DIY Flowers - help!!

cheyennesexton

Hi brides  - 

I am looking to stay on a tight budget for flowers. I love them, but hate that I have to spend a lot of $$ for them to die or get smooshed at the ceremony/after.

I received a quote for flowers that was over $2k - way out of my budget. I am looking for under $700. I think the way to go is to do it myself. They won't be too extravagant, if anything, the bridal bouquet would be the more intricate.

Did anyone DIY their flowers? Using real flowers. Where did you order from?

Thanks!

Maggie0829

When you went to the florist did you tell them that your budget was $700?  Why not go back to the florist and see what they can do for you with your budget.  They can offer you creative ideas to give you the look you want without having to spend a crap ton of money.

kkcc2015

I used bloomsbythebox, and total for supplies/flowers it came to around $400 for 6 bridesmaids bouquets (hydrangea and tulips) and a bridal bouquet (hydrangea, tulip, peony, ranunculus), a groom's boutonniere, another boutonniere and 2 corsages for moms. I had enough left over for about 5 small centerpieces (2-3 big hydrangea heads each). Only do your own though if it's a project you really think you'll enjoy-I loved it, but I spent about 2 hours prepping flowers after shipment and another 2 hours the afternoon before my wedding putting it all together. Research how to care for the flowers that you want ahead of time, and search YouTube for a lot of tutorials. Practice on cheaper flowers if you'd like. Make sure to really think if you have the time the few days before your wedding to spend on it, because you can't really rush it. Good luck!

MesmrEwe

Sam's, Costco, etc. all have Wedding Flowers that come pre-arranged/packed and all you do is cut off the base and put them in water.  We did this on a budget for my parent's anniversary because there weren't any florists in the area..  They were beautiful flowers, and arrived the day that I ordered them for.  Could a few have been replaced out with nicer flowers, yes, however, I got what I paid for and the few blooms out of hundreds were nothing. 

That said - I am in 1000% agreement with @Maggie0829 on "did you mention your $700 budget?" to the florist.  ALWAYS give your vendors a ballpark for where your budget is because most are always willing to work with it.  If you don't give them a budget, they aren't going to offer budget-friendly solutions to the laundry list of "wants" you give them.  You've also got to be flexible.  With a $2000 quote and $700 budget, you've got to do some flex because DIY shouldn't be where you first jump because that $700 budget will get eaten up quickly, but not NEARLY as quickly as the time leading up to your wedding if you toss your hands up with every vendor who goes over your budget they didn't know existed for DIY projects.  How you redeem yourself with that florist - "I absolutely LOVE the ideas you came back with, but unfortunately we looked at our budget and realized we made a mistake in not giving that number to you to work with, what can we realistically readjust in terms of flowers/arrangements for a $700 budget?" (some stuff is going to have to be cut - or drastically changed with $1300 of a difference!!!)

Knottie1432580817

Maggie0829 going back to the florist and trying to work out something reasonable is a good idea. But if you really want to go the DIY route you may need to ask yourself a couple of questions; have you ever arranged flowers(bouquets, centerpieces) before? Do you have the time to do it (watch some tutorials to get it right) remember planning a wedding can take a toll on you and you might not have enough time to do the flowers, makeup and everything else on that day. FlowerExplosion.com have some great flowers you may want to check out.

blabla89

Definitely talk with several florists and see what they can offer for $700. If the numbers still don't work, then consider DIYing. It's doable if you don't need a ton of flowers or complicated arrangements. If you care most about your bouquet, you could have a florist do only that and do the rest yourself.

I did my own flowers (my bouquet, 3 BM bouquets, 20 centerpieces, cake topper and a few miscellaneous arrangements, and 14 bouts/corsages) and it was a lot of work, but not difficult, even though I had no experience with arranging flowers. Got tons of complements on them, too. I ordered bulk roses and peruvian lillies from Fifty Flowers for about $250, then picked up another $150 worth of bunches from Trader Joe's to add some variety, and all the other supplies from the craft store. Altogether, I spent under $500. I did the bouts and corsages with artificial flowers from afloral.com, so that I could make them in advance and not worry about wilting. Highly recommend this.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about DIYing.

[Deleted User]

Go talk to more florist and tell them your budget up front. Just go in with what colors you want to have and not specific flowers. Depending on how many bouquets & other flowers you need, certain types of flowers may not work with your budget.