I wanted to have an open and honest chat with you all about wedding flowers. If you’ve ever looked at a floral proposal and wondered, “Wait, where did that $10k go?”, you’re not alone.

And you’re not being unreasonable for asking.

It’s a great question, and I think more florists should answer it honestly.

So I’m pulling back the curtain and walking you through what really goes into your floral budget; with a few real-life examples from my beautiful couples, and a whole lot of transparency.

First, Let’s Talk About Our Strategy

Every single one of our couple’s priorities are different and that’s where the magic lies. I never take a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, I start by asking: Where will florals make the biggest impact? Where do we want your guests to pause, look around, and feel that little flutter of awe?

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Krishna + Babita’s Ceremony-Centred Celebration

These two had the most stunning Hindu wedding at Bendooley Estate, and from the start, we knew the ceremony was going to be the heart of their day. So, we made a conscious decision to pour their floral budget into creating an illusion of a mandap, as well as the surrounding ceremonial space.

Statement pieces.

Utter wow factor.

Not only did it ground the ceremony, but it made their most important moments feel even more immersive and memorable.

_{Rolling Canvas}

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Elysabeth + Dominik’s Dinner in the Glass House

For Elysabeth and Dominik, however; the focus was celebrating with their closest inner-circle – an intimate candlelit-dinner for 20 in the Glass House at Q-Station. So, naturally, we concentrated their budget there: lush table arrangements, a statement hanging installation, a sense of intimacy, and design that worked with the space, not against it.

_{Joeyy Lee Photography}

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The Bigger Picture with Mia + Harry…

Take Mia + Harry’s wedding. They chose to allocate their floral budget evenly between the ceremony and reception, allowing each element of the day to feel equally considered and beautifully styled. With a 50/50 split, their floral investment reflected not just aesthetic priorities, but a thoughtful desire for continuity and impact across both pivotal moments.

To begin with, here’s what was going on behind the scenes:

• They were getting married right in the heart of Sydney CBD, on a Sunday, with a two-hour bump-in window.
• We needed a team of five freelancers (because we had to work fast). And even if they’re only on site for two hours, most freelancers have a three-hour minimum charge.
• Add to that their Sunday rates, time spent managing loading dock logistics, lane way access, and any road closures.
• And here’s a bit that’s often forgotten: someone from the team has to leave and park the van. And not just around the corner; we’re talking CBD event day chaos. That usually means we’re a person down for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how long it takes to navigate diversions, find a legal park, and get back on foot. That’s one less set of hands during our most time-pressured window.

All of this adds up, and it has nothing to do with how many roses we ordered.

It’s just the reality of creating beautiful things within tight timeframes in complicated locations.

_{Salt Atelier Photography}

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So, What Are You Really Paying For?

Here’s the thing: your floral budget isn’t just about flowers.

It’s about expertise, planning, execution, and a whole lot of legwork.

Here’s an overview, step-by-step account of what it often takes to bring your vision to life:

1. You enquire – I read it, stalk your venue, get excited.
2. I build your initial concept and proposal. That alone can take hours as I carefully research your venue, refine your colour palette, sketch out design ideas, and ensure everything aligns with your vision, logistics, and budget.
3. We chat. We refine. We finesse your vision together.
4. I sort contracts, invoicing, confirm my Public Liability aligns with the venue requirements, staff scheduling; paperwork is romantic too, right?
5. Over the coming months, we’re swapping Pinterest pins, curating look-books, fine-tuning details.
6. I liaise with venues, planners, stylists, and when needed, councils (yes, councils).
7. I write recipes (like actual spreadsheets!) to calculate what we need, stem by stem.
8. I order from growers – crossing fingers things bloom on time.
9. I hit the flower markets at dawn – sometimes twice in a week. (And, more-or-less, set up camp in Bunnings…)
10. Back at the studio, we spend 2–3, sometimes 4, full days stripping stems, conditioning blooms, prepping vessels, building mechanics and arranging recipes. It’s not just a flurry of florals, we’ve got clean, temperature controlled cool rooms/dedicated floral fridges to keep everything fresh and ensure your flowers are treated with the TLC they deserve.
11. On the day: after a complex game of Tetris with the vans, we (very carefully!) travel to the venue, bump in, install, zhuzh, problem-solve.
12. After the party: we bump out (often late at night), return everything, clean the studio, scrub the buckets, reset the fridge for next weekend.

