The StemCount magazine
Reporting on the craft, cost structure and logistics of running a wedding floral studio in the United States.
Nine reports on pricing, sourcing, paperwork and install day, written for the florist who signs the wholesale invoice. Every piece answers one question a studio owner actually asks. Start with the recipe, or read the one that matches the wedding on your bench this week. If you would rather see the software behind the numbers, look at how a StemCount quote is built.
practical guide
A recipe starts with focal, secondary, filler and greenery counts, then converts to wholesale bunches. Here is how to build one that survives substitutions and a real quote.
comparison
Three sourcing channels, three different cost structures, minimums and lead times. A side by side look at what each one actually asks of a small wedding studio.
mistakes to avoid
Most lost margin on a wedding is not in the flowers. It hides in unpriced labor, hard goods treated as free and a proposal that never closed the substitution door.
regulation and compliance
Resale certificates, sales tax on labor and rentals, venue certificates of insurance and vehicle coverage. A plain look at the paperwork a US floral studio is asked for.
case study
A focal variety arrives half short two days out. Follow the recount, the substitution call, the client conversation and the credit claim that kept the design intact.
trends and outlook
Import routes, freight, holiday demand peaks and a shift toward installations over centerpieces are reshaping what a wedding quote has to absorb. Here is the outlook.
checklist
A flip compresses install, strike and reset into a narrow window. This is the hour by hour checklist that keeps the crew, the venue and the buckets moving.
numbers and benchmarks
Wholesale cost, markup multiple, hard goods, design hours and installation labor each carry their own math. Here is how the numbers stack into a defensible wedding price.
field report
Notes from a hot outdoor build: hydration timing, which varieties collapse first, van heat management and the design choices that hold up through a full afternoon.
Every article in Stem and Ledger eventually points back to the same arithmetic: markup on stems, hard goods handling and an honest labor rate. Read the pricing guide once and the rest of the studio decisions get easier to make.
What markup and labor rate do I need on stems and hard goods to hit a real margin?
Then work outward: the eight other pieces in Stem & Ledger each take one part of it further, and every one links back here.
