How to spend your ambitious wedding flower budget of 5k or more

Written by Emily, Head Wedding Florist at Botanique Workshop, London

So, you’ve committed to having a substantial wedding flower budget of 5k, 10k or more, and you want to find the best wedding florist in London who can help you realise your ambitious floral wedding dreams. You’re thinking of something that’s all you - of statement floral arches, whimsical bridal bouquets, trailing staircase blooms and more - the options are endless, and we are here to help you.

We're Botanique Workshop, a wedding florist in London, and we've worked with hundreds of couples across many of London's most prestigious wedding venues. Drawing on the experience of Emily, our head Wedding Florist, here is a guide to help you understand what your generous wedding flower budget can bring to your big day, and things to consider.

What a £5k plus budget unlocks

The obvious benefit of a bigger flower budget is, you will get more flowers! But with a bigger budget, comes bigger decisions and more scope to consider. If you have £5,000, £10,000 or more to spend on wedding flowers, you will shift from functional buying separate items, to fully-fledged design-led work. Think full-venue transformations, statement installations, multiple locations covered (ceremony, drinks reception, breakfast, evening). You get more design planning time and focus, which opens up the creativity even more.

The design process at this pricing tier

Any bespoke wedding flowers package will involve a design process that includes a moodboard, consultations, mock ups, site visits and your florist listening exactly to your needs. What's different about working at a high budget is the time spent in these areas. Mood boards will be more vast, consultations might double, site visit and installation mock ups will increase - a good florist will take you through all of this with ease, making the process as frictionless as possible. At Botanique, we work with all our clients the same no matter what their bespoke wedding flower budget is, everyone gets the same level of care and attention. However, we know what's required when budgets are higher, more decisions need to be made and more factors need to be considered.

Statement elements worth the investment

Some elements really come into their own at this level. Floral installations - arches, hanging displays, blooms suspended from the ceiling - need scale and budget to land properly, and larger pieces like this need a bigger team to install and dismantle safely on the day. Asymmetric or oversized arrangements bring real drama to a room. And tablescapes can go well beyond a centrepiece: runners, place setting details, bar displays that tie the whole reception together.

Last July we installed a beautiful ceiling flower piece at the South London Gallery, a venue screaming out for something dramatic and impactful. The venue is encased in gorgeous gardens but the room itself is plain white. Having the entire budget thrown into the ceiling install worked perfectly and made the flowers from this wedding completely unforgettable.  

Sourcing and rarity

A bigger budget also opens up your access to specialist and imported blooms, British-grown luxury seasonal flowers, even flowers grown specifically for your day. It opens up working with rare colour palettes and unusual texture. Due to less constraints you can also blend quantity and uniqueness - instead of having to pick one over the other.

For Lottie’s wedding in October we are able to source all the last of the British Dahlia’s in all their amazing late summer colours and tones, this made the flower wedding arch completely unique and standout.  

Venue-specific considerations

London has some of the most amazing wedding venues to choose from, ranging from the historic to the innovative and fresh spaces. Historic venues often come with access or heritage considerations that shape what's possible. Unusual spaces - galleries, rooftops - bring their own logistics around scale and installation. At this budget, your floral design and wedding decor design can really do your space justice. 

Working at the iconic Old Sessions House for a Wedding is always a dream, as one of their recommended wedding florists we love installing flowers here. It’s an incredibly old building but this is the benefit of having regular trusted suppliers is we know exactly what can and can’t be done in the space. We loved making this flower filled staircase in June.  

Logistics that come with scale

Larger installations need a bigger team on the day - more hands to build and dismantle safely, especially for anything overhead or structural like arches and hanging displays. Timelines are longer too: bigger pieces need more time to install before guests arrive, and more time to break down afterwards.

It also means more coordination with other suppliers - wedding planners, venue stylists - so everything comes together on the day without clashing.

Timeline

The booking window advised is 12 to 18 months, which is pretty standard across any bespoke package, no matter the budget.  What changes is how that time gets used, with more design decisions to make and more ground to cover as the concept develops.

FAQ - Tailored to this tier: 

Do I need a wedding planner as well as a florist at this budget?

Personal preference, having a higher budget means more face to face working with the florist, site visits etc. The florist will have everything in hand but if you want someone else to communicate with the florist about the more laborious tasks then a wedding planner will relieve this stress whilst you can focus on the funner part of wedding flowers! 

Can flowers be preserved/reused across the day?

External suppliers can be used to preserve your bouquet etc. Reusing flowers is always a good option where appropriate however it is venue specific. Having a large budget means less need for reusing flowers which makes for a more seamless experience and also means rooms can be used all day and not disrupted. If flowers are used in bespoke installations they are typically built to be the centrepiece for the whole wedding and not chopped and changed. 

What's the difference between £5k and £10k+

£5k is getting you a focus floral piece and other staple flowers 
£10k is getting you a focal floral piece and other show-stopping arrangements on tables etc