How the Right Flower Arrangements Can Save Your Wedding Budget

A wedding is an important occasion of commitment, time and expense that requires careful planning and attention to detail. Flowers can make or break people's impression of the wedding reception. So when it comes time to selecting the flowers for your wedding reception, remember, there are many choices including buying them from a florist, having a talented friend arrange them for you, and deciding whether to buy fresh or silk. Whatever you decision, wedding flowers may provide color, texture, style and sometimes even scent. Flowers can decorate your guest book table, the cake, the catering tables, the dining tables, the bride and groom, the ushers and bridesmaids, the altar, parents, and the aisles. This can add up to many dollars quickly.

Fresh wedding flowers require water during transport. They need protection from bumps, weight, and other damage. A large number of the same colored flower need to be ordered in advance and may be purchased from several growers. The flower must bloom during the time requested. This is the major reason people buy wedding flowers from florists. They know how to deliver wedding flowers that look their best. This doesn't mean you can't cut some of your costs.

If you watch your local grocery, you can get a feel for which flowers are generally available during a given time slot. Carnations, roses and chrysanthemums are regulars. Lilies are also popular both at weddings and at the grocery. If you use these flowers in your order from the florist, it's likely that you can provide some of the arrangements yourself. [See picture 1, note details for making this arrangement flower later in the article.]

If you plan to arrange some of the flowers yourself, remember to:

1) Use a commonly available flower and varied colors in your florist order

2) Bring the flowers to the wedding in a large, 5 gallon bucket half-filled with water

3) Save any plant food packets to fill the vases at the wedding

4) Arrange the flowers then fill them using a pitcher. [See picture 2]

5) Bring a knife and pruning shear to cut stems

6) Make sure the one arranging the flowers is not a wedding party member

Try providing the following flowers arrangement yourself to cut your florist budget:

Dining tables and the guest book table usually have a single blossom with a bit of green and some baby's breath. [See picture 3] Single flower vases are available for a dollar or two. Many people save them when they're given flowers. Many antique dealers, craft and discount stores have them available for sale. It is not as necessary to match the style of the vase on every table, or to match the greens, only to match the flowers. Do not put too many flowers on a dining table because guests will a difficult time conversing around them. Size the arrangement to roughly 1/3 taller than the vase, greens can be a bit taller. Smaller and paler flowers sit in the vase higher than deeper colored, larger flowers.

Boutonnieres are tempting to provide yourself because they are similar to a dining table arrangement. They require one large flower, a bit of smaller flower like baby's breath and a bit of green. [See picture 4] The ends are stuck into plastic tubes, then taped with florist's tape, both available from craft stores. The tough part of making a wedding boutonniere is matching the size and style and getting it pinned onto the wearer. Most florist are experts at pinning them onto the wedding party members.
An arrangement made for the cake table needs to be more lush than the dining table arrangements. In picture 1, I used a pot that matched the large flower color to provide a fuller, coordinated feel. To make this arrangement, cut three stems of lilies sized to be twice the height of the vase. Angle the stems sideways to secure them against the other stems. Add one or two stems of babies breath sized at about the same height, in the middle of the lilies. Add a stem of a soft fern inside the babies breath. Cut three carnations to sit taller than the lilies by an inch or so, with the back stem slightly taller. Add three ferns, one on each side and one in the back.