I'm not a florist…can I arrange my own baby's breath??

Knottie02089612

Hi everyone,

I'm getting married next May and for my flowers, I really just want baby's breath everywhere. I got a quote from a local florist and it seems quite high for only asking for baby's breath (close to $1000). Since baby's breath doesn't appear to need a lot of arranging, I'm wondering if this is something that I can just do myself. 

Here is where the baby's breath would be needed:

3 bridesmaid's bouquets

3 groomsmen boutonnieres (essentially just a tiny, delicate sprig for each)

10-12 galvanized buckets with baby's breath for ceremony aisle

10-12 table centerpieces

very small either wooden boxes or glass vases for place card holders for ~100 guests (to go on the tables)

a ring of baby's breath around my cake

On Costco's website, you can buy 100 stems of baby's breath for $89.99. My questions are:

-is it realistic to arrange the above mentioned items myself? Or, will they not look nice?

-if I can do everything myself, will 100 stems be enough? Or should I order more?

-If I order the baby's breath from Costco, when should I have it delivered? the week of the wedding? 2 days before? the night before? I'll need enough time to arrange everything but still want the flowers alive and fresh looking

-can you arrange the flowers ahead of time and refrigerate? if so, for how long? do they then look droopy if you take them out? the ceremony will be at a park near the beach, will the direct sunlight make them droopy?

-should I arrange them and place them in water?

-some people have mentioned that baby's breath do not smell the best…any suggestions on this?

-If it's not feasible to do this work myself, what would be a reasonable cost for a florist?

I'm sorry for so many questions. Thank you for taking the time to answer!

 

Maggie0829

It is completely doable to arrange your flowers yourself.  Baby's breath is very forgiving and is easily bunched together to make bouquets and centerpieces and such.

Baby's breath is also pretty durable so it is something that you can put together a few days prior (I would say at the most 3 for centerpieces but do your personal flowers the day before) and leave in water.

I would have the baby's breath delivered on Tuesday.  Then you will need to process it (separate the stems a bit, cut the stems and place in water to hydrate.  I don't really think that refrigeration will be necessary, just keep them in a cool and dark area of your home.

If Costco (or whoever you use) carries million star gypsophila then that would be best.  It has less of a fragrance then other baby's breath and it isn't as weedy looking but rather has pretty tight clumps of buds.

As for how much you will need you should probably go to the food store and buy a few bunches and see how many stems you will need for each centerpiece, bouquets, and the buckets.  A bunch is typically 10 stems.  So once you figure out an estimate order that plus about 5-10% more so that if you want to fill any vases out some more you can and if you think of anywhere else you would like some sprigs you have it to use.

If you decide to use a florist the cost will depend on where you live and which florist you use.

Some things to think about...

Do you have space to arrange and store all of it?

How are you planning on getting the flowers to the venue?

Who is going to set everything up?

Knottie02089612

Thank you SO much for your detailed response, Maggie! I really appreciate it! I now have all of the info I need to proceed. You're the best!

nicole4793

For my brother's wedding, we had the flowers delivered the day before the wedding. My SIL, uncle, aunt, brother, and I put together 4 bouquets, toss away bouquet, bride's bouquet, centerpieces, etc. all within a few hours. It really didn't take very long because we all worked together on it. The most difficult part was putting on the floral tape and making bows. I definitely think this is doable for you, but I don't know how many stems you'd need. All we did is keep the stems in water overnight in a shady spot, and they looked perfect the next day. Like PP said, i would test your work out ahead of time. That would help you figure out when to have them delivered too. We had them delivered as late as possible because we used Calla lilies and orchids from Grower's Box. Good luck with your flowers!

graciegra

Putting together baby's breath will be fairly fast. I'd worry having the flowers delivered Tuesday. Personally I'd do Thursday and put together the centerpieces/ aisle arrangements that day and the bouquets/boutonnieres either Friday or even day of (just for the boutonnieres.) Even pushing back to Wednesday would be better. 

Maggie0829

graciegra said:

Putting together baby's breath will be fairly fast. I'd worry having the flowers delivered Tuesday. Personally I'd do Thursday and put together the centerpieces/ aisle arrangements that day and the bouquets/boutonnieres either Friday or even day of (just for the boutonnieres.) Even pushing back to Wednesday would be better. 

**Former floral designer here**

Trust me when I say that getting the flowers in on Tuesday will be fine.  You need to cut them in and allow them to hydrate before working with them.  This will give the buds time to slightly open. When you order these flowers from wholesalers these flowers have been out of water for a while. They are packed in bunches and put in boxes and placed in a cooler.  So these flowers are dying for water so it is best to allow them to drink the water up in a bucket (where there is tons of water) rather then in a small vase or floral foam where water will disappear rather quickly.  So giving them a full day to re-hydrate is always best.  Also, baby's breath lasts quite a long time.

mrssursely

Costco usually has a little note regarding when they recommend you have the flowers delivered To determine how many stems you'll need, maybe do a little mock up with baby's breath from the grocery store?