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DIY Flowers

tquiretquire member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Budget Weddings Forum
I am busy planning a November 2015 wedding. I am currently focusing my energy on flowers. I know it is early for flowers, but they tend to be a big part of the budget, so I am shopping around to see what is available. I am not a flower person nor are the flowers an important part of my wedding day. I am finding that florists are expensive. I have looked online at buying flowers in bulk and then making my own bouquets. In my head the bouquets I need would be really easy, since all I want is a few stems of gerbera daisies wrapped with burlap. ( I will end up buying the corsages for all the mothers thought) That can't be that hard to make right? That being said....
Has anyone done the whole sale route?
How did you fit it into your schedule?
Was it a huge pain in the butt?

Thanks so much for any advice! Tracy
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Re: DIY Flowers

  • tj&cwtj&cw member
    100 Comments 25 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Globalroses.com is a great place to order flowers...the are beautiful and are sent FedEx to you. I am using them for my centerpieces
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  • MegIAmMegIAm member
    10 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Ok that site is awesome! Ps. globalrose.com
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  • Knottie60940839Knottie60940839 member
    First Comment
    Costco has wedding flowers, but I have no idea how difficult it is vs. the traditional florist route. Does anyone have experience with flowers from Costco?
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  • wandajune6wandajune6 member
    2500 Comments 500 Love Its Third Anniversary First Answer
    I had a great experience with Costco. I bought bouquets of spray roses and they were perfect, just as described. We put them in water when they arrived on Thursday, trimmed them and put them in vases on Friday, got married on Saturday. They looked gorgeous. That said, we just plunked them in vases rather than making an elaborate centerpiece.

    We used dollar store cylinder vases from the venue and a bunch of votives and called it a day.
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  • Knottie0839442 Knottie0839442 member
    10 Comments First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited February 2015
    I recommend Costco, Harris Teeter, or another grocery for corsages. Corsages are much trickier than they look if you've never done them before (trust me, I worked in a floral department for a while), but they're reasonably priced at grocery stores and look just fine. Go during prom season and look at what they're making for the kids to get an idea of who does them well.

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  • Knottie0839442 Knottie0839442 member
    10 Comments First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited February 2015
    Also, to find out how well you do with bouquet making, buy a few bunches of the flowers you like ahead of time and practice a couple times (maybe 3 bunches for $12, totaling 12-15 flowers, if your local store is like mine).

    My experience wholesale is pretty good (I did a couple of friends' weddings after quitting the floral business, plus we'd occasionally have to buy from wholesalers when customers wanted last-minute orders the grocery store couldn't stock in time), and I'd recommend it. Make sure the flowers come in 1-2 days before, immediately cut the stems, and get them in water to rehydrate. Order a few extra stems' worth, because gerbera daisies are especially prone to catching a type of rot that makes them look like they're melting, and then they fall apart.

    Timing: Assume 30 minutes to put the flowers in water, if you've made sure your containers are available.
    You'll want to make the bouquets the day of, or at maximum the night before. Assume 10-15 minutes per bouquet (it's faster when you've got experience but you'll want to include buffer time for perfectionism). Keep them in the fridge if they're not in water until it's time for them, especially if it's overnight. Make sure to pat the ends of the stems dry if they're showing before you walk down the aisle to avoid wet spots on your dress (you'd be surprised how often that gets forgotten, and Gerberas hold water b/c they have hollow stems).

    To build an easy bouquet: Choose your central flower. Hold it in one hand. Use your other hand to add a row of flowers around, slightly lower than it (but only slightly) to make a "round top" for the bouquet. Add another row around that. Keep going until it's the size you want. Slide a loose rubber band over the base of a couple stems, and gently wrap it around the base of the flowers without pulling too hard, then loop it over another couple stems. Shove it up to midway if possible, but don't force it. This should keep the flowers in place while you tie the ribbon on. Tie on the ribbon. Trim flowers to appropriate length. If rubber band is still visible, cut (don't pull) it off.
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  • rcher912rcher912 member
    100 Love Its 100 Comments Name Dropper
    This is such a good idea, ladies. Thanks for sharing your experiences! I may just be a lurker here, but I've been looking for ways to cut costs on flowers (we're having non-floral centerpieces - there's one way! So I really didn't want to spend too much for just a few bouquets and boutonnieres.)
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