how many bunches?

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rewolf

rewolf

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Jul 4, 2007
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chatham
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I have sketched an arbor/arch that a bride would like - 2 vertical birch poles with greenery and full flower application on top birch pole and down a portion of the vertical poles. The flowers don't need to be packed tightly, a nice amount of greenery can show through. She is very flexible but wants roses, lily, hydrangea. I plan to use carns and various fillers also. Having said that, I am clueless to the quantities to order. My arbors have always involved big sprays and not full coverage. Any suggestions to the quanities? Thanks in advance...
 

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You "sketched" that? Pretty impressive...!!

Not sure what to tell you on the quantities, cuz it depends a lot on how mayn Hydrangia and Roses you /she wants to use...

My guesstimate cost at US retail would start somewhere about $1000.00 including labor...
 
perhaps you can map/design out a "section" 50-75cm and then multiply out by the number of cm/m you have to cover.
 
Yes, I did sketch that...should probably do more sketching than scouring magazines for ideas. Anyway, I'm open to any quantity suggestions...I just really, really want someone to tell me for once how many flowers I should use...I'm so so tired of climbing the learning curve myself... (I'm whining in a big way - sorry)
 
Ok well I will answer this to the best that I can, ,First figure out how many yard of greens you need, Say if you are buying the garland already pre made, or if you are going to make it, then, go and place the flowers on there as to how much you sold it for?? That will help you get a start, I can" t give you the exact anser till , all the facts are in place..
 
Queen of Weddings said:
Ok well I will answer this to the best that I can, ,First figure out how many yard of greens you need, Say if you are buying the garland already pre made...then, go and place the flowers on there as to how much you sold it for??
Click to expand...
Ok, I've come to my senses...I was going to buy 25 feet of pre-made garland for an arbor - 7' wide by 8' tall. I've allocated approx. $400 for pre-made ( includes my markup and labor), $200 for rental of birch arbor which leaves me approx $600 retail for flowers (or $125 my cost). Can I do this for $1,200 or do I need a bigger budget for the flowers than $125? I have not given the bride her estimate.
 
Not really knowing your customer, she may run on the price,,,But I would use cremons, roses,and larger flowers, and fillers, and for roses, I would use about 50, then a couple of bunches of filler, 25 cremons, and go from there, and that is a cute drawing...Hope this helps you some...
 
Queen - The bride has money but my intent is not to gouge her - I am just trying to make money for once... Are my mark-ups wrong. I'm only keystoning the pre-made garland, the rental is what it is and my mark-up on flowers is cost x 3.5 + 40%labor. Do you think that it won't look like $1,200 worth? I like your suggestions and appreciate your advice. After all, you are the Queen...
 
Ok here is my queston, on the post above you talked about the labor on the garland, and say if you charge 1200.00 for this, then Ok say the rental of the item is 200< Make sure that they know this part of it> and then 1000.00 of this is the product. then you shouldn't be doing any more than 300.00 total in product. Sorry I have to look and see where you are from , also, why do you feel that you are not making money?? Sorry your reponse sounded kinda sad, If you don't want to post answer here, then you can PM ,as well,,Hugs my dear, I think you need one..
 
Queen -

Garland: 125 x 200% markup + 40% labor to primp & hang = $350
Flowers: $125 x 3.5 markup + 40% labor = $612
Rental: $200
Misc: $50 hardgoods i.e. ribbons, twine, etc...
Total: $1,200 retail

It's just that no matter how many formulas I work out, somehow I'm not making as much as I should. I often under-estimate the labor in something like an arbor and this is a new type of arbor for me. There is a little fudge-factor in the above formula, do you think I need to increase the number of flowers?
 
Rewolfe,
you should be able to use premade garlands, and adding your flowers to the garlands in the shop, transport it to site, and attach it to the birch arbor when you get there.

Do in in 3 to 5 pieces of garland . 1 pieceof graland across the topl 1 or two down each side.

Your dimensions help. But, How deep is the arbor (front to rear). this will determine how much material you trully need to do what you want to do. If the arbor is narrow, then you can get away with 1 garland across the top.

If the arbor will support it, you could also us a single cage or John Henry saddle, and design your materials out if that, coming across the top(from the middle) , with 2 cages (full or 1/2 to 1/3 size) coming down each side.

8' wide is a very large arbor!!!! Our around here are about 4 to 5 ft' wide maximum. Are you sure that your dimensions are correct???? I would want to make sure I have the correct dimensions before I work up a quote.

Based upon your dimensions given 7' across by 8" tall, you need, at minimum, 24 lineal feet of garland. (7' + 8' +8' +1' for fudge & cutting).

At $4/ft cost -- your price at retail for the garland alone would be $384.00.
(using a 4 x markup).

IF your dimensions are correct, then, the price you are quoting is reasonable if you are able to premake most of it at the shop, and attach on site.

If you are making this whole thing from scratch, on site, then your pricing is low. this would also be low if you have to do a lot of fussing & fluffing, etc on site. Labor on site costs lots of $$$$!

Cheryl

ps. i think part of what has you doubting everything is that the Labor is the Big unknown. You need to get a good handle on how much time it is going to take to install this thing, and how much time to make it in the shop. Pieces this big require 2 people in site to install. Don't forget to factor in the labor cost of the 2nd person.
 
Just wanted to add to what Cheryl said. If your arch is that wide, the cages could work nicely, they are easy enough to transport and attach to the arch. Just did it for a bridal show and it was quick and easy to assemble. Good luck!
 
