Our Florist's Dud Job

No, I'm not talking about the quality of our florist.  She's great.  I'm talking about the dud job for which she probably wishes she hadn't signed a contract, the dud job at a fancy hotel that will barely reap a profit.  That dud job would be our wedding--no fault of her own, we're the lame ones. 

Let me back up.  Here are the kinds of flowers, available in March (tulips, hyacinth, freesia, lisianthus, etc.), that I was dreaming about for my bouquet:

 

 Source (my fave)

 

Source 

(I'm not sure I'm an all-tulip kind of girl, but these look like Easter eggs don't they I just wanna crack 'em) 

Beautiful bouquets, eh? How lovely it would be to hold thee. Until I saw the estimate from my florist. 

Since we are definitely splurging on the venue/food, I was really hoping not to spend that much on flowers other than for dinner table centerpieces and cocktail hour table arrangements. 

I met with our lovely florist at the Ritz on one of my trips out to the Bay Area.  She was awesome.  Warm, funny, conscientious (took copious notes), and talented.  Below are the items that I first discussed with her and for which she drew up an estimate. 

1 Nosegay (yeah, not even a bouquet)

1 Boutonniere 
Flowers for dogs (don't laugh, fools) 
Cocktail Hour table arrangements 
Escort card table arrangement 
Reception table centerpieces 
Cake table flowers 
Candles on windowsills 

After seeing the her estimate, here is the list I sent back to her, with my strikethroughs to indicate what we had to drop in order to get close to our budget.  I used red font in the email for extra effect!

1 Nosegay

1 Boutonniere 

Flowers for dogs 

Cocktail Hour table arrangements

Escort card table arrangement 

Reception table centerpieces

Cake table flowers 

Candles on windowsills  

That's 2 out of 8, i.e. we approved a mere 25% of what she originally envisioned for us. I am surprised that our florist is even talking to us anymore. 

Sigh.  Must DIY a little.  For the cake table, I'm going to be buying freeze dried petals instead, probably from flyboynaturals, to scatter on the table.

Source 

For the candles on the windowsills I think the Ritz can do a big chunk of that. Double sigh. I guess the words "festooned" and "profusion" will not apply to my wedding as far as flowers go. 

Anyone else have to cut far, far back on an item so you almost felt embarrassed telling a vendor?