Flowers on a Budget - any tips? (Silk vs Dried vs DIY)

I would go with the silk option idea because they do have some that actually look like real flowers!

I would go with the silk or the dried option. It wouldn't be worth it to me to have the added task before the wedding. There will already be so much going on.

The Bloominous idea is I would not 100% do by myself. I would get the bridal party involved to make it easier. One of the party was just MOH in her sisters wedding a few months ago, and another used to work for a catering company that would service weddings up at the Detroit Zoo, so they both have lots of hands on planning experience. The majority of the reception decorations are only single stems in small vases.

@Emily- are you only referring to the bride's and wedding party bouquets?

I'm doing the fake real touch flowers for my bouquet.

@Muriel - all of the flowers. Bridal party, ceremony, and reception (8 centerpieces)

I'm using silk flowers. I love them but I can't say they are a lot cheaper than real. I have horrible allergies that was my deciding factor.

One thought I had about the silk is what would I do with them after? With the dried I would actually use them as decor in my home (I have a lot of antiques), and fresh I was thinking of donating to a local nursing home. But fake I wouldn't know what to do with. I'm not the kind of person who would just have fake flowers on display in my house.

@Jayme, thanks, that's what I thought as far as price. Would I really save enough to justify.

Oh I'm renting my silk flowers!! Totally doesn't make sense to buy them I agree lol

Dried flowers can look lovely, but they are also more fragile. I could never keep them in my home, because they collect dust like crazy and I have asthma.

The fresh flowers would look great in empty frappucino bottles- they look like old milk bottles- perfect for your theme. They look so nice with just a few fresh flowers in each bottle.

Silk bouquets could likely be sold on Tradesy, local bride to bride Facebook pages, or Craigslist, after the wedding.

It isn't all or none. You could do fresh for the centerpieces and dried or silk for the rest.

Personally, I wouldn't choose to make fresh flower bouquets. You will have enough last minute details.

I personally wouldn't trust myself to do the third option. That would require a lot of help- perhaps from the bridal party. Also- when would they arrive and do you have a cool place to store them? I would suggest option 1 or 2. 2 definitely does fit your theme better. But can you rent #1 so you don't have them around your house? Or you can always repurpose them into decorations around your house.

@Muriel, good advice on mixing. The cool thing about Bloominous is that they come pre-cut, pre-portioned, and with step by step instructions and all the supplies needed (twine, wire, vases, ribbon, etc.) so you just put them together like you would with furniture.

I'm using tissue paper flowers but I'll note I'm not a big fan of flowers anyway. I love the way they turned out and I could make about 40 of them for $3.

When my future step-daughter got married, we ordered the flowers (Roses) from Costco. My sister has some background in flower arranging. The three of us made all of the bouquets, corsages, center pieces, etc for around $200.

I found some premade silk flower bouquets on Amazon. They are $15 for 10 roses all the same color. I am getting three of them and cutting the stems apart to make my own bouquets for me and the girls. I want to keep my bouquet though, so that's why I choose silk.

I'm doing silks for bouquets & bouts, and real for centerpieces. Just contact a few florists, let them know up front what your budget is, and see if they will be willing to work with it. If not, supermarket flowers are great.

If you're thinking DIY- Sam's Club!

They have wedding packages or you can just buy bulk flowers.

I'm spending $250 on all of the flowers for my wedding (sunflowers, baby's breath, mixed wild flowers.)

You can also mix. Fresh, professional for your bouquet and bridal party. Real touch for tables. You can give away the centerpieces to guests who want them. Get some quotes, look for 50%off at Hobby Lobby and decide. Your bouquet and bridal party's will be in most of your photos so make sure you love them.

We did silk in a non traditional way - one of my bridesmaids is awesome with flowers and offered to help me make the bouquets. We scoured Michaels, hobby lobby, and even thrift stores and got lots of flowers for dirt cheap. She assembled them for me, and we wound up with these beauties for around $45 total!