Floral Checklist for a Wedding: What to Book, and When
A floral checklist for a wedding: nine items to book, the real order Australian florists get booked in, and what goes on the day-of run sheet.
$2,639. That's the average an Australian couple spends on wedding flowers in 2026, up 8% on the year before - and it's exactly why a floral checklist for a wedding needs a full list of items before it needs a budget line.1 A complete floral checklist for a wedding covers nine items: the bridal bouquet, attendant bouquets, buttonholes, corsages, ceremony flowers, aisle flowers, centrepieces, cake flowers, and petals for the send-off. Miss one at the brief stage and it turns into a same-week scramble instead of a line in a quote.
What's on a floral checklist for a wedding
Nine items, and each one is a separate conversation with the florist because each has its own quantity, its own delivery point, and sometimes its own supplier.
| Item | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Bridal bouquet | Carried by the person getting married |
| Attendant bouquets | Bridesmaids or the equivalent bridal party |
| Buttonholes | Groom, groomsmen, fathers, ushers |
| Corsages | Mothers and grandmothers |
| Ceremony flowers | Arch, arbour, or altar arrangement |
| Aisle flowers | Petals, pew ends, or aisle markers |
| Centrepieces | One per reception table |
| Cake flowers | Fresh flowers on or beside the cake |
| Petals or confetti | The send-off |
A quote built from this list is a quote a florist can actually cost. A quote built from "flowers for the wedding" is a conversation that starts over twice.
Decide real, artificial, or a mix, before the brief goes out
Real flowers are still the majority choice, but not by as much as most couples assume. In the 2026 Easy Weddings survey, 43% of Australian couples used real flowers only, 35% mixed real and faux, and 22% went fully artificial - meaning 57% used at least some artificial flowers somewhere in the day.2
Colour is decided earlier than most couples expect, too. Neutrals and whites lead at 59%, ahead of greenery at 15%, pinks and brights at 7% each, native flowers at 7%, and reds at 5%.2 Both decisions - real versus artificial, and the colour direction - belong before the florist brief, not during it. A florist quoting against "we'll know it when we see it" quotes conservatively, on both price and time.
One more decision worth making early: ceremony flowers can move to the reception. Reusing ceremony florals at the reception "has also become a common consideration as couples look to maximise value," per the same 2026 survey.2 Tell the florist this during the brief - it changes how the ceremony arrangement is built, wired, and packed for the move.
When florists actually get booked
Flowers are booked 10th out of 30 wedding categories in the observed Australian buying cycle - after the venue, catering, wedding planner, celebrant, photography, wedding dress, videographer, music, and cars, and ahead of stylists, hire, and almost everything else.4
That position is a real observed order, not a countdown - the survey publishes no month-by-month schedule against it.4 What it does say clearly is that flowers wait on nine other decisions, most of which fix a date, a guest count, or a venue capacity that the floral brief then has to fit around. Book the florist once those nine are locked, not before - a brief written against an unconfirmed guest count gets rewritten anyway.
What flowers cost, and where
The national average is $2,639, up 8% on last year.1 The state spread is wide: NSW couples pay the most at $3,346, and QLD the least among the well-sampled states at $1,977 - a gap of 69%, the widest state spread of any wedding cost category in the 2026 report.1
Against an average total wedding spend of $38,252,5 flowers alone run to roughly 7% of the budget - not the largest line item, but one of the few where the same nine-item checklist prices very differently depending on the state the wedding is in.
Who actually writes the floral brief
Most Australian couples do it themselves. 54% style the wedding without a professional, against 20% who use a stylist, 16% who leave it to the venue, and 10% who hand styling to the florist directly.3
Where the direction comes from tracks closely: 41% of couples draw mainly on their own tastes, 30% from Pinterest, and 16% from Instagram.3 Whoever ends up writing the brief - the couple, a stylist, or the florist working from moodboard links - the nine-item checklist above is what that brief needs to specify against, not a vibe.
Locking numbers close to the day
Centrepiece count follows table count, which follows the confirmed guest list - not the invite list. A guest count that shifts between the venue booking and the final RSVP date is normal, and centrepieces are one of the few floral items that can still change a few weeks out without reworking the whole brief. Buttonholes, corsages, and bouquets are fixed earlier, because they are tied to named people in the bridal party rather than a table count that moves with RSVPs.
Day of: delivery, the ceremony move, and the run sheet
The florist needs a delivery window at the ceremony space, a window for the ceremony-to-reception move if flowers are being reused, and a clear finish time before guests arrive. PlannedBy's run sheet template carries a florist column with 12 pre-built rows, covering delivery through to post-ceremony clearance, so those windows are already placed on the schedule once the ceremony time is set rather than added by hand on the week of.
If the ceremony flowers are moving to the reception, that move gets its own row between the ceremony ending and the reception opening - not folded into "reception setup," which is usually a different supplier's window entirely.
Frequently asked questions about a floral checklist for a wedding
What should be on a floral checklist for a wedding?
Nine items: bridal bouquet, attendant bouquets, buttonholes, corsages, ceremony flowers, aisle flowers, centrepieces, cake flowers, and petals or confetti for the send-off.
When should you book a wedding florist?
Australian couples book flowers 10th out of 30 wedding categories, after the venue, catering, planner, celebrant, photography, dress, videographer, music, and cars.4 Book once those decisions are locked, since the floral brief depends on the guest count and venue they confirm.
Should you use real or artificial wedding flowers?
Either is common. 43% of Australian couples use real flowers only, 35% mix real and faux, and 22% go fully artificial.2
How much do wedding flowers cost in Australia?
$2,639 on average in 2026, up 8% on the prior year. State averages range from $1,977 in QLD to $3,346 in NSW.1
Can ceremony flowers be reused at the reception?
Yes, and the 2026 Easy Weddings survey notes it has become a common way couples maximise the floral budget.2 Tell the florist during the brief so the arrangements are built to survive the move.
Who decides the floral brief - the couple or a stylist?
Mostly the couple. 54% style the wedding themselves, against 20% who use a professional stylist, 16% who leave it to the venue, and 10% who hand it to the florist.3
What goes on the run sheet for the florist?
A delivery row, a ceremony-setup row, a ceremony-to-reception move row if flowers are being reused, and a clearance row. PlannedBy's run sheet template carries a florist column with 12 pre-built rows covering that sequence.
The next decision on this checklist
If the venue, caterer, planner, and photographer are already booked, the next decision is the florist - not the colour palette, and not the centrepieces. If any of those four are still open, book them first: the floral brief reads their answers, not the other way around.