DIY flowers to save money

Re: DIY flowers to save money

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  MesmrEwe member

  

  November 2015

  I guess my first thought is - why didn't you give the florists the budget you're comfortable with spending as a number instead of letting them run with the design you want and telling you how much it's going to cost you to have it done?  This is something you need to do with your vendors that involve elements of creativity (baker, florist, decorator, rentals, etc.) because things are going to add up quickly if you don't.  Start with doing an apologetic backpedal with the florists to say "We messed up, we're comfortable spending $$$ and should have really thought about this before getting quotes, what can we adjust with our design ideas to meet that budget without sacrificing "the look" too much?" and price things out that way.  It's always easier to go down than it is to go up with a budget. 

  I recently semi-DIY the flowers for my parent's 50th Anniversary party 200+ miles from home because I didn't have the option of using a florist (nearest one outside of a grocery store was 50+ miles away).  One thing I found is even though I ordered the flowers in completely arranged for me it still took a TON of time to get them completely ready to go and on all the tables, the vases I purchased to use ended up being too small by half for the arrangements which meant spending an hour running to the nearest option to find ones large enough (when you don't have a minute to spare).  Had I had the option to use a florist even if it meant paying a premium I would have and paid the premium to not lift a finger.  The flowers themselves arrived on Thursday, I kept them in my basement until Friday night in the transport moisture wraps, transported them to the hotel 4 hours away, and started putting them into the initial water at about 4AM then by the time things were all set-up, it was about two hours before the dinner started.  Some flowers looked on the verge of over the hill at the dinner, others lasted for weeks after.

  BUT, that said, at the end of the day, only you and your FI can make the decision on if you want to DIY this detail as it is incredibly time consuming when you don't have a lot of time available.  It's one thing if you're doing fake flowers months in advance, or just little bundles of baby's breath, roses, or ordering things in premade and just "grab and go" (which Sam's, Costco, even FTD, etc. have for an option). 

  

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  karahiggins member

  

  December 2015

  I spoke with a hotel I was thinking about booking with and they said that they would allow me to store my flowers in their cooler. One tip I've done while working at Conroy's is that you leave the stems long on bouquets after wrapping them with ribbon. We would leave all of the stems about three inches too long and put them in vases in the cooler with two inches of water that way the water doesnt touch the ribbon, they still have something to drink, and you can cut the excess off when you're ready to. I'd also recommend making them the night or two before and checking on them every once in a while like the morning after you make them to make sure they still have water.

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