your budget....

Alina, that is a really good point. I didn't at all and now I am sitting here with 3 proposals that are at least 2k over what I want to spend.

One of the florists I really like so I am going to go back to her and see if she can work with me.

Do that, and firmly tell them, I really love your work, but unfortunatly, my budget is exactly this and no more than that...

Most people when shopping have a range on how much they want to spend. But if you give them the midpoint of the range, most likely you'll end up at the high end, b/c vendors also know that you can go above midpoint...

Same applies for when you look for apt / house.

here is something i learned during my planning; you can have champagne taste with a beer pocket book sometimes.
the florists are pricing what you asked for. now, what you want might not be what you can have if your budget doesn't work. I have a feeling if all of the florists are coming in high, it is because what you want costs more than your current budget.
I would speak to the two you like best. Ask them how you can get down to your budget amount or you can try to up your budget to include the flowers you want. for instance, maybe you want these super high centerpieces full of flowers and candles or maybe you want very exotic flowers. But using in season flowers and just a touch of exotic you might be able to be more within your price range or using smaller centerpieces.
It is a give and take with each stage of planning.