Everything you need to know about wedding-day blooms—and how to watch your bottom line.

One Bride, Two Budgets

You don’t have to tell brides that flowers make one of the biggest visual impacts on their wedding day. But understanding the intricacies of floral pricing? That can be a little less clear. To help, we asked florist Alicia Rico of Bows + Arrows to create two arrangements—both with the same bride in mind, but at vastly different price points—and explain which factors impacted the cost.

$350-$450

Common, Not Basic
Rico incorporated roses, a less expensive flower, and one she says is often overlooked because of its commonality. But in the right style, she proves that they can be as stunning as any other bloom. “Roses are kind of underrated,” she says. “But if you have a gorgeous color rose, it can be very special.”

Impact Only
Rico focused solely on large-scale, attention-grabbing flowers, leaving out the variety of foliage and “movement” flowers that give the pricier arrangement such a lush look.

More Domestic
This arrangement includes fewer out-of-season peonies, and instead, more domestically sourced flowers like dahlias and scabiosas.

Pretty
and Petite
Simply put, reducing the size of the arrangement and limiting the number of flowers significantly reduces the cost.

$750-$1500

A New Leaf
Rico sprung for a variety of eye-catching—and higher-cost—foliage to fill and accentuate this arrangement.

Don’t Skimp on Details
This arrangement features accent flowers that, though small in size, are rare and therefore can cost as much as bigger statement flowers. But these small-scale details equal big impact to the rich look of the finished product.

Petal Packed
Not only is this arrangement considerably larger than its counterpart, the sheer quantity of flowers per inch is much higher. This also allows for a broader, richer color spectrum than the smaller arrangement can accommodate.

No Bad Angle
The same level of attention was paid to every side and angle of this well-rounded, 360-degree arrangement.

Stretching the Seasons
Rico packed this arrangement with peonies, which are out of season in the fall and winter and therefore have to be flown in from around the globe, significantly upping the cost.

Lush Layers
There’s nothing surface level here: Tucked beneath the outer halo of florals are staggered layers of more blooms. This depth creates a truly luxe look. “There’s a lot of florals within, florals on top of those, and some just tumbling out,” Rico says.

Outside-the-Box Blooms
For a one-of-a-kind look, Rico used specialty flowers in this larger arrangement, from Japanese butterfly ranunculus flown in from Holland to hand-dyed tulips.

*Ranges account for price variation season to season.