Is it cheaper to buy flowers from a wholesaler?
Posted by Michelle Hughes on
The simple answer to "Is it cheaper to buy flowers from a wholesaler?" is "yes." Of course, it's cheaper to purchase flowers from the same places florists purchase their flowers. The trick comes after you purchase those flowers. A professional florist will know how to properly process and care for those flowers, will you?
Each flower type has a specific way it needs to be processed in order to last as long as possible. Roses for instance are packed dry, two dozen to a box and are stacked in from shortest to tallest. When you first open a box of roses from a wholesaler, they may look rough. They have shield petals that have to be removed, their stems need to be stripped of leaves and dethorned, and they need to be hydrated and store properly so that they are open at the right time. Purchasing flowers from a wholesaler is cheaper on the front end, but if you don't know how to care for those flowers you may be purchasing them twice.
Another caveat of purchasing flowers from a floral wholesaler is that many of them require you to be a business or professional florist before you can order. In our market, middle Tennessee, there are three flower wholesalers in Nashville. We order from all three and two of them require a reseller business license while the third is open to the public.
Purchasing flowers from a wholesaler is often much different from purchasing flowers from a florist. At a florist shop you can often purchase readymade bouquets, arrangements, and even flowers by the stem. At a flower wholesaler you will have to purchase in bulk. There are per-stem minimums for each type of flower and greenery, so you may wind up purchasing more than you actually need.
While purchasing flowers directly from a wholesale florist may save you money, we would argue that your wedding or special event is not the place or time where you should be learning the ropes of processing and caring for flowers. Unless you are well versed in flower processing, storage, and arranging we suggest leaving all of that to a professional florist. Their knowledge and expertise are what you're paying for in the mark up between the flower wholesaler and local florist.
Bloomstall Flower Boutique is a professional florist shop in Columbia, Tennessee. We offer local delivery, event flowers, and wedding flower design and installation.
