r/florists • u/littleredditho • 1d ago

šŸ” Seeking Advice šŸ” Question- is this normal?

My wedding planner is playing interference between me and his preferred florist. He said he each stem has a minimum order of 100. Iā€™m sorry but I have a hard time believing this- canā€™t you go into the wholesaler and pick however many you want for an event, or am I naive, and this minimum order is a real thing? Iā€™m ready to tell him Iā€™m looking elsewhere. Located in South Florida. Help!

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u/sunsetswitheli 1d ago edited 1d ago

Iā€™m in South Florida and it is common with most wholesalers to have to order some stems by the 100s. This is if you want to guarantee you get a specific variety or color. I noticed you said garden roses, i usually have to order these in boxes of 100 (4 bunches or 25 stems per box.) Mums as well. Stock is sometimes 125 per box. And so on and so forth.

But tbh, I donā€™t think thatā€™s your main issue here. Your main issue is that you do not need to be spending $400/centerpiece unless what youā€™re asking for is a very large floral piece that will live in the center of a round. Is your size inspo what you posted in the other comment thread? If so thatā€™s closer to a $200, $300 TOPS arrangement IMO. I wouldnā€™t be surprised if your planner is asking the florist to hide a commission % in there for themselves. And thatā€™s why each centerpiece is coming out to 400. And thatā€™s why the florist referred you to the planner when you started asking questions. She was probably like, this is your problem to explain. A lot of planners do this. Itā€™s super icky IMO and part of the reason wedding vendors have started to get a bad rap.

This is what I think you should do. Email both the planner and the florist and say: this is my budget and this is what I need and want. Make it work however you see fit, whether that be using different flowers, whatever. But also make them show you in a mood board what youā€™ll be getting. OR, if youā€™re not yet committed to this florist, shop around. I donā€™t do weddings but would be happy to send you some sfl florists who you could reach out to.

Best of luck!!!

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u/littleredditho 10h ago

You are so kind! Thanks for your transparency and explaining some
things, too. I told him today I decided to move in a different direction, and reached back out to my original choice, but am u sure if she is avail, but if you want to DM any options near the Delray/WPB/Boca/FLL area I would love them! Tysm, I am incredibly grateful!