Let’s chat labour. What exactly does it include, and why is it included?  Why isn’t it included in the cost of the florals? What other costs are there involved in wedding floristry? 

Let’s dive into the world of wedding floristry and chat about all the costs involved in hiring a florist (hopefully Bee’s Blossoms!) for your wedding day.

There’s a the old saying that wedding vendors hear the word “wedding,” and add a few extra 0s on the end of a quote. 

Funnily enough, I am in a Facebook group and was scrolling a few of the posts last week.  Someone was asking why flowers cost so much. In the comments, there were a few florists trying to educate and explain why this is, a few other brides saying how frustrating it is (girl, I get it) and one photographer’s comment that particularly stood out to me.

He said that ‘for all wedding vendors, it just comes down to how much you value your work’

As someone who values her work on a ridiculous level, I was very intrigued and kept reading.

He then followed from this that he, and other photographer friends of his charge ‘between $300-$500 an hour, as it all comes down to how much you think you’re worth’.

Wait, WHAT?

For… labour only?

*imagine the ‘you guys are getting paid gif’ here*

I was beyond shocked. 

Half of me does understand, as the wedding season is only around 6 months of the year, so of course we (your industry vendors) need to make enough to sustain us through the off months (or as I call it, the hibernation). 

And there are definitely difficult stresses that all wedding vendors universally feel, regardless of industry; like juggling multiple clients in the busy peak, and dealing with the stress of every wedding being a once in a lifetime / anticipated best day ever for each couple, meaning it genuinely can’t be anything less than perfect!  

A main pivotal aspect is the clear on and off seasons within the wedding industry. During peak seasons, demand skyrockets, keeping me exceptionally busy, however, this period must generate enough revenue to sustain my business through the quieter off-season months, or the hibernation. Of course, I have workshops & retail work I do during this period, but this fluctuating workflow requires careful financial planning and pricing strategies for year-round business continuity!

The seasonal variance necessitates a pricing model that covers both the high-demand months and the slower times. It’s a significant factor behind my pricing, ensuring I can maintain operations, cover ongoing expenses, and support my livelihood too!

But for full transparency, most of us wedding florists are on $35-45 an hour, and that’s only when we are working during the busy season. I absolutely know that what we do as wedding professionals is pretty special, but I never considered that some of us are getting paid *neurosurgeon* levels of special.

In saying that, I totally understand how $35 an hour mightn’t relay to $6,7,8k +  quotes.

Keep reading to get a bit of insight into what you exactly pay for in labour.

Wedding floristry is a super fascinating industry, as it may be the only career that overlaps. What I mean by that is it is a blend of high-cost products (the flowers) and personalised services (the labour to plan and execute the designs). Unlike other wedding professionals who primarily offer their expertise only (think singers, makeup artists, or photographers), or those who deliver a tangible product (like cake makers or stationery designers), florists straddle both worlds. So, your quote might be high in comparison to your cake, or DJ, but keep in mind that you are paying for both a product and service. As florists, we invest heavily in the flowers for your big day, but also need to have years of experience, education and expertise to actually execute the floral vision.

Floristry is such a demanding industry, as it is so laborious.  If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll often see me updating on my stories when I have replied to my emails/what days I will be on admin for the week. Although the job of a florist is often appeared to be designing pretty flower arrangements, before we even get to designing with the actual product, we will:

• spend hours on back and forth emails with clients or potential clients
• crafting and tweaking proposals to give our clients an accurate and beautiful floral brief of what they can expect on their wedding day
• creating the floral concepts (including choosing sizes, colours, flower choices and quantities)
• calculating stem counts to ensure we are within budget
• ordering your flowers
• driving to flower farms to check on the flowers
• liaising with the venue and chatting logistics
• research flower availability (as each season/month the flowers completely change – we can’t just reuse the same recipes year-round!)
• coordinating with suppliers and growers to ensure we can get the items we are after and chat about what substitutes are available in case of weather issues
• and finally, sourcing freelancers to bring your vision to life.