Cheryl - the arbor is constructed from 4 birch posts each sitting in an iron stand with two cross-rails. basically a chuppa with its depth diminished to about 1.5 ft. I want a loose/non-conforming feel to the greenery so I should probably add in my own, right? Like italian ruscus. Are you and Ivygreen covering all four posts with the garland or just the front?
I can shrink the width from 7' to 5' but I wanted the couple to be framed. How, please tell me do a I get flowers to extend out of a single cage on top to cover that span? Shouldn't I use 2 cages? Whoa, and isn't it bad luck or something to use a funeral saddle for a wedding...but I'll do it if you say it's okay.
Thank you for your input. I'm all ears...
 
Gorgeous drawing!

I'm in a hurry so I can't elaborate much, but IMO the quantity alotted for flowers is not enough to recreate the abundant look of your sketch. $125 wholesale doesn't go far when using roses and hydrangeas. You're basically looking at 15' X 8-10" of semi-solid flowers (with additional blossoms for depth).

Depending on the heat, I'd be inclined to use with Floracages for each 2' section - or - caged foam disks for 18" segments just so the flowers all had a water source.

HTH
 
I was thinking for the front of the arch, mainly, with the the amount of flowers and greeens you were discussing. I used a spray cage with a full size block of oasis, done like a narrow standing spray. Popped it off the easel I used to work on, and it transports easily. Then I used zip ties to secure it to my trellis. You could also use oasis spray bars,(the plastic covered oasis 18' or 24") and zip tie them as well. Flowers en masse up front and on the outside, extra greens and foliage tucked in the back. Don't just go on my answer though, I do it on the fly and figure it out as I go. Others may have a more tried and true response. Just cost out your base. Spray bars are more than cages, and all the little costs add up! CHR is right, depending on the look you will probably need more than one set on each post.
 
I just wanted to say - Wow - LUV your drawing - Wish I had those kinda skills....

:tongue
 
Hey, it's 4:30am - where is everyone? I want to thank everyone for their input. One last question though. I buy my garland from CutGreens. I had envisioned each pole being encased with greenery. Sounds like that is not practical if I buy pre-made. How do I avoid the garland looking like it is covering only the frontside of the birch poles or simply laying on top?
 
Rewolf:
Had to leave early last night...sorry that I couldn't get back to you until now.

You need to check out the support & see whether or not the structure you have envisioned will support the spray bars or the cages or the John Henry Saddles & wet foam. If it will not support then I recommend that you use all garlands, and wire in or glue in your flowers.

Several garland makers (cut greens is one of them) will make the garlands in any thickness and fullness and with any type of green you want.

If the structure will support the cage(s), then spanning across the top, I would use a 2' long spray bar in the center, with a shorter spray bar or iglo or cage at either end. Your greens coming from the center will be long, full, flowing & graceful. Additional garlands can grace the sides coming down the structure.

What we are telling you to do is to NOT cover the entire 1 1/2' depth of your structure....concentrate on the front portion only. (May be only 1/2 of the width of the structure -- you don't need to cover the whole thing, and you do not have enough money for materials to do that!!

If you are sticking with the 8' structure width, you do not have enough $$ built in with the flowers you are describing. YOu need to use LOTS of greens, clusters of flowers, with as many larger flowers, for visual impact, as you can at the price you are estimating.

As Ivy said earlier, we use the Oasis spray bars, or cages or even a John Henry saddle -- depending upon the strength of the structure -- and what else we are doing with it -- all the time. Whe we do this type of garden wedding, often times the arbor has to be dismantled right after pictures, and then the flowers are reused elsewhere in the reception.

(And no, I do not have any misgivings about using a JH saddle -- it is one more tool in my toolbox -- and it works in the way I need it to work).
Think out of the box!!!!!! Use ALL the possible tools and products that are available to you. do not segregate it to "funeral" or "wedding" or everyday just because that is where you commonly see it used.


Hope this helps! Gotta run......
Cheryl
 
CHERYL BAKIN said:
What we are telling you to do is to NOT cover the entire 1 1/2' depth of your structure....concentrate on the front portion only.
Click to expand...
I don't want to cover the 1 1/2 depth but don't you think I should put some green on the back poles? Even if its just curly willow...Also, is there a way to mold or push the greens of the garland around to the backside of its pole?

CHERYL BAKIN said:
...often times the arbor has to be dismantled right after pictures, and then the flowers are reused elsewhere in the reception...
Click to expand...
where do you reuse these sprays in the reception space?
Thanks in advance for all your help.
 
Rewolf:
You MAY want to put some greens down the back legs.......some long strands of plumosa with italian ruscus, or some extra garland, if you have the extra $$ to do it. YOu can also make your spray (that you are using on the top center) come out & back & start down the back legs. My preferance would be to use some extra plumosa & ruscus.

In regards to how we re-use the stuff, timing is everything!! We would take the spray off the top, and use it on a buffet table or head table. We would use the side pieces on a place card table, or cake table or corners of the head table.

It just all depends upon how long it takes them to take the pictures, and how feasible it is to get it off the arbor, and moved inside or to another location. Of course, time is money....so the more I stand around with my hands in my pockets, waiting to dismantle, the higher the cost will go. (for this part, we require a cc on file, and the final charges are billed when we are done.).


Is all this getting you to where you need to be on your pricing & quotation?
Cheryl
 
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