Whether you’re planning to spend $3,000 or $30,000 on flowers and decor there’s one mistake everyone makes; trying to spread their budget evenly across the entire wedding.
So what does this look like in reality?
Let’s take a round number: $10,000 for flowers & decor. Let’s play with the numbers to see how a typical breakdown might work:
15% – Personal Flowers – $1,500
15% – Ceremony (or beef up and reuse!) – $1,500
15% – Head Table – $1,500
35% – Guest Tables – $3,500*
10% – Stationery – $1,000
10% – Specialty Areas (cake table, ceiling, etc) – $1,000
*The Guest Table amount generally takes up a higher percentage because it’s being split across 10 to 20 separate tables.
So, give or take, this is how most weddings are splitting their decor budget. This will make for a very lovely wedding, no doubt, and guests are going to walk away thinking, ‘Wow! That was beautiful!’
BUT, your guests may have a hard time picking out any one specific element that really caught their eye. There were so many beautiful pieces!
There’s nothing wrong with splitting your budget this way. However, if you’re looking to make an impact and create a space that your guests will talk about 20 years from now, you want to give them something big that they’ve never seen before.
We would recommend breaking down the same $10k budget this way instead:
10% – Personal Flowers – $1,000
15% – Ceremony (or beef up and reuse!) – $1,500
15% – Head Table (unless it’s the Statement) – $1,500
20% – Guest Tables – $2,000
5% – Stationery – $500
35% – Statement Area – $3,500
Here are some ideas for big statement areas that will give your guests an experience they’ll remember:
1. Bold ceiling installation: We’re all about that ‘WOAH’ moment the second your guests walk through the door. Where is their eye being drawn to? Whatever it is, it ought to be spectacular. If you have a tall ceiling or a tent, you may have an opportunity to really wow your guests with something magnificent.
2. Interactive “Seating Chart”: We’re not going to knock the standard seating chart, it’s functional and it can be very beautiful… especially when we design it 😉 That said, helping your guests find their seat is an opportunity to do something fun. For example, you can display favours on shelves with each guest’s name and table number attached. This adds an element of fun as each guest gets to search for their personal favour. Of course, you’ll want to dress the shelves up with some beautiful flowers and candles to make it pop.
3. Champagne Wall: Entering a space where you’re immediately greeted with a drink is a great way to kick off a killer party. You could have alcoholic and non-alcolic options available too! Your drinks could be displayed on a wall, a shelf, or a fun bar. We have some super fun options for this.
4. Show-stopping head table: Sometimes the thing guests will see first when they walk through the door is the head table. If this is the case, you want to make sure that it looks like magic. Not only that, but quite a large number of photos will be taken of this space throughout the evening. You can also reuse your ceremony decor here so that you get two impactful spaces for the price of one.
5. Flower Bar: Imagine it’s time for cocktails, and while you and your new spouse are off taking photos, your guests enter the cocktail space to find a bar full of flowers and a cute florist in an apron creating custom wearable floral arrangements or small bouquet gifts for your guests! What a blast that would be. Plus, your photos from dinner and the party would be epic since all your guests would be decked out in beautiful flowers.
If your budget will allow, you can do more than one focal installation but always try to find at least one that will really wow!
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