Price help please - composite bouquet

rewolf

rewolf

Pro Member
Jul 4, 2007
1,299
513
113
chatham
www.wildbunchstudio.com
State / Prov
MA
I have a pride that has asked for a composite bouquet made from rose petals. I've never made one before but I'm not afraid of it because I'm a huge crafter - and I'll practice quite a bit before her summer wedding.
But, what is the perceived market price of a composite for the Bride. She is about 5'8" so the bouquet needs to have substance. I do not want to under quote myself.
Thanks in advance.
 
Practice one first.......then you will know how much labor time it's going to be, then, if you have to do more of them for bridesmaids, figure out how often you want to do them. lol

jmo, it takes labor and skill and the right mechanics, not just anybody can make one and you need to price accordingly. Depending on how big you make it, figure at least 6 roses, as the composite gets bigger, you will need large, perfect petals. What would you charge for a bridal bouquet of 6 roses? Triple that, at least!
 
  • Like
Reactions: rewolf
anytimeflowers said:
What would you charge for a bridal bouquet of 6 roses? Triple that, at least!
Click to expand...

Thanks but you see I want the perceived market value which I am hoping is more than the actual cost to make one.

Are florists getting $150 for these bouquets or can I charge $250+ because of the perceived value of it by the customer?
 
But my opinion stays true.....nobody else can do it, plus, when you add a really cool "handle" treatment, it goes up more. I can't see any reason why you could NOT get much more for percieved value, I do it all of the time. You are not going to know at what price the percieved value is until you throw a number out there and see if it sticks. I would DEFINITELY charge AT LEAST $250, sorry I was not more clear. I was reluctant to throw out an actual number. They are not going to get these anywhere else, it's unique, you can charge for it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rewolf
I will second that thought...I have been working in the industry for 25 years and noone that I worked for would every sell one of these....NOONE!!!!

Charge, Charge, Charge...they are lucky enough to find a florist willing to entertain the idea to do it, so charge for it cause they take time, practice and skill(although easier now that when you had to wire and tape the whole darn thing...I made one glamelia in my life, in school and one composite rose for a friend as a gift for her to carry....both were before glue...
 
  • Like
Reactions: rewolf
I did my first one last summer. I know I attached a picture on another thread at the time but I can't find it so I have attached it again. I enjoyed doing it but it did take a long time. I have it on my wedding video and a lot of the brides want it but I can't always do it because of the time factor if it is a big wedding .You can't do the composites very far in advance and there are always so many other things to do the day of the wedding.
I would suggest using a large sturdy rose. I used Geraldine for this one. You can see from the vase arrangement that it is a big rose and it lasts for ages.
I also made the handle myself. I charged $275.00 for this one.
P1010001-2..JPG
P1010015..JPG
Dianne
 
  • Like
Reactions: Taylors_Flowers, KABERS, anytimeflowers and 4 others
Out of a class of 30 florists last night, only 3 people knew what a glamelia was only those 3 have ever made one, only half the class knew what a duchess or composite rose was and only a handful had ever made one...this is 30 florists interested enough to take a class, hows that for sad, there are probably 300 or more less interested running shops...I would love to know what the % was in the other classes, by the way Jacobson's sold out of all 4 classes, with just about 30 in each class...That was awesome, that is 120 florists caring enough about their business to further their education..

In my class there were a few that had never glued a corsage, still wiring and taping, I was so glad to see them there, sorry to derail your post Katie!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: anytimeflowers and rewolf
I'm with everyone else in the $250 + range! It's one of those items that once it's been made, I always feel like I didn't get enough for it.

Keep in mind how fussy you might (or might not) be about the roses - will you be picking off and tossing the guard petals, graduating the color from the center out necessitating more than one color of rose, the center petals of a rose can be too small or curve the wrong way to use so you'll toss those, how fancy a handle treatment...all stuff to keep in mind.
 
  • Like
Reactions: anytimeflowers and rewolf
These take work! Charge, charge, charge for them!
Thought I would share this photo and caption, from this month's prom issue of Flowers&:

In full bloom
A composite rose serves as an appealing and intriguing nosegay—or, in a somewhat smaller version, as a hair ornament. A nosegay might take six or eight roses; how many depends on the petal count of the roses you use. It will be easier to remove the petals and keep them whole if you select roses that are already somewhat open. Separate the outer petals from the rose (you may want to discard the smallest inner petals) and make a stack out of several of them. Pierce the stack of petals at the bottom with a medium-gauge wire, no thinner than No. 26, wrap the wire around itself and cover with floral tape. Make several of these stacks and layer them around a center rose to create your composite. Finish with Crowning Glory and cover the rose lightly with tissue until it is ready to be worn.
 

Attachments

  • Prom1..jpg
    Prom1..jpg
    662.2 KB · Views: 26
  • Like
Reactions: anytimeflowers, KABERS and rewolf
I charge about $95-125 for a bridesmaids size and $185-250 for a bridal. If I was making a large bouquet out of several composites, I'd charge $300+.

I do recommend that everyone practices these when they have extra roses as I really don't see why everyone thinks that they are so hard. In this past week, our staff has made 30 composite bouquets/ flowers for two different events. We had it down to a science where each bouquet took 5-10 minutes and used 4-5 roses. It did take a tube of glue for every 2-3 bouquets. J has a great how to video on Ubloom and we used these methods and adapted a few of our own tricks. I only charge what I do because I can, but the flower cost and labor isn't really that high. I even had my brother who has never touched a flower helping with the prep process. He laid out the petals and we applied the glue.

The only draw back is that it is messy with the glue. I'm pretty sure I love making these now!

We even made a large entry arrangement of mixed flowers including 7 composites. We left the center stems long and inserted them in oasis like a normal flower. It was an ISES event so we brought the arrangement back to the shop when we tore down. The composite roses still look great and the event was on Tuesday (made 4 days ago) and it hasn't been in the cooler at all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: emilymoonflower and anytimeflowers
Mocha Rose said:
We even made a large entry arrangement of mixed flowers including 7 composites. We left the center stems long and inserted them in oasis like a normal flower. It was an ISES event so we brought the arrangement back to the shop when we tore down. The composite roses still look great and the event was on Tuesday (made 4 days ago) and it hasn't been in the cooler at all.
Click to expand...
Thanks April for the tips.
Would love to see your ISES arrangement. Post a pic if you have one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back