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On a budget with Flowers!

Knottie69408912Knottie69408912 member
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in Budget Weddings Forum
Hello Fellow Wedding-ers!  I am the maid of honor for my sisters wedding coming up in November.  She is on a very tight budget, and doesn't have much to spend on flowers.  She has already purchased the main centerpieces, and needs to just add flowers.  Does anyone know if you are able buy flowers and take them and the centerpiece to a florist and have them put it together?  Basically have them do the labor?  Any info on that would be greatly appreciated!  
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Re: On a budget with Flowers!

  • CMGragainCMGragain member
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    edited August 2014
    I do not think any professional florist would do this.
    Check out flowers at Costco.  They have wedding packages.
    I usually get flowers from my grocery store and hand carry them to people.  Their prices can also be budget friendly.  I have selected flowers at the grocers, given them the vase, and watched them make the arrangement.
    Daisies and carnations are cheaper than roses and orchids.
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  • QueerFemmeQueerFemme member
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    Knottie69408912 said:
    Hello Fellow Wedding-ers!  I am the maid of honor for my sisters wedding coming up in November.  She is on a very tight budget, and doesn't have much to spend on flowers.  She has already purchased the main centerpieces, and needs to just add flowers.  Does anyone know if you are able buy flowers and take them and the centerpiece to a florist and have them put it together?  Basically have them do the labor?  Any info on that would be greatly appreciated!  

    No professional florist will let you buy the flowers.  They wouldn't want their work/name on centerpieces that they had no way of controling quality of the flowers.   I did buy my own vases for the centerpieces from a fellow bride after her wedding, and my florist was perfectly happy to use those to cut costs.  But, they supplied the flowers.

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    Websites/blogs where our wedding has been featured:

    http://www.dapperq.com/2013/11/a-very-dapper-wedding/

    http://www.onabicyclebuiltfortwo.com/2013/10/wedding-christina-g.html

    http://4realequalityweddings.com/2014/05/16/g-christina/

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  • Lauderdale PinkLauderdale Pink member
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    If you have to DIY the flowers and have no skill at it, stick with hydrangeas.  They are basically a bouquet all by them selves and are very budget friendly.  If you watch a few you tube videos, you will get some very easy ideas of ways to incorporate other flowers with them.  Dollar Tree has a product that works just like Oasis, but obviously much less $$$$.  Then just practice a few times until you hit the right mix.
    In case this is not in a video, hydrangeas have a very woody stem, which is what makes them novice friendly.  You have to use a good pair of shears, trim the bottom at a very severe angle then split the bottom up the middle so they get enough water to last all night.
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  • buddysmom80buddysmom80 member
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    Check with your local grocery store, they have wonderful packages for wedding flowers! The last wedding I was in, the bride ordered her flowers from Stop & Shop and they were gorgeous!!!! Also, I never imagined that I was able to budget for a florist, but if you stick with what's in season and don't go overboard, flowers can be affordable. I'm having a winter wedding and my bouquet will be roses and my BP will be carrying a tight cluster of carnations.

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  • wandajune6wandajune6 member
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    We ordered pre-made centerpiece bouquets from Costco. They were quite inexpensive (I want to say 12 for $120) and you just need to supply the vase. Something from Dollar Tree should work.

