Pricing Gardenia Bouquet
- Thread starter rewolf
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knowing gardeias as the beautiful, yet temperamental flowers they are.......several things come to mind.
First of all - make sure your bride knows just how fragrant that many blooms will be. A picture doesn't smell.
Secondly - that bouquet will almost certainly have to made last minute.
Thirdly - You will have to be extremely careful about how you handle the blooms because of their propensity to turn brown.
And you will almost have to use the faux hand-tied handle if she wants a handtied look. She may be expecting long branches and not the blooms that arrive.
First of all - make sure your bride knows just how fragrant that many blooms will be. A picture doesn't smell.
Secondly - that bouquet will almost certainly have to made last minute.
Thirdly - You will have to be extremely careful about how you handle the blooms because of their propensity to turn brown.
And you will almost have to use the faux hand-tied handle if she wants a handtied look. She may be expecting long branches and not the blooms that arrive.
Being that they are expensive and tempermental, I would charge around $250-$275 (based on 12 blooms) as well. I would also explain all the reasons mentioned why a gardenia bouquet is so expensive, and the cons that were mentioned as well. I have found that if you explain it to the bride, they are ok either paying the price if they really want it, or switching to another idea. Brides respect you as a professional when you tell them the inherent problems. I would have a backup option to show her, too, when you quote the price in case.
Last time I got gardenias for a function, the wholesale cost was about 6 bucks per bloom..........so, adding in the time to get magnolia leaves, wire the gards, assemble the bouquet - I don't think I could do the bouquet profitably ( making the profit percentage I should ) for anything less than about 350/375.00
Okay, then I will need to bring in 15 gardenia if there are 12 in the bouquet.
Yes, it makes me nervous because the gardenia are so tempermental.
I'm 90 miles away from the flower market and cannot just run there if the gardenia are 'checking out' on me. I have read the horror stories on FC about the gardenia bouquets and I'm a bit concerned.
rsef
Active Member
- Jun 11, 2008
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I have a similar bouquet to make in September. 12 gardenias, minimal foliage, wire & tape into a small crescent. Besides the usual gentle handling, Crown-n-glory the heck out of them, right?
I charged $375 for mine.
I charged $375 for mine.
Okay, then I will need to bring in 15 gardenia if there are 12 in the bouquet.
Yes, it makes me nervous because the gardenia are so tempermental.
I'm 90 miles away from the flower market and cannot just run there if the gardenia are 'checking out' on me. I have read the horror stories on FC about the gardenia bouquets and I'm a bit concerned.
Me too. Marcy sells them and I always cringe. She made a bouquet several weeks ago that we inserted 5 gardenias at the last possible moment. They held pretty good.
This may have been done a million times before, but after thinking of the best way to wire the Gards, I came up with making a small loop on one end of a heavy gauge wire and inserting the opposite end down through the center of the Gard until the loop end disappeared. I taped the base and wire and it held fantastic. I also leave the plastic leaves on for support, though I do trim.
I agree, this should be quick and easy to make. You may consider sealing the bouquet in a plastic bag and deliver in a clean white styro cooler with gel pack.
I'd charge at least $300 for this bouquet.
I would make sure bride knows exactly what is going to happen to the blooms if they are stacked as they appear in this photo. You cannot get this look without damage and browning.
Though gardenias have a glorious fragrance, this many, if held for a long time could give a bride a major headache. I wore a gardenia corsage to my sisters wedding years ago and had to take it off. The fragrance got the better of me - and these are my all time favorite flowers. jenny
I would make sure bride knows exactly what is going to happen to the blooms if they are stacked as they appear in this photo. You cannot get this look without damage and browning.
Though gardenias have a glorious fragrance, this many, if held for a long time could give a bride a major headache. I wore a gardenia corsage to my sisters wedding years ago and had to take it off. The fragrance got the better of me - and these are my all time favorite flowers. jenny
$325 - 350. If you can see 12 blooms in the picture, I would figure there are a few you can't see, so 15 blooms, plus an extra box for a total of 18. And they pay for the extra whether I need them or not. And I get them with real foliage, no plastic at that price!
Lots of Crowning Glory, like the cooler and ice pack idea. Hope it's not in August!
Lots of Crowning Glory, like the cooler and ice pack idea. Hope it's not in August!
Flowerchatter03
Co-Owner and Floral Composer
I would charge ALOT for this bouquet. I had a wedding on May 16th and her bouquet had a few gardenia. It arrived on Wednesday and I didn't touch them until Friday afternoon. When I did use them, I had plastic over my hands to avoid touching the blooms. After I made the bouquet (it had hydrangea, roses, etc), I put a plastic bag over it until it had to be delivered Saturday morning.
One of my part timers was at the wedding and she said by 5pm, the gardenia were turning brown big time. Thank God it lasted through the photo session, wedding, and reception.
They are so beautiful but do not last long like a tuberose.
Be upfront with the bride and let her know what she might be dealing with. Let her know that you certainly can create the bouquet but they are from nature which is out of your control. If she wants it, fine but $$$$ to have extras in case you have browning or shipment damage.
One of my part timers was at the wedding and she said by 5pm, the gardenia were turning brown big time. Thank God it lasted through the photo session, wedding, and reception.
They are so beautiful but do not last long like a tuberose.
Be upfront with the bride and let her know what she might be dealing with. Let her know that you certainly can create the bouquet but they are from nature which is out of your control. If she wants it, fine but $$$$ to have extras in case you have browning or shipment damage.
lori042499
Well-Known Member
- May 3, 2006
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I would say 350.00...there are definately 12 or more blooms...the wholesale cost without magnolia and wire and picks is already at 75.00..Get your gards from Jeremy at Montgomery's, they grow their own and they are always fabulous, I have never had a problem with them browning or anything, I believe they are also already wired and taped for you....not sure where Chester Brown gets theirs but I have had them look old on occasion when I needed them last minute and montgomery was out...
artistry in bloom
New Member
The gardenias in this bouquet are almost 2 years old.They are Florever preserved real gardenias.I used to use them all the time in bouquets, for bride's hair, and corsages because of the browning factor of fresh gardenias.
When Florever started in Canada the owner asked me to do arrangements for her for the gift show in Vancouver. They really only sell roses, orchids, hydrangea, and callas in Canada but when she mentioned they sell gardenias in Japan I asked her to get me some. I have been using them for years but the last shipment was awful. Really small and squished so I wouldn't pay for them and asked her to only get me some more when the quality went back to normal. So far I'm still waiting and that was three months ago. It's too bad because I loved using them and really want to get some more.I don't know of any other wholesalers with preserved gardenia. Does anyone else know of any that have excellent quality ones like Florever used to be.
When Florever started in Canada the owner asked me to do arrangements for her for the gift show in Vancouver. They really only sell roses, orchids, hydrangea, and callas in Canada but when she mentioned they sell gardenias in Japan I asked her to get me some. I have been using them for years but the last shipment was awful. Really small and squished so I wouldn't pay for them and asked her to only get me some more when the quality went back to normal. So far I'm still waiting and that was three months ago. It's too bad because I loved using them and really want to get some more.I don't know of any other wholesalers with preserved gardenia. Does anyone else know of any that have excellent quality ones like Florever used to be.
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Of course the wedding would have to be in August...:boggles:
Not only will the gardenia sweat - but I'll be sweating too!
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