Floral Budget 101:
A Candid Breakdown
of Where Every Dollar Goes
with a San Diego Wedding Florist
Curious where your wedding flower budget actually goes? We’re a San Diego wedding florist looking to establish transparency and break down the real costs behind the blooms—from design to delivery—with brutal transparency.
You see the quote. You love the vision. But maybe you're still wondering: Why do flowers cost so much? Whether your wedding floral budget is $5K or $50K, we believe you deserve to know exactly where your investment is going. At Three Swords Floral Co., we don’t hide behind vague line items—we design with intention, transparency, and respect for your trust. This blog pulls back the curtain on how full-service floral design actually works in Southern California, especially in a high-demand market like San Diego.
The Quick Breakdown:
Where Your Floral Budget Actually Goes
Design Concept & Creative Direction – 20%
Flowers & Hard Goods – 45%
Labor (Studio Prep + Onsite Install) – 20%
Delivery, Breakdown & Logistics – 10%
Rentals, Custom Ceramics & Special Requests – 5%
💡 Note: These are averages. For highly customized weddings or ceramic-heavy designs, those percentages shift.
Design & Creative Direction
Isn’t Just "Mood Board Work”
The Real Work Behind the Aesthetic
The proposal you see is just the tip of the iceberg. Behind the scenes you're getting original concepting, flower sourcing coordination, ceramic planning (if applicable), proposal revisions, studio recipes, stem counts, and week-of logistics mapped to the hour.
—“Design” at Three Swords means strategy, architecture, storytelling—not just choosing pretty flowers.
Why Flowers Themselves Are Not the Bulk of the Cost
Think You're Paying for Peonies?
You're Also Paying for
Climate Impact, Freight & Wholesale Margins
Your $15 Icelandic poppies didn’t just appear in San Diego. They were imported, packed, shipped in cooled trucks, auctioned or wholesaled, and finally processed by our team. Add in the percentage of stems that bruise, wilt, or die in heat? It’s part of the reality that couples rarely see.
Local Doesn’t Always Mean Cheaper
Yes, we love sourcing California-grown when possible—but local doesn’t always mean more affordable. Seasonality, supply chain interruptions, and the scale of your design still dictate how much we need to source (and from where).
Labor is Where Most
Budget Shock Happens (Here’s Why)
Studio Prep = Hours You Never See
Your centerpieces aren’t whipped up in 10 minutes. Each stem is cleaned, processed, styled, and handled with care. That lush asymmetrical bouquet? It took hours to build right.
Event Day = A Full-Scale Production Team
We’re onsite early, managing installations, overseeing timelines, and troubleshooting weather, venue access, and day-of surprises. After dancing? We’re back to tear it all down, carefully packing rentals, ceramics, and waste. Labor is real—and we pay our people well.
Custom Ceramics & Signature Touches—
What Makes Our Work Unique
If your quote includes custom ceramic vessels (like many of your proposals do), here’s the value:
Custom made-to-order vessels that match your design palette
Vases designed to be reused post-event or gifted to family
Artistic table styling with continuity across visual elements
These pieces aren’t from a rental warehouse—they’re hand-built in our studio, one at a time.
Final Thoughts from a
San Diego Wedding Florist
Who Won’t Sugarcoat It
When you work with Three Swords Floral Co., you’re not just buying flowers—you’re buying artistic vision, fine art quality, and the infrastructure required to pull off a luxury event. Whether you’re planning a 2025 wedding at The Lane or dreaming of an Ojai escape in 2026, we promise: no fluff, no filler, just gorgeous florals grounded in real logistics and honest work.
Ready to see where your
floral vision can take you?
Let’s start a proposal that respects your budget and your imagination.