Wedding Flowers: Getting the Most for Your Money

As a floral designer for brides on a variety of budgets, I am always trying to help my clients get the most for their money without having their florals appearing skimpy. Here are some of my best tips for getting the most for your money when paying for wedding flowers:

1: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle.

One of my favorite tips for brides on a budget is to re-use any florals that they used as décor for their ceremony at the reception. After all, you pay a fortune for those bouquets and aisle arrangements, so why let them wilt away in the sun during the reception?

Instead, I always provide the bride and bridesmaids with a glass cylinder vase for display at the reception. These can be used for “arrangements” on your head table, gift table, buffets, guest book table, or anywhere else that may need a little sprucing up! Also use aisle arrangements, pedestal arrangements and anything else you used at your ceremony at the reception.

Another great tip is to put someone else in charge of moving these arrangements (your wedding planner, a friend, a groomsman, etc). That way, you pay less because you aren’t paying your floral designer to stay through the ceremony. Less delivery time = less money spent.

2: Toss A Bridesmaid’s Bouquet.

While a toss bouquet is a great option if you have the money, it isn’t a necessity. If you find paying for one extra bouquet is putting you over the edge of your budget, get rid of the toss bouquet and toss one of your bridesmaids’ bouquets instead. Trust me, she’ll be more than happy to give you her bouquet–after all, she is here for you!

My tip is to toss the bouquet of your “out of town” friend. She will likely be driving or flying home the following day anyway, so transporting a bouquet across the states is probably not one of her top priorities.

3: Reception, Reception, Reception.

If you are a bride on a budget (and what bride isn’t?), my best advice for having a wedding that doesn’t look skimpy is to use the bulk of your dollars decorating your reception rather than your ceremony. After all, the ceremony is generally much shorter than your reception and your guests are not focused on flowers there… they are focused on you! However, at your reception your guests are likely sitting at their table for a long time and noticing your décor much more, so spend your money where people will notice.

4: Impact at the Ceremony.

If your budget is limited for your ceremony, choose flowers with impact! Rather than doing a dozen arrangements to attach to the chairs at your ceremony, choose to do a heavy blanket of rose petals down the aisle. You will likely pay the same amount, but one has much more impact. While I love aisle arrangements for ceremony décor, I find they have much less impact (especially in a large, ornate church) than two large “framing” arrangements at the front, an arch, or aisle petals.

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