Florist

[S <3 M]

Is it actually cheaper to use an outside vendor for flowers??

 

[girli565]

Is it actually cheaper to use an outside vendor for flowers??

It probably is but if you're havng a wishes wedding you would still need to meet you minimum expenditure and using Disney florist helps you get there. If you use an outside florist it would be in addition to the minimum expenditure.

For example my minimum is $10,000. I would have to still meet that by increasing my food and beverages and then on top of that pay an outside florist. That's a lot of money but if you're willing to spend that then, yes, they are cheaper.

 

[S <3 M]

It probably is but if you're havng a wishes wedding you would still need to meet you minimum expenditure and using Disney florist helps you get there. If you use an outside florist it would be in addition to the minimum expenditure.

For example my minimum is $10,000. I would have to still meet that by increasing my food and beverages and then on top of that pay an outside florist. That's a lot of money but if you're willing to spend that then, yes, they are cheaper.

Yeah I have no problem meeting the $10,000 min not even counting floral n ecor I am way over it. That's why Im hoping that an outside florists might be cheaper. Any recommendations?

 

[bellebride116]

Lee Forrest is amazing! I posted my BEO from him here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2415206

 

[girli565]

Yeah I have no problem meeting the $10,000 min not even counting floral n ecor I am way over it. That's why Im hoping that an outside florists might be cheaper. Any recommendations?

then definitely use an outside florist! Bellebride just posted her florist and I've heard wonderful things about him! Just make sure your locations allow outside floral.

Lee Forrest is amazing! I posted my BEO from him here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2415206

I was just going to point her in your direction! Your floral was lovely and such a great price.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

The flowers I picked for my bridesmaids are just wheat and lavender. I checked the prices out at home for them, and I was quoted around $35. Disney was going to charge $100 (until I complained and got it down to $75, although I think they reduced the size).

My point is, if I could, I would bring outside floral. It just really isn't an option for me when I found out the prices with so little time left...and I can't bring anything from home.

 

[bellebride116]

then definitely use an outside florist! Bellebride just posted her florist and I've heard wonderful things about him! Just make sure your locations allow outside floral.

I was just going to point her in your direction! Your floral was lovely and such a great price.

Haha thanks! Yeah lee was amazing, he did such a great job and his prices are awesome!

 

[weedee]

For my Escape wedding, I've found for the few extras I'm adding (boutineers and bouquets, corsages for moms, petals for tossing, and fresh flowers for my cake) the prices are very comparable to what I've seen posted for outside vendors. For example, Disney is charging$ $12.50/boutineer which includes the ribbon wrapped stems. The corsages are $20, the MOH hand tied and ribbon wrapped bouquet $50. So for me, I found it much easier to just go through Disney. We had originally wanted to use an outside floral vendor because I thought it would be cheaper, but for the little floral we need it just wasn't. I recommend using Disney if you don't have a lot to add!

 

[S <3 M]

For my Escape wedding, I've found for the few extras I'm adding (boutineers and bouquets, corsages for moms, petals for tossing, and fresh flowers for my cake) the prices are very comparable to what I've seen posted for outside vendors. For example, Disney is charging$ $12.50/boutineer which includes the ribbon wrapped stems. The corsages are $20, the MOH hand tied and ribbon wrapped bouquet $50. So for me, I found it much easier to just go through Disney. We had originally wanted to use an outside floral vendor because I thought it would be cheaper, but for the little floral we need it just wasn't. I recommend using Disney if you don't have a lot to add!

That's the dilemma I am having...I won't need a whole lot of flowers. Pretty much all I need is my bouquet, aisle decors and the altar decors and couple of center pieces. So I am wondering if it's even worth it to use an outside florist. Does anyone know if Lee's forrest charge a minimum?

 

[bellebride116]

That's the dilemma I am having...I won't need a whole lot of flowers. Pretty much all I need is my bouquet, aisle decors and the altar decors and couple of center pieces. So I am wondering if it's even worth it to use an outside florist. Does anyone know if Lee's forrest charge a minimum?

As far as I know he doesn't charge a minimum.

 

[pezaddict231]

I'm using Lee too, as far as I know he doesn't charge a minimum. He does require a deposit which goes towards whatever you end up choosing, I think that was around $300. I found his prices to be much better than Disney for bridal bouquets and bridesmaid bouquets. Our BM bouquets will be $55 and Disney normally charges $125. I'm pretty sure my bouquet is around $200 or less when most bridal bouquets I've seen from Disney are around $300. Bouts and corsages are comparable. I'm not sure what Disney's normal pricing is for centerpieces but I find his prices to be very reasonable in that dept too. I also listed his estimate in my PJ if you'd like to take a look.

The main reason I wanted to use outside floral, aside from it being cheaper, was that I wanted to know how much things were going to cost in advance. I just couldn't wait until a few months before my wedding and have no idea what the bill would be. I asked my photogs who they recommended and they said they thought Lee was the best florist in the area and then I saw Bellebride's center piece mock-ups and I was sold.

So far Lee has been great to work with. When I spoke to him we had so much fun it really felt like talking to a friend instead of a vendor. He really has great vision and I'm so excited to meet him in two weeks and see some of his ideas in person!

