If you’re planning a 2023 or 2024 wedding, chances are you’ve encountered some exhausted florists talking about a truly unprecedented flower shortage!
We wanted to take a moment to explain what is happening in the floral industry right now, how that might affect your wedding, and what you can expect from Haute Floral as your wedding florist!
First, what is causing the shortage?
Well basically, when Covid first hit the world weddings & events screeched to a halt. This meant that floral farms and supplies were left with tons of product that wasn’t purchased and essentially rotted away. (You can’t keep those fresh flowers forever!) And then, in response to lock downs and quarantines, a lot of suppliers had to scale back on planting and growing just to stay afloat and keep their doors open.
When wedding came back and people were ready to get celebrating again, the demand for fresh flowers spiked like crazy but the supply available was too low! Leaving florists and customers with not enough fresh floral ingredients to fulfill their orders and designs.
What does this mean for me?
If you’re planning a wedding right now, here’s the situation:
Florals are in short supply. We may not be able to promise specific types of blooms. Even basic ingredients like roses can be limited!
The price for flowers has increased. This means, you may have to spend more to get the look you want OR understand that your budget won’t get you as far as you originally planned.
We know this isn’t what you imagined your wedding process to look like. And it is definitely okay to feel a little down or heartbroken over this. Believe us, it’s tough for the florists too! We want more than anything, to deliver your wedding flowers exactly how you envision.
What We Can Do
Now, on to the action plan. What can you do to get the florals you want and what are we doing to make that happen?
As the client, you should:
Book early, early, EARLY! Seriously, the earlier you get your order in with a florist, the better chance you have of getting what you want. It still can’t be guaranteed, but your place in line will be secured!
Be flexible! We know that’s hard when you’ve been planning and envisioning your wedding for so long. But, give us your trust and we promise, we will do everything in our power to make it beautiful. At the end of the day, that’s what we want too! We just need your cooperation to make that happen.
Be prepared to talk numbers. Budget has always been important to discuss, but now even more so. Again, flower prices have spiked! Your budget will not go as far as you originally planned! It may cost more to get the look you want.
As your florist, we will:
Provide creative ideas! Trust us, we’ve been designing weddings for many years. We know how to get creative when smaller budgets and tight restrictions. So ask for input and let us put our thinking caps on together.
Use our design eye. We know how to make things look good. We just need your trust. Again, ask your designer for their input! We’ll provide you some suggestions that you might not have thought of or ways to maximize your budget & design to make it beautiful.
Be on your team. Here’s the truth we want to leave you with. We are on your team! You hired us to make your wedding vision happen and that is what we want to do more than anything! So just know, when we’re explaining what’s going on in the industry it is still through the lens of making your wedding day everything you wanted and more. This is always our goal!
It’s Going to be Beautiful
One more thing before we go. At the end of the day, if you end up married, that was a successful and beautiful wedding! It can be easy to get caught up in the details and the vision, but we promise when your focus is your new marriage, everything else is icing on the cake! So take a deep breath and remember, we’ve got your back. It’ll be beautiful.