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6 vital things you need to know when working with a wedding florist
Offbeat couples run the gamut with their floral choices: bouquet alternatives and non-floral bouquets, DIYed flowers, paper flowers, and of course, good ol' lucious real... Read more
On a mission to shave down your wedding flower budget? We've always been fans of forgoing flowers altogether, but sometimes that's just not the compromise you're looking for. Let's talk about how to save money on wedding flowers, including real flowers AND some non-floral options if you're willing to try something a little different.
DIY your flowers
Purchasing your own flowers and DIYing the arrangements can be a super money-saver as long as you're willing to undertake the work involved. Consider buying the flowers wholesale, from grocery chains, or even growing your own bouquet to double up on the savings. Consider local grocery stores, discount chains, and superstores like Costco.
Consider more greenery
Instead of large bouquets of expensive flowers, consider filling in the bulk of the bouquets with more greenery or less expensive flowers like baby's breath. Don't forget about those kale bouquets!
Re-purpose your flowers
Designate someone to transfer your ceremony flowers over to your reception rather than buying separate arrangements for each location.
Go local and in-season
DIY ribbon flowers for your bouquets, boutonnieres, decor, and more
I never counted how many ribbon roses I made before the wedding. Let's just say the number is probably somewhere in the mid-to high-hundreds, and... Read more
Ask your florist to focus on local and seasonal flowers (which vary by location), and you'll save a bundle by not having them source from other locations.
Ask for gifted flowers
Offbeat Bride reader Wendy had her friends and family help with all her wedding flowers like so:
In lieu of gifts, I asked that my bridal shower guests bring me potted flowers. That way I could display them at the wedding, and then I could later plant them at our house.
[The photo above] is just a small gathering of the ultimate collection!
Choose more alternative flora
In addition to sourcing your own vases, jars, bottles, and floral containers, keep an eye out for non-floral additions to your bouquets and centerpieces. Think candy, herbs, fruit, succulents, sculptural elements, and geeky toys as additions to the flowers themselves.
Go totally non-floral
A nest of eggs? Seven pounds of iron? These epic non-floral bouquets will ignite your creativity
Felt and paper bouquets are super popular for good reason -- they're fucking awesome! And you can keep them around a hell of a lot... Read more
There are few topics that offbeat couples have touched on more than non-floral bouquets and non-floral centerpieces. They've been making sword bouquets, paper flowers, ribbon bouquets, light-up leather bouquets, Christmas ornament bouquets, and button bouquets for years. Go forth and be inspired!
Go non-floral for your bridal party
Some couples take it even further and have their wedding party carry lanterns, parasols, birdcages, cotton candy, books, and other items that aren't even remotely bouquet-like. So many options you may already own!
Rely on existing decor
Outdoor weddings can often rely on the natural flora, but indoor weddings often can get away with the architectural beauty already there. Save some flower money by choosing a venue that needs less work, decor-wise.
Need more advice about wedding flowers?
How are you saving money on your wedding decor?
: Flower Muse
: Black White and Raw Photography
: Edible Weddings & More
: FEAST at Round Hill
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
Love this!
I went the fabric flowers route, and it was super cheap as I used scraps of all different kinds of fabric, plus I still have my bouquet sitting on my bookshelf two years later.
We didn’t have any flowers and no one noticed (in fact my aunt was surprised when I mentioned it, and she was there!)
I had a bead bouquet, the wedding party carried lanterns, we had a “leaf Lord and Lady” instead of flower girls, skipped boutonnieres, and we used tiny pumpkins and candles on the tables. Having a Halloween wedding, flowers were out of season and would have been out of place and cost more.
I had a bouquet made of fabric flowers and buttons which I made myself and which will never wilt. Not many people understood that decision at first but when they saw the actual bouquet they were absolutely thrilled. I paid literally nothing for it (collected the buttons from everyone who would give them away for free and I also have a drawer full of fabric scraps anyway) and I had a ton of fun putting it all together. I also had some non-flowery, rather dramatic center pieces on each table which I also assembled myself: I went into the woods to collect larger twigs, put them in empty wine bottles and decorated them with the odd paper rose here and there. They were quite tall but still very delicate center pieces and people liked them so much they wanted to take them home after the party. I just cannot understand why you would pay so much money for real flowers when they wilt so quickly…