Hey everyone! It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time for our regularly scheduled knowledge bomb re: wedding planning. More specifically, about flowers and your budget. We can’t begin to tell you about the price markups you’re facing just by adding the word wedding to your flower order. It can be really intimidating to go into a flower shop without any prior knowledge about how much anything costs, too. Sure, you can go by pictures you find on Pinterest (Did I mention we have a whole board dedicated to bouquets? Drool.). However, most of the time, you can’t really get a good cost estimate out of random pictures on the web. You also might discover that a flower (or combination of flowers) is vastly over your budget, simply for being rare or out of season. If you’re curious about that, here’s a list of flowers that might break your budget.
Listen. Buying flowers seriously doesn’t have to be that costly or intimidating. Here is 5 best advice for you to avoid getting gouged on flowers for your wedding:
1. Buy them wholesale
Go straight to the source. If you’re buying a ton, they can probably cut you a deal. A flower shop would be buying them here anyway and some wholesale companies offer good rates if you’re getting married.
2. Go to the grocery
Are you having a small wedding? We went to a wedding recently where the bride just went to a local grocery store to make her own bouquet. She said it took her a grand total of 30 minutes to pick out her flowers, bring them home, and arrange them. Kudos to her!
3. Have a pre-decorated wedding
Pick a venue that is already covered in flowers or artificial plants. We’ve seen weddings in orchid houses and botanical gardens that haven’t had anything extra added that looked absolutely breathtaking. You’re already pre-paying for excellent flowers almost year-round in these circumstances. Embrace your local gardens!
4. Grow your own
If you are feeling confident, grow your own flowers. There are a ton of factors here (season, will you grow from seed, will you have the time, etc.). Don’t even consider this if you haven’t gardened before. Even people that have a few years under their belts still wouldn’t feel comfortable growing their own flowers for such a big occasion.
5. Scale down
Obviously, we can’t cut flower shops out entirely. We see the value there – you can just show up and everything is already done. Honestly, it is sometimes worth paying extra, especially if you don’t have the time to DIY anything. And maybe you want that professional touch to your wedding, as well. In any case, the best way to save money with this option is to cut back on things. Find an alternative centerpiece idea and stick to just one bouquet. It’s also okay to nix the boutonnières in favor of colorful bow ties. Have your bridesmaids carry bright umbrellas. Pinterest is always a great resource to help you find good alternatives when you’re trying to cut back on more expensive items – here’s a specific search on bouquet alternatives.
Our final advice on this? Do not fall into a DIY hole where you end up spending more on alternatives and projects than you would have on flowers. Keep it simple. The whole point of all of this is to reduce your to-do list and stress levels.
