We found a florist!

I have to admit, flowers are not my biggest priority in this wedding. I like so many flowers, so I am not choosy about what is in my bouquet. In fact, the simpler to me, the better. I looked at a florist recommended by a friend, Madison Floral, in Arlington. My friend said they were pretty reasonable. I also looked for florists online, and I found one, Holmes-Shusas in Worcester, that actually posted their package prices online. I was really happy to see that information so I could get a sense of what I would be spending.

From what I understand about wedding flowers, these are the things I should have:

1. A bouquet for me
2. A boutonniere for Mr. BostonBride
3. A bouquet for each of the 7 bridesmaids
4. A boutonniere for each of the 3 groomsmen
5. Corsages for my mom, my godmother, his mom, his godmother, his grandmother
6. Boutonnieres for my dad, my godfather, his dad, his godfather
7. Corsage/boutonniere for each reader
8. Flower girl basket
9. 2 vases of flowers on the altar at the ceremony
10. A ribbon on the ends of the first 3 rows to ‘reserve’ them for immediate family
11. Centerpieces on the tables in the reception site (really want raised ones)
12. Cake topper

So, since the church doesn’t allow a runner or for flowers to stay there, we can re-use the altar vases at the cocktail hour. Nice!
Madison Floral pointed me to a worksheet on their website that gave ranges for flowers. When I ran through their spreadsheet on the low end of the range, it ran me close to $4000. Albeit I have not gone to their store in person, I am afraid that this figure on the low end is still pretty high.

So my fiance and I trekked out to Worcester to meet with Paul from Holmes Shusas. He was really nice to start, and when I told him costs were a high priority and flowers were a low priority he didn’t cringe and throw me out. In fact, he suggested lesser expensive flowers and told me how to “beef” them up a bit by using filler flowers. He made me a small sample of a bouquet using hydrangeas and roses, and I LOVED it. It was perfect – not too much yet pretty and elegant. He even let me take it home! His estimate included my list from above and ran just under $3000. Yay Holmes-Shusas! We gave them our deposit and now have out first vendor lined up.