Event days for us can often begin at 5am and finish at 2am the following day.

It’s a LOT.

But it’s done with care, BUCKETS of love and a slightly aching back.

_{Reverie Wedding Photography}

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A Little Note on the Flower Market Gamble

If you’ve spent time on social media and seen florists talking about the rising cost of flowers, or the fact we nearly always go over budget, honestly it’s because flowers are unpredictable little things.

We’re completely at the mercy of the seasons, the weather, and what’s available at market that week:

• Growers usually can’t confirm stock until just a few days before your wedding, which means we’re often doing a bit of a dance with Mother Nature.
• Sometimes roses triple in price – especially worth considering if you’re planning a wedding around Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day…
• Sometimes, entire crops are wiped out by weather.

We do our best to plan for this by building a little buffer into your quote (so there’s room to flex without surprises), or we absorb the extra costs ourselves to bring your vision to life, though truthfully, doing that too often isn’t sustainable for a small business.

And for the record; it’s not the growers’ fault.

They’re working with nature, just like we are.

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So… What Does $10k Get You?

It gets you more than just flowers.

It gets you:

• A custom, thoughtful design plan that’s tailored to tell your story, to your venue, and your dream aesthetic.
• A team of skilled, qualified florists; people who know how to handle delicate blooms, scale installations safely, and troubleshoot under pressure.
• Ongoing, personalised planning support, from the first moodboard to the final flower picked at the markets, with tweaks, refinements, and reassuring chats along the way.
• A calm, considered experience that feels collaborative, not chaotic – because you’ve got someone in your corner who’s done this a hundred times before.

And yes… it gets you beautiful, lush, unforgettable flowers.

But more than that, it gets you trust.

It means I’m up at 4:30am at the flower markets, triple-checking that the roses match your tone-on-tone brief. It means I’m looking at your reception layout and thinking, “Nope, this table needs more height,” and then reworking the recipe and mechanics to make it perfect.

It means floral recipes built stem by stem, based on what’s in season and what will last in your space. It means hours of prepping buckets, processing stems, sourcing vessels, and bringing in the exact right mechanics for your install, whether that’s a growing aisle, a statement ceremony backdrop, or a suspended hanging garden.

It means freelancers booked in advance, insurance sorted, tools and sundries prepped, and my studio humming in the days leading up to your wedding as your arrangements start to take shape.

So, it’s not just flowers.

It’s a team, a process, a whole ecosystem behind the scenes – making sure your day feels effortless and looks unforgettable.

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Want to See What That Actually Looks Like?

We wanted to take our transparency one step further and actually show you what a $10k floral wedding could look like on paper. Not just in dreamy photos or Instagram captions, but in a real, itemised format.

So, we’ve put together a sample invoice that breaks down how a $10k floral budget {for a wedding of around 80 guests, including the Bridal Party} might be allocated: from your bouquet to ceremony florals, reception tables and all those less-visible, but equally vital, logistics like time + materials, and bump-in/out fees for a CBD venue.

Because we believe clarity builds trust.

And your wedding planning experience should feel informed, not confusing:

Item	Qty	Unit Price (ex GST)	Total (ex GST)
Signature Bridal Bouquet	1	$395	$395
Bridesmaid Bouquets	3	$258	$774
Boutonnières	6	$35	$210
Ceremony Feature Installation	1	$2100	$2100
Top Table Florals	2	$340	$680
Reception Table Arrangements	7	$195	$1365
Statement Bar Florals	1	$550	$550
Labour (30%):	1	$1,824.90	$1,824.90
Delivery, Setup + Bump-Out (CBD):	1	$1,175.00	$1,175.00
GST (10%):	1	$908.29	$908.29

TOTAL: $9,991.19

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Final Thoughts

I’m not telling you all this to scare you off or guilt you into upping your budget. I’m sharing it because I think it’s important you know what goes on behind the pretty pictures.

I love what I do.

I love creating something meaningful with my couples.

And I love when they trust me enough to let me guide the process, work my magic, and make it all come together seamlessly, even when the logistics are wild and the forecast is unpredictable.

So if you’ve got a vision, a Pinterest board, or just a gut feeling that florals matter to you… let’s talk. I’ll help you make the most of your budget in a way that feels right for your day. You can schedule a consultation right here, and we’ll start bringing your ideas to life; one beautiful bloom at a time.

With so much love,