This is part 2 of 2 in our money saving series.
Dear Petal’s Edge,
What are the best choices for flowers and decor to help bring my overall floral budget down?
– Emma T.
Dear Emma,
While the magazines seem have plenty of advice in this regard, as we discussed in Money Saving Myths, we seem to find a lot of misinformation out there about floral costs. Almost more than anything, we find that the magazines’ advice seem to be for ways that people can scale back and get the same look as an over-the-top celebrity wedding, one where the couple has spent possibly tens of thousands of dollars on flowers and decor. Scaling back a wedding like that still requires you to have a substantial budget. If you are inviting 100-200 guests, plan on at least $6-15k in the Washington, DC metro area for even a “scaled back” look. Many people we meet with who are asking that question, however, have a budget of even less than that. We can’t promise that you can fit any wedding into any budget, but by prioritizing your needs, by making some choices on where to scale back and by being conscientious about the style of the arrangements, you can get closer to your ideal.
We spent the previous post giving you the bad news about how to lower your floral costs, so hopefully in this post, we can give you some practical advice about how to make the best choices for your budget, as well as thinking about realistic floral budgets for your wedding. We’ve broken them up into a couple different categories.
#1 Wedding Size:
The very best advice we can give someone who is trying save money on their wedding flowers is to look at the size of their wedding. Flower costs are directly proportional to the size of the wedding. If you have 8 bridesmaids, all of them have to have bouquets and 8 bridesmaids bouquets add up. If you have 150 people at a seated dinner, you will need at least 15 table centerpieces, as most banquet tables seat around 10 people. While we can give you some advice to help keep the costs down of those individual arrangements, at some point, you can only go so low, if you need 8 or 15 of something. Centerpieces do need to be a certain size so as to be proportional to their use, or the size table they are going on. So if your priority is on the decor – but the budget isn’t there – scaling back the size of your wedding (if that is possible for you) is the first place to start.
Another option to explore, if you can’t scale back on the guest count, is to consider the type of meal you are feeding your guests. A cocktail style reception, where you don’t have a full seated dinner, needs fewer, smaller tables, which equals fewer, smaller floral arrangements.
#2 What to and What Not to DIY
In our previous post we told you to avoid doing it yourself (DIY). And we’ll reiterate it here – don’t DIY your flowers! Between your time, the amount of money spent on supplies and the hassle, it will cost you more in the end. If your budget simply doesn’t allow for fresh flower centerpieces, the best advice we can give here is to keep it simple. Go for classic. Go for something that doesn’t come with a lot of assembly on site, like pillar candles enclosed in vases or hurricane shades. Skip the added beads, ribbons and water (for floating candles). It adds time and stress to do these things the day of your wedding, not to mention the added cost of the items, as well as possibly having to pay someone to assemble and set them out for you while you are getting your hair done. Something that is simple and works nicely for other spaces in your reception, such as a guestbook or placecard table, are personal framed photos.
Finally, find some room in your budget for a professional to do your bouquets and boutonnieres, which will be in all of your pictures – it will be worth it. Plus, you can reuse the bouquet as just added decor around the site.
#3 Scaling Back
Often we have clients ask us the best way to cut their floral costs, and the first answer we generally give them is to cut out items that are extras, or not critical pieces. For most weddings, the only really critical pieces of decor are your bouquets and your centerpieces (as those big banquet tables typically need something in the center). You don’t need to place flowers on every surface in your reception site; you don’t even need an arrangement on a buffet or a placecard table. And most elements of ceremony decor, unless there is a religious/site obligation, are not necessary. Remember, while it may be the most important part of the day, the ceremony is also the shortest part of your day. Additionally, most ceremony sites, such as churches or gardens, are already lovely on their own. Take advantage of what is already present; many churches already have plants or flowers on the altars already, synagogues (and some rabbis as well) often have their own chuppah, gardens often have beautiful trees or arches on site already. Even some hotel terraces and ballrooms have potted plants or trees you can use to create a focal point for your altar. And while you don’t need to decorate the pews or chairs, we count bows among those simple DIY decor items that we mention above.
#4 Flower Style Choices:
We know that nobody wants to hear that the best way to save money is to scale back. So this last section will give you some ideas for arrangements and style choices that will help you get flowers everywhere you need them for lower than average costs, without sacrificing look.
The first thing to keep in mind here is that you might have to throw out all of those Pinterest and magazine pictures and start from scratch. Even arrangements that are sold as “inexpensive” such as floating candles or submerged flowers in vases, are not actually as low cost as they seem, as there are hidden costs in those arrangements – all of those multiple vases, even when rented, and the labor involved in filling (and emptying) on the day of wedding, can add up if you hire someone to do it for you. Really, the key here, just like it is with DIY arrangements, is to keep it simple. While those beautiful photos of vintage arrangements with lots of different kinds of flowers look like they are barely arranged, they are quite complicated to arrange, and all of those different kinds of flowers add up. Simpler arrangements, like ones made of only one kind of flower, are often less expensive.
Creating simple arrangements using cheaper flowers like all babies breath, carnations or South American hydrangea, or only greenery are a great way to go. Some, like all carnations, are a more modern look, and some, like baby’s breath or hydrangea, will give you the softer, more romantic feeling. So, when speaking to your florist about these kinds of arrangements, go in thinking less about the specific look of the arrangement, and more about what you want for the overall look and feel. You can still go vintage, but instead of filling those mason jars or milk glass containers with loose flowers, instead, provide your own flea market finds to the florist and have them fill those containers with babies breath or South American hydrangea. Looking for a more unusual, organic or modern look? Ask your florist about using only greenery, moss or other non-floral elements.
I hope that helps! Best wishes with your wedding!
Do you have a question about flowers or wedding planning? Send us your question in the comment field or by email (to info@petalsedge.com, subject line “Ask the Florist”), and we’ll include it in a future round of Ask the Florist!
