Florist quote....Any Advice??

I went this weekend to see a florist and get a quote. I really didn't have any ideas going into it despite the fact I've been looking online at pictures....I just can't decide. I figured if I went they could give me ideas. I went to Pedestals and met with Vito, he me tons of ideas and a price quote. But after looking things over I really feel like I'm not getting that much for the price. I told him I was on a budget and he suggested that if I wanted high centerpieces he could raise a low centerpiece in a smaller glass vase to get the same effect but a scaled down model. At first I was unsure and he showed me what it would look like....it's half the size of a tall one by far. But it did look nice the way he arranged it so I let him quote me based on 1/2 semi-high and 1/2 low because I thought if it was 1/2 the size the price would reflect that. I really don't think going with the smaller high ones is saving me much. Either that or they are really over priced!! He also said that their prices are not based on the flowers so even though I’m doing roses and hydrangea it's not going to be cheaper. This is my quote. Please let me know if this is too much.

6 of the smaller high centerpieces ($140 each)
6 low in a square vase ($85 each)
1 Bride Bouquet ($200)
5 BM's Bouquets ($80)
12 Groomsmen/Groom/ Dads Bout. ($80)
1 Grandmother corsage ($25)
8 Bows for the Isle and 2 small floral arrangements for the stairway.
Dais arrangement (3 small cubes w/ flowers)
Cake flowers
Flower girl petals
Chuppah (simple) with very little flowers- he said maybe 3 small clusters. ($750--he said normally 1k to 1.5k??)

All together it came to about $3200 with the smaller items listed as the extra $400 or so. He said he gave me a really big discount but I just don't know if that’s true? Any advice or feedback would be great? I think I need to get another quote from somewhere else.

Another question....I know this is long lol....someone said I should not be looking at flowers first but rather the photographer and band. Is this true?

Thanks so much girls. I really appreciate all the support through this process!!

****I posted some pics of what the flowers may look like. In the picture where there is more then one it's the smaller vase on the left. He said the bigger one was $200!! The colors will be different.

All together it sounds like a good price, but it depends on what type of flowers you are using (usually)

As far as who you should book and when, it depends on where your priorities lie. If your big thing is flowers, the flowers first it is. Some say to do photo first because it is a big part of the budget, then music. But it reaaly depends on what you want.

Pedestals is a very good florist, you get reputation as well as quality with them. Take a look at fallinlove91407's album
her flowers were gorgeous!

I haven't met with my florist yet, so unfortunately I'm not exactly sure whether your quote is very high or not.. but $3200 for what you listed seems high to me. I would definitely suggest meeting with our florists to see if you can find a better deal elsewhere. I'm not sure if flowers are a top priority for you or what you have alloted for your floral budget... but I only plan on spending $1500-$2K?!

Also while all your vendors are pretty important, I do think booking your photographer and DJ/band should be at the top of your list. My RH manager told me to book those two things first... so that's what I'm planning to do. It's crazy how quickly these people book up! Especially the more popular/affordable vendors. HTH!

I just went to my first florist over the weekend too at Flowers by Brian and our quote was pretty similiar. We had almost all of the same things except we had 18 centerpieces and our price was about $400 less.

But we had ALL low centerpieces so your price was actually better I think.

I think you're overpaying by $1,000
(I'm basing this on how much I'd paid)

I'm using Vito and got a comparable quote, considering I'm having somewhat different things.

My cousin used him this weekend at her wedding and I can not tell you how GORGEOUS the flowers and Bo-ks were!

But, if you're not happy, you should look around.
Also, yes, I've heard chuppahs cost $1k-$1500.

Annddd I ordered my own bows from ebay and vito will put them up for me, which is cheaper...

That quote sounds highish....I would think that you'd pay closer to $2500 for what you're getting...

For $3000 we got:

15 high CP's (about 40 roses, greens and seeded eucalyptus)
1 Chuppah (with 2 small arrangements on the top, front corners) - we did NOT pay $1000-$1500!!
5 bm/moh bouquets
my bouquet
14 bouts
5 corsages
flowergirl basket and petals
aisle petals

I would ask him to lower the price of your CP's....do you have any pictures of what they look like...?

Not sure...we paid about $450 for our chuppah and it was soooo pretty and had lots of flowers (pics in album).

Maybe you should get a few more quotes.

You got FM.

I really think you were quoted too high of a price. My fiance and I checked out 7 different florists and your centerpiece quote was the highest. The highest we were told for a 'high' centerpiece was $125 (including more exotic flowers)

As for the Chuppa, we got prices ranging from 300 to 850...although a couple of them did tell us that it would normally cost a little more.

Best of luck!

Honestly it's not a great price- I also needed a chuppa and got one for $500 (minimal flowers- see my review and album for pics) - I would definitley take the same type of flowers and amounts that you need (arrangements and all) and give that to each florist you meet with.

I can tell you that some may beat that price though. If you can try to get out to Flower Michele and meet with John and see what he can do price-wise what he can do.

He did a fantastic job on our wedding and I was super happy with everything. We had about a $2000 budget that we worked with for flowers but a much smaller bridal party than you're having.

Also all major vendors, RH, DJ, Photographer, Florist, etc. are important.. DH and I chose to book a year in advance on most of the vendors only because we wanted to secure them and not wait. Also it gives more time for you to pay the bill in installments rather than larger chunks.

Sounds kind of high to me.
I am paying $150 a CP for a high CP with 3 dozen roses and hydrengas. you can def get a better price.

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Posted by KiTTeN0819

That sounds pretty high.. try calling Jen at Verbena Designs. She gave a really awesome quote and works with budgets. Shell even make you a sample before you book..

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I totally agree!! Jen is awesome! And, she gave me a great price for what I'm getting.