By Erin Frank
As vendor bids come in and your wedding budget gets more and more difficult to balance, I’m willing to bet you’ll think to yourself “I could make that for less!” I wholeheartedly applaud a DIY wedding, but let me be the first to tell you—kid, it ain’t easy. When my husband and I wed last October, we funded the wedding ourselves on a very limited budget. It was DIY from top to bottom, including the ceremony, decor, even the food! One of the places I was able to save a ton of cash was on flowers, and here’s how I did it:
1) Shop where the florists shop: Search online or get friendly with a local florist to find out where they source their flowers from. If you’re a Bay Area Bride it’s the San Francisco Flower Mart. Go several months before your wedding to start building a relationship with a vendor whose flowers you like. Your vendor will be more honest and accommodating if you’re a familiar customer. After a few practice bouquets or centerpieces, and a little calculation, get a quote on what the flowers will cost and schedule a pick-up date and time.
2) Keep it simple: For your centerpieces pick one or two colors and florals for your blooms then add a little greenery. Buying direct from a floral supplier means you can get more flowers for your money, as you are providing the labor yourself. Use clear floral tape to construct a grid over the top of your vases, especially wide-mouthed vases. The grid will give your arrangement added structure and stability.
3) Throw a party: Enlist the help of as many friend as you can comfortably fit in your work area. Put some to work de-thorning and trimming flowers while others make grids and start arranging. Provide mimosas, snacks, and a little music to make the afternoon more fun.
5) It’s all in the details: Narrowing blossoms to two types of flowers and colors leaves you room to add special details without making the final look too busy. This could mean incorporating table numbers into your floral arrangement in a unique way, or adding a touch of ribbon. Here I used wide ribbon around the edges of pots that were all the same size and color, but had different raised patterns. The ribbon covered any bits of tape that overlapped from my grids and really brought the look together.
6) Get Your Timing Right: Even with help, this process will take you longer than you think. Time yourself from start to finish on a sample arrangement, including cleaning and trimming, then multiply it by the total number you want. Give yourself a cushion on top of that to avoid stress.
7) Cool Off: Keep the flowers well-watered in a cool place until they are ready for their big moment! Make sure in advance that you have boxes for transporting your arrangements. On your wedding day, enjoy! All of those compliments about how beautiful things look? They’re the reward for all of your hard work.
11 Comments
I had never heard the clear floral tape trick before and it makes so much sense! Thanks for the tutorial.
great post erin. i actually have been stressing out about florals. since i am the ultimate DIY bride. I like to do things myself. I even worked as a florist doing weddings and more while i was in high school..oh man years ago! so i know i have it in me. However i dont think I wanna be doing that the night before. and we certainly dont have the budget for a florist. so it was a nice read about your experience.
found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
I used the same Ikea pots at our reception (but filled with orchid plants! Good timing on the post as I have a friend getting married and trying to figure out where her budget is going–I just forwarded her the link!
Thank you for the info on the DIY flowers. I love your color choice. Saving money but not loosing the beauty of the flowers is very important to me. I also like the idea of having my good girlfriends over the day before to help out and bond over my special day. Keep sharing your ideas they really help!
oh erin, those are lovely!
Your arrangements are beautiful! Great job!
Flowers is definitely the place where I want to go as cheap as possible. Do you have any suggestions/sources for artificial flowers that look nice but won’t have to be kept cool?
AB—Silk flowers are fine if you can find ones you like. I’m a fan of Save-On-Crafts http://www.save-on-crafts.com/newsilflowse.html and you can get tons of other decor there for good prices. I’m a bigger fan of real branches, especially ones with berries, or even dried flowers. They’ll add dimension and a highly designed look to your table. Find nice tall pillar vases then fill them with willow, cherry branches and more. Or use manzanita branches down long rectangular tables as a very dramatic centerpiece–you can hang crystals, flowers, or even placecards and favors from them.
San Francisco Bay Area Bride Guide Budget Blooms DIY Wedding FlowersGreat. found your site on del.icio.us 5/25/2010
Great and timely information! Were having beautiful weather here in Ohio,
I love fresh flowers,
time to get out and prep the soil.Thanks for the great Hub!
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