Florist or Fakes?

angelacollier

I've always assumed I would just buy silks and do my flowers myself, but now that I'm 7 1/2 months out, I'm having a change of heart. I went to Hobby Lobby last week to scope out their selection of white tulips in silk and I was appalled. They were hideous. I looked online at Belli Fiori and theirs are nice, but $24 for half a dozen!! It would cost $50 just to get enough for one table, much less a vase to put them in, and candles to go around them. That's not my intention with going the silk route. I'm having a semi-small affair (50-60 guests) at Tres Suenos in late June. How much would you expect to pay for flowers for 10 tables plus the ceremony arch (provided by the venue) to be decorated, and bouquet for myself, 2 attendants plus boutonnieres and corsages, etc.? I want to start checking out florists, but I'm afraid at what I'll find, and I"m on a VERY limited budget. What did you all pay for flowers? And who did you use? Are you happy with their service?

Steven&Jamie

We didn't have the budget for a florist, so a family friend acted as our florist.  We ordered red and white gerbera daisies from Sam's and she put everything together.  For 160 stems it was about $150.  We had enough flowers for my bouquet, toss bouquet, BM bouquet, MOH bouquet, 4 corsages, 6 boutonnieres, and 13 tables with flowers as part of the centerpieces.  I still had a bunch of flowers left over and I was VERY happy with the quality of the flowers.  If you have the ability or know someone who can help you, I highly recommend using Sam's and going the DIY route.  I think there are some pics in my bio where you can see the flowers/bouquets.  Good luck!

mandiroo

I made all of my centerpieces and pew flowers from silks, from Michael's. They were great looking silks and are usually 50% off. I used a florist, Cole Dewey, for the bouquets, bouts, cake flowers and arrangements by the altar. Her work is fabulous. Click my username for pics in my bio.

mandiroo

p.s., my nest bio comes up, if you click "my planning bio" under the little pic on the left you can see the flowers I made myself.

Djdani23

I suggest if you really want DIY to save money, to go with Sams ordering fresh, or fakes Hobby Lobby/Garden Ridge, etc have sales all the time. Get on their email lists to find out when everything is 50% off. A sale is every wk, just changes each wk of what is on sale. I think for decorations fake is fine, but I love real bouquets etc. But yet if you do a fake bouquet you can keep it forever and not worry of it looking bad with a dried preserved bouquet.

angelacollier

Can you order any kind of fresh flowers at Sam's? I'm wanting orchids, so I'm not sure what they would have.

Steven&Jamie

Not sure if they have orchids or not, but they have a big variety of flowers.  You can check their website www.samsclub.com,  just type orchid in the search box.  HTH!