 

[weedee]

Weird, Rosie and my planner have quoted me only $50 for my MOH's bouquet and that is the price that will be included in our BEO. I guess it depends on the flowers since I am doing simple Gerber bouquets with ribbon. For me, Disney was cheaper. We already have our approved total for floral from Rosie so it's not a surprise for us what the final cost will be. But I'm also not having centerpieces or flowers for the WP! I think you should get a quote from Disney because an outside florist might be cheaper when it comes to those things!

 

[bunny_pop]

I would imagine it is. I highly recommend Debbie from DSR Design. Currently her website is under construction and changing names to Atmospheres Foral and Decor, give her a call or an email though. She's been in the business for over 30yrs and her work is amazing. She does not do a steam count on the flowers. Debbie works on them until they are done. I've had a chance to see her work twice and her bouquets are large. She's only charging me $100 for my bouquet.
Another reason why I picked Debbie was because she made me feel like that she would work the flower at my wedding as if it was her daughter getting married.
Feel free PM me if you would like more info and pricing deals I've received.

 

[pezaddict231]

Weird, Rosie and my planner have quoted me only $50 for my MOH's bouquet and that is the price that will be included in our BEO. I guess it depends on the flowers since I am doing simple Gerber bouquets with ribbon. For me, Disney was cheaper. We already have our approved total for floral from Rosie so it's not a surprise for us what the final cost will be. But I'm also not having centerpieces or flowers for the WP! I think you should get a quote from Disney because an outside florist might be cheaper when it comes to those things!

That's a great price on your MOH bouquets . I think it may be the flowers. Most BEO's I've seen BM are $125 - $100, so I definitely wasn't up for spending that . There were also a few reports back then of it taking a long time for wishes brides to get their floral BEO's back and maybe it was just a few isolated incidents but I didn't want to risk being only a few months before the wedding and having to cut out things I loved because we just couldn't afford it. Although now with the house we'll probably be cutting back on a few things anyway.

 

[S <3 M]

I'm using Lee too, as far as I know he doesn't charge a minimum. He does require a deposit which goes towards whatever you end up choosing, I think that was around $300. I found his prices to be much better than Disney for bridal bouquets and bridesmaid bouquets. Our BM bouquets will be $55 and Disney normally charges $125. I'm pretty sure my bouquet is around $200 or less when most bridal bouquets I've seen from Disney are around $300. Bouts and corsages are comparable. I'm not sure what Disney's normal pricing is for centerpieces but I find his prices to be very reasonable in that dept too. I also listed his estimate in my PJ if you'd like to take a look.

The main reason I wanted to use outside floral, aside from it being cheaper, was that I wanted to know how much things were going to cost in advance. I just couldn't wait until a few months before my wedding and have no idea what the bill would be. I asked my photogs who they recommended and they said they thought Lee was the best florist in the area and then I saw Bellebride's center piece mock-ups and I was sold.

So far Lee has been great to work with. When I spoke to him we had so much fun it really felt like talking to a friend instead of a vendor. He really has great vision and I'm so excited to meet him in two weeks and see some of his ideas in person!

I can't find the estimate in your PJ What page is it on? How much flowers and decors are you actually going to be using if you don't mind me asking. It's hard to compare him and Disney for me because I don't have a BEO from Disney since our planning session won't be til May.

 

[pezaddict231]

I can't find the estimate in your PJ What page is it on? How much flowers and decors are you actually going to be using if you don't mind me asking. It's hard to compare him and Disney for me because I don't have a BEO from Disney since our planning session won't be til May.

The proposal from Lee is on page 23, post 341. We have quite a bit of floral. We will have floral for all the BP and parents/grandparents, swagging at the WP, pew decorations and alter decorations, 8-10 centerpieces, floral for pre-reception, memorial vase, petals, and there could be more but I think that covers the major things.

On the BEO's, it is really frustrating and I just didn't want to deal with the waiting, but the best thing to do is read through the ones that other brides have posted to get an idea of how much things cost. There is a thread out here that has some and some girls even posted them in their PJ's. that should at least give you a rough idea.

 

[amyy]

If I am having a wedding at SBP can I use outside floral? Since I am having an Escape wedding do I get to use the money for anything else (I would assume not). Not that I am having a lot of floral but I would like to have more if I could afford it

 

[pezaddict231]

If I am having a wedding at SBP can I use outside floral? Since I am having an Escape wedding do I get to use the money for anything else (I would assume not). Not that I am having a lot of floral but I would like to have more if I could afford it

I'm pretty sure for outdoor locations you can only use outside florists for personal floral - like bouquets, bouts. and not any type of decor. I'm not sure if Disney would let you substitute other decor for the the included floral, it couldn't hurt to ask.

 

[girli565]

If I am having a wedding at SBP can I use outside floral? Since I am having an Escape wedding do I get to use the money for anything else (I would assume not). Not that I am having a lot of floral but I would like to have more if I could afford it

You cannot use an outside florist at an outdoor location, you can use it for personal floral like your bouquet.

They won't credit you the cost if you go with an outside florist.

 

[KMS'sGlassSlipper]

Thank you guys for all this info! I am thinking of using an outside florist too. I have a larger wedding party, and am going to have a larger wedding, so I'm looking to cut prices wherever I can. Anyone else have other recommendations for outside floral so I can get ideas of different pricing?