Budget-Bride flowers yay or nay

I'm not doing any live flowers! I think they're a complete waste of money. My bridesmaids bouquets will be hand made with fake flowers, probably fabric and vintage jewelry.

I am not but what I am doing is buying the bouquets that they have in the store the week off the wedding and only the bridal party will have flowers. I love flowers but can not justify the cost for one day.

The only live flowers I'm using are for bouquets and some aisle decor, but its mostly baby's breath so its very cheap.

I was initally going to also order bulk from costco for centerpieces but changed my mind because the person doing my decor already had silk hydrangeas she said i could use, for free, so i said fuck it and went with those to save even more money

I used budget-bride.com and I LOVED my flowers. They were amazing! Customer service was great. I would totally recommend them

The bouquets and bouts are fake but I ordered 200 stems of babys breath from costco and I'll be buying fresh flowers the day before from the grocery store. Simple bud vases with the flowers.

I'm planning on using Budget-Bride. I've emailed them a few questions, and their response has been quick. They have a lot of ways to customize and don't generally charge if you want to substitute a different color flower. We want silk flowers because my girls and I want to keep our bouquets, and it's too expensive to preserve real flowers.

It breaks my heart to hear brides saying that wedding flowers are a complete waste of money. Why? Because flowers, those beautiful gifts given to us by the earth, scream beautiful, special, and celebratory. When you think about it, there isn't much that is still around the day after your wedding (oddly enough, your flowers will be one of the things that are still around. We've received photos from brides showing our flowers a week after the wedding on the dining room table. We've also received photos from brides who took their bouquets on their honeymoons -- yep, there it was -- a bouquet displayed on a seat on the plane taking the couple to their honeymoon destination). What's gone that next day is the officiant, the alcohol, the food, the venue, the DJ, and the cake. Your flowers, along with your gown, your rings, and your photos/videos, may be among the only things that will outlast your reception.

If you don't want flowers, that's fine. However, realize that many of your guests will expect to see them at a wedding. I'm not posting this because it will bring me any business (because it won't). I honestly have more business than I can handle at the moment. However, a few flowers should adorn one of the most important days of your life. Go with Fifty Flowers, Sam's Club, or a grocery store -- but don't ban flowers from your wedding. Or do...it's up to you.

I never heard of budget-bride flowers, thanks for that info! I'm doing my own flowers so I'm always looking for sites that offer the best deals

I'm with Centerpiece on this one. I just LOVE flowers. I spend hours in my garden each summer tending to my flowers, and they really make me smile and happy. I'm really excited to have flowers EVERYWHERE at our wedding and reception.

I am actually doing my own flowers, and I have several years of experience and several weddings that I have done flowers for in the past. (I'm FAR from a professional,I know that. Will my flowers look like they were done by a pro? No. But, they will look nice, and I will save myself thousands of dollars) If I lived near Centerpiece - she would be my florist, but my favorite florist and Fairy Godmother lives too far away..

I have always been happy with wedding flowers in bulk from Sams. With that being said - it is a TON of work. Would I do my own flowers if I had never done them before? Absolutely not. When I say it is a lot of work, I mean that. It is very time consuming. They do have some pre-arranged wedding packages available online that include x number of bouquets, X number of centerpieces, etc. Check it out. The quality of bulk flowers have never disappointed me from Sams! Best of luck!

ETA words.

I've had several friends use Costco and SAMS Club for their flowers and they were beautiful! You could even contact a local winery or restaurant to get free empty wine bottles, peel off the stickers and create super inexpensive centerpieces! You'll need even less flowers to fill up the wine bottles. I just looked on Craigslist and found mine.

JamieLynn, you are so much like I was before I went pro. I loved planting flowers and bulbs in the garden. I drove my husband nuts with shopping lists of specific fertilizers (and I even tried to do the alkaline/acid method that would turn my hydrangeas blue or pink, lol). You'll create beautiful florals for your wedding. I know that because anyone who gets down in the dirt is in it for the reward. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

I'm with Centerpiece on this one as well, I LOVE flowers! I always notice them at weddings. We are using Fifty Flowers and Whole Blossoms. As well as a local rose nursery.

I used budget-bride for my bridesmaids bouquets and they turned out great! My only complaint was that when I ordered them it said "30 day shipping" and I got them in 52 days. To be fair though, I didn't email them at all or anything to check in during that process until day 50, after which they got them to me in like 48 hours.

The quality was pretty great, they look wonderful in photos and really I don't think anyone else is going to see them up close so I'm fine with them

I had a hard time with this myself. In the many weddings I've attended, I have only been impressed by and remembered the flowers once. Thinking of what I like about weddings as a guest, I put flowers low on my budget priority list. Then I started planning my wedding in the style I love, and realized that I could have flowers reminiscent of my favorite gardens and bouquets in exactly my style. I also realized that my taste in flowers is very expensive. I'm compromising my DIYing simple centerpieces with beautiful large blooms (some bought in bulk, some bought the day before at Whole Foods or a farmer's market, and hopefully some peonies from my yard) and splurging on bouquets from my local dream florist. The bouquets will be photographed a lot and will also double as some reception decor.

For DIY to be successful I think you need to keep it simple, have help (my mom and 2 crafty aunts volunteered to help me), and have cool storage for the flowers. Search the forums here and google for DIY wedding flower tips. There is a lot of info out there to help you make your plan.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE flowers. I would have fresh flowers in my house everyday if I could. (I live in the desert. They die too fast). I was/am planning on doing the bouquets, bouts and corsages myself however, I am not sure when I should do them if I use real flowers. I have to add that I am not that crafty :-( Also, I have been thinking about transportation. I live an hour away from the venue and since the venue doesn't set up for us that would mean I would have to transport all the arrangements (and centerpieces) myself. I figured it'd be a lot easier to use silk flowers as they don't require as much care during transport as real flowers and also I don't run the risk of the flowers wilting. But I am torn. I really wanted fresh flowers and I have contacted a few florists and I have been quoted 800-1200 just for flowers. This is just for roses. I didn't even try getting a quote for peonies.

I may just do what some on you ladies have done. Use silk for the bridal party and real flowers for my bouquet and centerpieces. Thank you all for your input!

ETA: Spelling. I can't spell today.

Check your farmers market!! I spent only 464 on ALL of my flowers- she arranged all bouquets and bouts and we did single stems for centerpieces- for 14 tables!

Centerpiece - YESSSS -- In the spring/summertime I have SO many flowers outside. FH says, "Honey, I think we have enough, now..."

Nope - you can never have too many flowers outside your home!

I had minimal flowers, kept them on the dining table afterwards, and still don't feel like it was worth the 2k.

The reason people say "Oh, they just die" is because they don't serve a purpose. Food feeds people. Music entertains people. Alcohol also entertains people. The venue provides a location. But the flowers? They just sit there and look pretty, and personally, I have little time for things that just look good but don't actually do anything.

I loveeeeee flowers, but agree that they are expensive. What I decided to do was just do floral bouquets, bouts, and ceremony arch decor. Centerpieces will be candles instead.. saving lots of $$$