    We went to a more traditional florist for bouquets and bouts and found that they were actually much more reasonable than expected. I ordered from Costco after getting scared off by a few of the florists I had checked out. I ordered the centerpieces a few months ago and didn't go back to looking at bouquets until last weekend. We actually came in below budget!
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  • sarahuflsarahufl member
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    We did our own flowers. For $200, we made my bouquet, 3 BM bouquets, 10 bouts, 2 corsages and all the flowers for our reception. For centerpieces, we got colored glass bottles from Hobby Lobby and only used white flowers in them. We also had about 6 clear jugs full of colored flowers that we used for the catering tables. Most of our flowers were Alstroemeria, which are super colorful and very, very durable. They live forever. Point is, you can do it for much cheaper than what a florist charges.
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  • manateehuggermanateehugger member
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    There were a couple local chain florists we found that would allow you to purchase the flowers from them and DIY the flowers yourself in their studio. I believe it was a 30-40% discount on the usual cost. You might see if there are any options like that in your area. Don't forget about grocery stores either.
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  • bekt14bekt14 member
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    I've been in several weddings where they bought cheap flowers at the market and we all pitched in and help arrange them the morning before the wedding. That's the cheapest way to go, but a lot more work. 
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  • Knottie69408912Knottie69408912 member
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    Thank you all so so much! I appreciate all the input and there are some great ideas that my sister and I will be looking into! If we were to DIY the flowers, which we most likely will do, whats the best way to preserve them? My sister is doing centerpieces in which the flowers will not be in a vase of water. So if we put them together the night before, what is the best way to keep the looking fresh until the wedding the next day?
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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
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    @knotporscha - michelle with flower moxie again....
    *********************************************************************************

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  • bekt14bekt14 member
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    Just keep the room they're kept in cold. I would also research mixtures to put in the water to help them stay vibrant. 
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  • arosboroarosboro member
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    You are going to be pretty hard pressed to have flowers of any type last very long out of water with out wilting... even if the temperature is kept cool.  
    I would suggest for her to try and find a way to incorporate a water containing object or oasis.  Otherwise - she could look at dried flowers? 
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  • sarahuflsarahufl member
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    Knottie69408912 said:
    Thank you all so so much! I appreciate all the input and there are some great ideas that my sister and I will be looking into! If we were to DIY the flowers, which we most likely will do, whats the best way to preserve them? My sister is doing centerpieces in which the flowers will not be in a vase of water. So if we put them together the night before, what is the best way to keep the looking fresh until the wedding the next day?
    They need to stay in water or else they will die. What are your ideas for centerpieces?

    My sister got married in the winter, so we stored flowers in the garage the week of the wedding until they were ready to be arranged. I got married in the summer, so the garage was too hot and we stored them in the basement. The grocery store let us bring the big buckets home with us and we used the powder that comes with flowers to preserve them. Bouts/corsages went in the fridge and our bouquets went in vases with just enough water in the bottom to keep them alive without getting on the ribbon.

    Especially if you are DIYing your arrangements, I would keep it simple. Maybe a pro florist would know how to preserve the flowers without water, but it would make me nervous to try it on my own. Can you do trials well before the wedding just to make sure everything works?
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  • Knottie31505932Knottie31505932 member
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    If you will not have water in your vases, then you use floral foam (which you soak in water before inserting the flowers). Add a little water to the foam day of to keep the flowers fresh. Expecting flowers to stay perky and non-wilted without any source of water seems like a recipe for wilted flowers to me. If you must try...  soak your flower heads in water for an hour before arranging - they will absorb water that way. After arranging, spray with Crowning Glory. It's a wax coating that will keep water from evaporating from the flowers.
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  • Gina0887Gina0887 member
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    Look into Kroger florist. That's who is doing mine for super cheap. I just brought the containers to them.
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  • AmyBB2010AmyBB2010 member
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    A family friend is doing my flowers. She also did the flowers at her daughter's wedding and she used the website fiftyflowers.com. Bulk flowers at a lower cost.

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  • monica&bradmonica&brad member
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    Do your vases have to have cut flowers? I am making my own planters for my centrepieces out of wood and then ordering potted plants to go in them (Gerber Daisies). All I have to do is call the guy 6 weeks before the wedding and he is having them delivered a few days before. I was able to get them for $5.00 each

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  • Knottie69408912Knottie69408912 member
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    Floral foam! That is something I will look into for sure. My sister is doing these tree like centerpieces. It is a small tree that will have roses and hydrangeas arranged at the bottom. So there is no real vase to put the flowers in. But we will have to try the floral foam. Than sounds promising! Of course we will be doing a test run. We are just hoping it all works out!
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