DIY Flowers vs Ordering Online vs Florist

@Surfergirl no need to apologize! Honestly my flower setup is so basic it'll take those relatives about 30 minutes to pull off, and they volunteered without question. For my situation, it worked out great. For others, I can see why you were concerned about keeping the flowers and setting them up -- it can be a big job. But you're right, it's about priorities. If flowers are big on your list, they should be a bigger expense. Flowers aren't that important to me so I'm happy to skimp on a full service florist. Venue and food were my big tickets.

Hey ladies there is this website called afloral and they have really great videos and tips on how to handle wholesale flowers and how to preserve them. I agree that flowers from a florist can be very costly and if your on a budget like most of us are then I say go for DIY. If you like taking on projects and don't think you will feel overwhelmed and don't have a huge bridal party, try it. Maybe order a few flowers for practice ahead of time and keep practicing. I don't take anything away from the professionals. It's a skill and I think a lot do a wonderful job. I do however believe that if you can stay within your budget and create an arrangement that is just as beautiful then that is a plus! Good luck!

@surfergirl- I see no problem with those who have florists though! #1 wedding advice for anyone: find what's important to you and splurge on that. While flowers was at the top of your list, it was towards the bottom of mine. Also everyone has different budgets to work with. But I am strongly against assuming family will do things or drafting people to help. Both our families are from small village-like communities to help, and they also asked to help (quite a lot). (Also my arrows weren't for you... They were for OP but it took forever for my phone to load the comment lol

I'm going to do my own. It can be a lot of work, but I did a mockup this weekend and I enjoyed doing it and I was really happy with the result. I'm also growing some of my own flowers (though of course I also have a backup plan), so it really is a money-saver. Also, we won't need a ton of centerpieces because our wedding is fairly small, and I only have 3 bridesmaids, so bouquets shouldn't be too time consuming either. I'd suggest doing a mockup of approximately what you're considering with grocery store or other easily obtainable flowers. Based on that, you can decide if you're happy with the result and if the time commitment is worth it to you.

I have an aunt that's very flower sensitive, so I'm using limited real flowers for bouquets and ceremony stuff... I'll be using silk flowers and candles for the reception that I'll be doing myself... My house is gonna be filled with centerpieces... lol

@finallymrsjkr I truly understand where you're coming from regarding family members helping out. I suppose I should mention that my side of the family couldn't afford to help pay for the wedding, so they offered their assistance anywhere else they could help. We also have a DOC so it's all working out fine. My point in mentioning my relatives at all was just that DIY flowers can be hassle-free with the right preparations and help

I DIYed our flowers. They all came from my aunt's garden. We had a Saturday afternoon wedding. We arranged them on Thursday afternoon. There were 3 of us and it only took a few hours. We made a few adjustments while setting up at the venue, but that was it. We did not refrigerate them at all. They had gone straight from the garden to the vases, so it was fine. It was not a stressor for me. I was organized and had everything else done. Cost for flowers was $0. I purchased a variety of vases from Goodwill for less than $25. It CAN be done and not be a nightmare. We had a short engagement and planned our entire wedding in 3 months. The key was keeping things in perspective, prioritizing budget breakdown and not getting stressed out over details.

We are taking a floral class at a local wholesale florist.....

I plan on doing my own bouquets. Living in NY everything is expensive. One of my bridesmaids is a party planner and she does stuff like this so she's a big help. Congratulations and good luck.

@Ashley Hydrangeas need a lot of water. So anytime you have down time they need to be in a vase of water. I know from experience that heat will make them wilt really fast so I am guessing that the cold will be hard on them also.

I have used Fiftyflower.com several times and the flowers come early because they need time to open. They send very detailed care information with them and if followed the flowers are fine. Purchasing the already made centerpieces is tricky depending on your vase size and how full you want them to be. You may need 2 centerpieces to pull off the look you want. Use the chat line on Fiftyflowers.com and ask them they will let you know how many you will need based on your vase size and how full you want them. They will give other suggestions as well. No my advice if you order your flowers to do yourself make sure you have a lot of five gallon buckets to put them in. It is easier to move them id necessary and you won't have so many vases to deal with. Good Luck!!!!!!

You can order from Sam's too! It's a lot cheaper, that's what we're doing. You can get plenty of ideas from Pinterest too!

Awesome thanks @maggie!

@VMDizzle... yea, that's what I was thinking... Ordering a bulk order of what I wanted from Stop n Shop. Daisies or something for the tables and something else for me and the BP... not sure yet.

Megan, I'm doing my own flowers too. My SIL is my MOH and has experience with flower arranging from working at a florist several years ago. She recommended I purchase my bouquets from a florist to be sure they look perfect the day of and then do my own centerpieces with Costco flowers. I'm undecided on the florist piece...I think I'm going to chance it and use all Costco flowers knowing I can send someone to the grocery store to buy fowers to fill in if anything doesn't look perfect on the day of. I went to my local Costco and asked for a list of flowers I can order, they emailed it to me along with pricing and an order form. You only have to order 10 days in advance and the store will keep the flowers refrigerated until you are raedy for them on Thursday or Friday.

Everyone will be looking at you on your wedding day and nobody will even notice if your flowers aren't perfect. A beautiful rustic barn doesn't need fussy flowers anyway! Do it your way and it will be beautiful!

I did my own flowers and it was super simple. We ordered babys breath and white roses from Costco and made really simple arrangements with them. It cost way less than it would've to use a florist, and it wasn't difficult or time consuming at all.

I'm planning on doing my own as well - I'm actually about to start attempting to dress up my found vases from family members (attempting to make mercury glass!) but I just want greenery, very casual centerpieces. Our budget is small and I'm hoping to only spend $250 at most. I think we can do it.

I am getting mine through global rose and they are very reasonable. I am doing roses and hydrangeas. I am using them in my bouquets, centerpieces, and corsages. I did buy some silk flowers to practice making everything.