How to Choose Your Wedding Flowers So You Don’t Break Your Budget
Most people have a finite budget for their wedding flowers. Hence, it is important to try to stretch each dollar to make sure you are getting as much for what you have. Here are several ways you can save on the cost of your wedding flowers.
- Avoid flower holidays. The prices of fresh cut flowers are at their highest near holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, and Easter. The cost of red roses, for instance, can double or triple during the first half of the month of February than any other times of the year because it is one of the most popular flowers to give for Valentine’s Day. If you haven't already set the date, try to stay clear from these major flower holidays.
- Use locally grown flowers. You can save quite a bit of money by using locally grown flowers for your wedding flowers. For instance, if you are getting married in late summer in New Jersey, you can find the some of the biggest and most gorgeous heads of sunflowers at reasonable prices. They will most likely be fresher too since they don’t have to travel far,
- Use seasonal flowers. If you’re not moved by any of the locally grown flowers, choose to use flowers that are readily available during that season. The cost of tulips, for instance, is lower in spring when it is widely grown than in the fall.
- Use flowers that are available year-round. If you’re getting married in a geographic location that doesn’t produce a lot of locally grown flowers, then opt to use flowers that are available year-round. The cost of these flowers tends to be less than seasonally available flowers and their costs don’t fluctuate as much. Flowers that are available year-round include carnations, alstroemerias, and pompons.
- Use bigger blooms. Flowers such as hydrangeas and sunflowers have significantly larger heads than flowers such as roses and calla lilies. They take up more space in the arrangements, thus allowing you to use fewer stems to accomplish the same size.
- Find cheaper substitutes. I’ve never met a bride who hated peonies and ranunculi. What is there not to love about these lovely blooms except the price you have to pay for them? Many people don’t know that there are thousands of different types of roses, for example, that may have a similar appearance to the flowers for fraction of the price. Using such roses, you will not only have the option of choosing from a wider range of hues but you will also be able to stretch your budget a lot further than going with high-end luxury flowers.
- Be open-minded. Speaking of thousands of different kinds of roses, I have heard more than a dozen times a bride rule out roses from the get-go because she is so used to the standard red roses associated with Valentine’s Day. However, there are so many different types of roses that open up so uniquely and so eloquently that no other flower can do. Try looking up some of these roses and they will amaze you: crested moss, green eye, gingersnap among many more.
- Less is more. Choose fewer types of flowers than trying to use as many different kinds of flowers as possible. Like many things in life, flowers also cost less when you buy in bulk of the same type.
- Consider using potted plants. Whey they are lush and green or flowering with pink or white blooms, potted plants can give you a natural and rustic look for a casual outdoor wedding but can also be transplanted into a luxurious vase for a more formal or glamorous look. Plants are great to use for both indoor and outdoor weddings because you don’t have to worry about them wilting during the wedding and they can serve as great parting gifts. With any plants leftover from the wedding, you can also plant them in your future home to enjoy for an even longer period of time. With some tender loving care, you can watch your flowers grow alongside your marriage.