This is all before the wedding even approaches.

 As the big day nears, our schedule gets so much busier as we are now dealing with the product and have long days doing hands on work in the studio. Week of, we’re up at 4am most mornings driving all over the countryside from farm to wholesaler to gather all of your flowers (sometimes we spend a day JUST driving collecting all the stock and timing the deliveries right) and then we spend the 3-4 days (this can be longer depending on how large the wedding is and how many florists are working)before the actual wedding day meticulously preparing, designing and creating to ensure all the flowers are in perfect quality for your day.    

Most of the time this is with a team of skilled florists too – not just me.  This is because flowers are so delicate and sensitive that you need to get them conditioned and prepped so they are ready to design with, and a lot of the time this isn’t achievable solo as there are just so many flowers to process.  Unlike stationary designers or another tangible product, we can’t prepare in advance as the flowers can only be so out of the fridge for so long, and touched so many times before they start to show blemishes.  We’re pulling them in and out of the fridge, checking on them like a helicopter parent because they’re so delicate! It really is a juggling match trying to get the flowers perfectly open so they’re at their peak, without them looking old, bruised and blown.

Now, the day of your wedding is here.  What are we doing? 

The team will arrive to the studio and spend a few hours packing and rearranging the van/s, drive (very carefully!) to your getting ready locations, unload the van, construct designs on site, hydrate & rearrange florals after travel, liaise with planners/coordinators, spend a few more hours installing the breathtaking designs at your venue, deciding individual placement for each arrangement, meticulously ensuring the arrangements are perfect from all angles, misting the florals, cleaning up & ensuring the final set up/product is exactly as discussed.   We then anxiously wait until your ceremony is over, then we often repurpose the designs.  This includes rejigging the arrangements, rehydrating them and moving them to the reception space.  We then either come back that evening at midnight, or the next morning to pack down everything.  The wedding itself is a very huge day. 

I wish I could say it ends here, but this whirlwind of activity actually continues even after the event, with an average 2-day clean-up per wedding. This includes multiple runs to the tip ($), cleaning the studio and van, returning the hire fridges and hire vans, stock take & checking all inventory, and cleaning the hundreds of buckets, bud jars, candle holders, vases and vessels that we had used in the lead up to your day, and on the day itself.

Also, wedding florals are already expensive as they are getting sourced specifically for you. It’s such a special process, but there is lots of planning involved as this means we order weeks/months in advance to secure the flowers you love, rather than just rocking up morning of to the markets to grab whatever is on the floor.  Because they’re getting shipped from all over the country just for you, the prices are often hiked up by our suppliers as they are a ‘special item’ and a luxe variety in a desired colour, rather than just any odd cheap orange chrysanthemum or hot yellow gerbera. Crazy, right?

So, when you see a labour charge on your quote, know it’s there to slightly offset the immense effort that goes into orchestrating your floral dreams, not to cover the cost of the flowers themselves!   Not only do wedding florists just want to scrape by; like anyone, we aim for a profitable, sustainable business that pays us all a living wage. This focus means we often forego other projects to give your wedding the undivided attention it deserves, too!

It’s important to recognise that when you pay for wedding flowers, you’re not just buying the blooms. You’re investing in a luxury product crafted by a skilled and qualified designer. The cost reflects the artistry, effort, and resources that go into creating something truly special for your wedding day.

Even before joining the wedding industry, I had always known as a little girl that weddings are dang expensive. I can’t speak for other vendors or industries within the wedding industry and their prices, but on behalf of all florists – I hope this has set the record straight.

Labour is added on top of your flower investment to compensate for the thoughtful planning, processing and designing with the flowers the week of, and curating a design and executing your dream vision.

Here’s a flower quote I’m loving lately: I must have flowers, always, and always.” ― Claude Monet