From Proposal to Wedding Day: Your Flowers

Flowers are a hot button issue in wedding planning. From their cost to the environmental aspect of them - many couples have struggled with an issue of doing something different to only end up booking a florist and going down the same beaten path.

But of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. If you put as much thought and effort into your choice of flowers and florist as the other elements of your wedding - I guarantee - it will play out perfectly and it will be fun along the way.

As with any wedding component-figure out your budget, that will mostly depend on the size of your bridal party (the more bridesmaids and groomsmen, the more bouquets and boutonnieres) as well as the number of guests, or more precisely, number of tables and centerpieces that will go on them. The more guests, the more tables, and the more centerpieces.

Here are a few tricks to lower the overall wedding flowers cost:

• Go with what’s in season. If your florist needs to order special flowers and they are being shipped from Belgium-it will cost you extra.

• Mass appeal flowers (think roses) vs. exotic flowers (think orchids) - you will pay more for the latter.

• Use large flowers as the base for your centerpieces (like hydrangeas), then add in more exotic and more expensive flowers to accentuate the design.

I always recommend using a professional florist experienced in designing wedding flowers. If you absolutely cannot afford one, buy the freshest flowers in bulk, store them in a very cold room and don’t get too ambitious when trying to create centerpieces (and please don’t arrange them yourself! Assign a person to do it for you, trust me - you will have no time nor patience for it on your wedding day!) From my experience this will only work if you are going for a very casual, relaxed look (like a barn or a tent wedding) and you don’t need tall, elaborate centerpieces. Hand-arranged flowers in different size vases can create a simple, yet beautiful centerpiece.

Choose an experienced florist that operates out of a floral design studio. You might think that your local florist will be a more economical option, but a lot of times that’s not the case. Since they don’t buy in bulk like a large floral designer, their prices are not as competitive. Also their service is not as extensive as their larger competitors, they might charge you more for a delivery and a set up than the floral designer, because they don’t have people on staff that usually do that.

And for those of you that don’t feel like you can justify spending thousands of dollars on something that will wilt within a few days, there are other options out there - again - dictated by the choice of your venue.

For beach weddings, you can try doing tablescapes with sand, water in your wedding color and floating candles.

For masquerade and themed weddings, centerpieces created out of feathers, jewels and eclectic vases will look stunning.

For vineyard and outdoor weddings, arranging a few potted plants will do the trick.

To lower the overall cost, try mixing low centerpieces (cheaper) with high centerpieces (more expensive).

So as you can see, it’s all in the attitude! Have fun with your flowers, use your favorite flowers in your wedding colors, add in your fiancée’s and/or your mom’s favorite blooms to honor them as well.

And select your florist wisely. Inspired and talented floral designer will “play” with your ideas, will “pull” flowers on the spot, arrange them in a vase, so you can see it with your own eyes.

In my next blog I will talk more about the wedding party flowers and the bride’s flowers. In the meantime – happy wedding planning!