Alternatives to flowers?

I agree with you 100%. People think I'm crazy for not having any flowers at my wedding but I just can justify spending that much for something that'll die in a day or two. I live in Toronto, and needless to say it is very expensive here (some florists have a minimum of $2000 order to even be considered!)

I'm making the bridesmaids brooch bouquets. I'm also filling the venue with lots and lots of candles for that romantic feel.

My wedding is in Vegas, so I'm actually using feathers- look on pinterest for those! They're really pretty and won't be useless after a day lol

My BMs and I will carry our favorite books instead of a bouquet, but I did end up going with some fake flowers for decor and centerpieces.

I know this is not practical at all, but my vote is always have the bridesmaids carry puppies or kittens.

I'm personally making paper flowers from Liagriffith.com but that is a lot of work (not very expensive if you already have a paper cutting machine or a friend who has one). I have seen alternative bouquets on etsy for not really too much if you're interested in something like origami flowers or butterflies or something like that. I was a bridal party of all musicians so she had her bridesmaids all carry instruments instead.

Use artificial. Much cheaper. And make your own bouquet. Google baby

I just ordered fake flowers from amazon. 100 carnations for $24.99.

I've just fallen in love with simple giant balloons, and large paper flowers for the flower girl/ junior bridesmaids.

We have a lot of Amish people around us so I'm buying all my flowers from them. They are super cheap, I'm getting gigantic bouquets of freshly cut flowers for $5 a piece. Try local stands, farmers, and nurseries in the area. I also love succulents. Those beautiful eucalyptus runners you see everywhere, you can make them with virtually any type of greenery in your backyard. Pinterest has diy's on it.

Plenty of options but depends on the season/vibe. If you're doing fall/winter or a rustic theme of any season, pinecones look great and can be spray painted/glittered for an extra pop of color/glitz. I've seen everything from feathers to seashells to palm leaves used to replace flowers and always looks cool! Instead of bouquets you could consider carrying lanterns, candles, oversize lollipops, parasols, a single large bloom, or even vintage hardcover books (just let your BMs set them down for the ceremony lol).

Personally I didn't want to pay thousands either but I love magnolias and white roses for a wedding so I am doing silks from a craft store with lots of fake greenery, and arranging them myself, budgeting about $400 but could be done for less probably.

I have looked into doing candles for the same reason.

I don’t need to purchase vases because I have a nice collection of milk glass ones that I’ve gathered from Goodwills. They’re almost always $1-2 and they hide the stem of whatever you stick in them. I’m doing faux “real touch” flowers for my bouquet (I want to keep it forever), real baby’s breath from the grocery store in the tin buckets for the garden champagne toast after our vows, fake on the arbor, the copper geometric shapes I’m creating, and for a few bouquets in the house. On the guests’ tables, flowers are going to be a really small part of the decor, so I’m probably going to have a really pretty sola wood blossom and greenery from around our property for each vase and let the rest of the centerpieces do the talking. Good luck!

I am using silk and latex flowers and greenery. They look beautiful and VERY affordable!!!

My bouquet

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I am not having much either at my wedding! Its not crazy!! Who tells you that?? I bought eucalyptus for the centerpieces (silk from Hobby Lobby when half price) and different sized candles from the dollar store and it will look so pretty! I am lucky my venue itself is in a historic building and it's already beautiful and does't need much at all.

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@Nicole--I have NEVER seen silks look that beautiful! Ever!! Did a florist do them?

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@DBHEW

I think it is crazy how beautiful these balloon decorators make balloons look these days. Just check out Khloe K baby shower décor!. But you don't even have to get that elaborate for balloon décor to be beautiful. Simple large round balloons with wide fabric ribbons are beautiful! For those of you looking at the balloon décor option, look on Pinterest and the Instagram under QUALATEX. You can go to the Qualatex site and do a search under find a pro for a local balloon decorator.

View Quoted Comment She is a florist designer. She does some work with fresh but specializes in silk. Her work is AMAZING!!! I get to keep everything too and use it in my home. We are also using silk eucalyptus for pew decorations then transfer to reception as centerpieces with candles. Afterwards she is turning the eucalyptus into an anniversary wreath for us!!

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I am using sola wood flowers and I can tell you if you are crafty person it is much cheaper for you to buy them and make what you need. I priced bouquets just to save me time and made mine for about $90 cheaper then what etsy is selling.

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That is gorgeous!

View Quoted Comment I agree it’s a lot cheaper to DIY, unfortunately it just overwhelmed me to make them myself and between grad school and work full time, I went with someone on Etsy! She’s been wonderful and honestly the design skills and labor is worth $90 to me! Haha

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$90 is a definitely worth design skill and labor! You were lucky to find someone who didn't over charge to much. I have seen ones a lot smaller then the one I made my self for almost $145! I am glad you found a decent priced one!