How to get paid for weddings and events without the drama: quotes, deposits and proposals

A wedding is a flower shop’s most profitable order… and the one that causes the most headaches if it’s handled badly. Months of conversations, last-minute changes, a set-up that costs a fortune in hours and, far too often, a margin that evaporates without anyone knowing why. In this article we explain how to get paid for weddings and events without the drama: how to put the quote together, how to collect deposits, how to send a proposal that closes and how to make sure you make money on every event.

Why weddings eat into your margin

A counter bouquet is easy to price: you’ve made it a thousand times and you know what it earns you. A wedding isn’t. And that’s where the money slips away:

• The quote is done “by eye”. A round number in front of the couple, without breaking down stems or hours. If you fall short, you pay for it.
• Changes aren’t charged for. “Could you add two more centrepieces and change the arch?” — and those extras get made without touching the price.
• Set-up isn’t counted. The hours setting up on site, the travel, the collection afterwards… real work that doesn’t appear in the quote.
• No deposit is asked for. Special flowers are bought for a specific date without anything being paid upfront. If the wedding falls through, the loss is yours.

The good news: all four can be fixed with method. You don’t need to be a big company, you need a system.

Step 1: quote by line item, not by instinct

A wedding quote isn’t a number: it’s a list of line items. Bridal bouquet, bridesmaids’ bouquets, centrepieces, ceremony arch, car decoration, bar… each item with its quantity and price.

Quoting this way has three immediate advantages:

1. You don’t leave anything out, because you see it all broken down.
2. Changes are easy to charge for: if they ask for two more centrepieces, you add two lines and the total adjusts itself.
3. The couple understands what they’re paying for, and that reduces haggling. A bare total invites negotiation; a professional breakdown is respected.

Each line item should be based on your recipe: how many stems of each flower it takes, plus the labour. That way the price doesn’t come from instinct, but from your real cost plus the margin you decide.

Step 2: always take a deposit

This is the rule that separates the flower shop that makes money from weddings from the one that suffers. Never buy flowers for a date without having taken a deposit.

A 30–50% deposit on confirmation does two things: it covers the flowers and work you’re going to pay for upfront, and it commits the couple. People who have paid a deposit don’t back out lightly or disappear two weeks before. The rest is paid before or on the day of the event, as you agree.

For it to work, the deposit has to be recorded: how much was paid, when and how much is outstanding. No “I think they gave me €200”. The event order should show the part payment and the balance in view at all times.

Step 3: send a proposal, not an Excel table

The couple isn’t comparing flower prices: they’re choosing who to trust with the most important day of their lives. Whatever you send them has to sell your work.

An Excel sheet full of numbers doesn’t do that. A branded proposal —your logo, your colours, photos of your work next to each line item— does. It’s the difference between looking like just another supplier and looking like THE flower shop.

A good proposal should also be able to:

• Go out the same day as the first coffee, while the couple’s excitement is still fresh.
• Open on a phone and be forwarded to whoever has a say (the mother, the wedding planner).
• Lock when sent: what the couple accepts is what you signed. If your supplier then raises flower prices, their proposal doesn’t move; any changes they ask for go into a new version, with a full trail.

Step 4: check the margin before you say yes

The question you should be able to answer before sending the quote is: how much do I make on this wedding? If you don’t know, you’re gambling.

With line items based on recipes, the calculation is automatic: flower cost + labour per item, margin per item and margin for the whole event. That way you set the price with data, not out of fear of overcharging or undercharging. And if flower prices rise two weeks before, you see it before it eats your profit.

How Evoflor handles it

All of the above can be done with folders and spreadsheets — but it’s exactly what Evoflor’s weddings and events module automates. Each event has its own record with line items, each item is based on your recipes with cost and margin, the deposit is recorded with the balance in view, and the proposal goes out with your brand —web link and PDF, without Evoflor appearing anywhere— ready to send on WhatsApp in one click. Once sent, the quote is locked. You can see the step by step in the event proposals guide.

The events module is available from the Basic Events plan and on Pro and Premium (see pricing), because the florist who does weddings is exactly the one who gets the most out of it.

Frequently asked questions

How much deposit should I ask for a wedding? The usual is between 30 and 50% on confirmation, and the rest before or on the day of the event. What matters isn’t the exact percentage, but not buying flowers for a date without having taken anything upfront.

How do I put together a wedding flower quote? By breaking it down into line items (bridal bouquet, centrepieces, arch, set-up…), each based on your cost recipe. That way you don’t leave anything out, you charge for changes and you control the margin. We explain it above, step by step.

What if the couple changes things after accepting? The proposal they accepted stays locked. Changes go into a new version that you send again, so it’s always clear what was accepted and when. That way extras get charged for instead of given away.

Do I need the most expensive plan to do weddings? No: the events module with proposals starts on the Basic Events plan (€59/month, or €39 a month paying yearly) and is also on Pro and Premium. You can try it free for 15 days before deciding.