Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Sticker shock!

Source


That’s an understatement. I just got my first florist quote today and to say it’s over my budget is putting it mildly. Now I’ll confess, my ideas are a bit over the top. I have a very particular vision for the reception. Because of this very particular vision I’m keeping it simple for the ceremony and cocktail hour.

Not to keep you in too much suspense. . .

I opened the proposal and scrolled down to look for the total. Oh, 6 grand. Okay, over budget but not too bad I guess. Wait, why does that say deposit amount? Does she want me to deposit the full amount? Hmmm… if that’s not the total. . .

Holly hell muffins! 

She said in the email that it was considerably over my budget.  
Yeah to the tune of $20,000. That’s pronounced twenty thousand doll hairs. As my friend Pippa would say: "That’s a whole lot of doll hairs!"

Maybe I need to consider:

a) scaling back my vision
b) getting another quote
c) figuring out how we can do this ourselves
d) balloons


Thoughts?

12 comments:

  1. Balloons???? Lady are you crazy! No! No balloons for you. Balloons in the museum you must be out of your mind.

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  2. Oh..my..goodness! I would have peed myself when I read $20,000!! I definitely would get some more quotes and think about scaling back some or maybe some somethings yourself. That's wayyyy expensive, wow.

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  3. ok... wow! I would suggest finding another florist with a quote like that.. I think it's an insulting waste of your time to even send that to you. If they are not a florist who is able to work within your price range than they are not a good fit at all. I contacted so many florists, gave them my budget and asked them what weddings average for them, until I found the perfect match. I sent her SO many pictures and she was able to make all of dreams come true...under my max budget.

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  4. you can do so much better than that!! where are you located? I'LL do them! :)

    lovely little details

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  5. That's utterly absurd!! You can absolutely get a better price than that...try and see what other reasonable people can do with you vision before changing it.

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  6. Wow! What I could do with your flower budget! :-)

    What is your "vision"? Had you told the florist how much your budget was before getting the quote? Maybe they can offer a slightly different version that you would be very happy with and would be in your budget?

    I would say get multiple quotes. Also, figure out how much it would cost you to do the floral yourself; remember your time is worth a lot! Figure that into your costs as well!

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  7. My "vision" is a bit over the top but I want to keep it a surprise if I can pull it off. I told them my budget was $3500. I was hoping she'd give me a quote for what she could do with that budget. We might try to do it ourselves. Definitely going to get some more quotes.

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  8. She should have been respectful of your budget. I really dislike it when you tell a vendor your budget and then they completely ignore it. To me, it is extremely rude. Personally, it makes me feel like they are just hoping that I will fall in love and throw the budget out the window. I had the same experience wedding dress shopping.
    On a more positive note! I really recommend GlobalRose.com if you are planning on doing the arrangements yourself. They only have high quality flowers that come (primarily) from South America. I use them two to four times a year.
    A good place to get florist supplies is Save-on-Crafts.com. Another idea, is that some florists have an area set-up for you to use all of their tools, if you buy the flowers from them. Warning, that choice will be more expensive :-)

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  9. Thanks for recommendations and ideas! I had the same experience with the dress shopping and you're so right about them hoping you just throw out the budget. Tricky little devils!

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  10. Wow, $20,000??? If she knew that what you were asking was way over your budget she should have talked with you about it before sending you that absurd quote. I think it is worthwhile finding a few other florists, talk to them about your vision and your budget, and then find out how they can fit those two things together. We have a very modest flower budget and ultimately we are going to DIY our bud vases. But those are bud vases and should be pretty easy to pull off.

    Good luck!

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  11. Mah lawd, girlie! Cut that in half and it's still a LOT of money. Can't wait to see what flowers you're planning - they must be stunners.

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  12. Pippa here...holy dollhairs Batgirl...that is as many dollhairs as 1000 British Historical Society faux Catherine Middleton engagement rings! Wait - how long do flowers last once frozen? I can collect a few from the Royal Wedding...

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