The problem
A wedding quote means working out stem counts, flower prices, wastage, labour, delivery and set-up. If each of 6 quotes a month takes 60 minutes to price and write up, that's 360 minutes, 6 hours a month, often done late at night.
What the AI does
Give ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini the couple's brief (date, venue, colours, bouquets, buttonholes, arrangements) and your own price list, labour rates and delivery charges, and ask it to set out a draft quote with a line per item and a clear total. You supply the stems and prices; the assistant organises them and writes the covering message. Check the sums with a calculator, check varieties are in season for the wedding date and confirm with your wholesaler before you promise colours or varieties.
A worked example
A florist in Cheltenham quotes 6 weddings a month in spring and summer. She pastes the brief and her price sheet into an assistant and checks each line before sending.
Before
About 60 minutes a quote: 6 x 60 = 360 minutes, 6 hours a month
After
About 30 minutes a quote checking the draft and the sums: 6 x 30 = 180 minutes, 3 hours a month
What it's worth
About 3 hours a month saved (180 minutes), worth around £75 if your time is worth £25 an hour. Free plans may be enough; ChatGPT Plus is about £20 a month, so £20 is the top of the range for one person.
How to set it up
- Keep a price sheet with stem prices, wastage allowance, labour per item and delivery and set-up charges.
- Paste the couple's brief and your price sheet into your assistant, leaving out their phone number and address.
- Ask for a quote with a line per item, a total and a short covering message.
- Check every line and the total with a calculator, and check the varieties against what's in season and what your wholesaler can supply.
- Send the quote yourself, with your terms for deposit, cancellation and delivery.
What goes wrong
- AI gets arithmetic wrong. Check every total before a couple sees it.
- Don't promise a specific variety, colour or delivery slot the AI suggests; check seasonality and your wholesaler first.
- Don't let it add claims such as 'locally grown' or 'fully sustainable' unless you can prove them.
- Don't paste a couple's contact details or payment information into an assistant.