Help with floral budget

Try the florist at your local grocery store.

Luckily my center pieces are just roses and baby breath, and my BM boquets are also roses only so I'm buying all the flowers needed for those at the grocery store and just getting corsages, bouts and my boquet from the florist. this cut my flower costs in half.

Cut the bouts and do pocket hankerchiefs for the groom and GM. Ask for cheaper flowers and filler flowers in the BMs bouquets or do a single rose (what are the flowers you are currently using). Don't do corsages or bouts for mothers, fathers, grandparents, ushers.

There really isn't much that can be cut. I was going to suggest cutting the bouts for the ushers and the corsage for the officiant (while a nice thought, it's okay that they don't get something). You may be able to scale down the BM flowers and switch out to less expensive blooms. Honestly, I would ask the florist what their suggestions are.

Hmm that's an idea! Are you picking up your bouquet? I'd feel like a jerk if the florist drops off mine and sees that I have all these other flowers that she didn't provide.

What you've listed looks pretty inexpensive. I'd cut the bouts and corsages because they just aren't my style, but that's your call. Maybe do your own undone bouquets instead of pre-made ones? That's what we're doing and it saved us about $100.

I didn't want to splurge on flowers because they're not super important to me, so I'm doing a bulk flower order from a local flower farm ($300) and my own jars/vases ($75). I'm making the bouquets from bunches of babys breath and eucalyptus that are part of our order. Bulk orders work great if you have a DOC (we do) or someone else to help set them up, so you aren't running around the morning of your wedding dropping blooms into jars.

Thanks, everyone! I'm already using cheap, in-season flowers. The florist said we could swap some, but it'll only be a savings of $100. I don't love the bouts either, but felt like we're supposed to have them. They get smashed from all the hugging anyway. LOL I'll have to ask the moms and grandmother if will be upset if they don't have them.

We're getting married 12 hours away from home on a tiny island that actually doesn't have a supermarket. There is a Costco an hour away, so maybe I'll have to look into the bulk orders a bit more. How did you figure out how many flowers you need?

It's so hard because it is such a reasonable quote and it's worth the extra money to take this off my plate entirely, but the money still has to come from somewhere else and this is the last place that I want to go over budget.

Do you know what flowers she is using for the bouts? my florist is charging me $10 each, the extra $4 would be $44 bucks for you. also is she using in season flowers? the prices are low enough that it seems like she would be but thats something to look at, and you can also ask for her to increase the amount of greens she is using. it all depends on what inspiration pictures you showed her.

The garlands are cool but what if you did seeded eucalyptus under/ around the lantern with a flower bud on top like this? if you could get that price down for your tables that could save you a good amount.

last one isnt seeded eucalyptus

Can you reuse the bouquets for centerpieces in any way?

All of the materials are in-season and inexpensive. The bouts will be wax flower, astilbie and eucalyptus and other greens. The bouquets will have the same as the bouts with stock, hydrangeas and alstromeria lilies. I wanted a lot of greenery to begin with.

I don't know that I can get the cost for materials down much further and may just need to go a different route entirely.

Heres another alternative.

I agree with @BookcaseHat, 6 BM bouquets are 1/2 of your tables so you could take advantage of that

eta: you are going to be spending more because you wedding is on an island, i think that its probably worth the money paying the florist rather than doing it your self and you also have a year to try to save the extra money for the flowers.

If you can use the bridesmaids bouquets on half the tables, then cut bouts for everybody but the groom, father, & grandfather, and cut the officiant's corsage, that's a savings of over $400. Not too shabby!

Those are similar to my inspiration pics, @Surfergirl86! I think that looks beautiful on a round table, but we have 10' rectangular tables so I think I need something that stretches length-wise, which is how we ended up with garland. We initially had hydrangeas on each side, but it was going to be $175 per table (with rented candles and vases). Maybe I'll do some trials at home to see if it looks too bare.

Ugh, this is the last thing I want to be devoting time and attention to. I'm soooo not a girl that's willing to spend money on flowers!

I am picking them up myself, that also saved money

Okay, another idea! Since you have long tables, what if you did a series of bud glasses along the length of the table with a single bloom in each? You could even do filler like baby's breath in many of them, which would be less expensive and also still have the same green feel you want?

Something like this (but with other flowers, obviously): https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/fe/6d/0e/fe6d0e517f9ee3d965497e5b45eb827b.jpg

I was also thinking laying the eucalyptus under/ around the bottom of the lantern and spreading it so that it touches the next one?

and i just liked the top of the lantern for the 2nd picture

@Crystal and @BookcaseHat, great ideas! Thank you so much! I was thinking about little bud vases too...maybe I can find them at local thrift shops and just buy some flowers that I can cut and put into them myself. If the florist isn't doing the centerpieces, I could probably pick-up the bouquets and bouts the day before, which would save $75 in delivery fees. Maybe I can put the flowers in the vases the night before as long as I find something hearty. My family already said they'd help put them together to save me money. We have a coordinator that we're required to hire for 4 hours, but I don't know if this is in her realm of responsibilities.

Does anyone know if the bouquets and bouts will hold up if I picked them up the day before or have recs for flowers that'll last the night in water?

Do you absolutely feel like the mothers, grandmothers, fathers, grandfathers, ushers, and officiant all need some kind of boutonniere or corsage? We are cutting out corsages for mothers and grandmothers. My mom and grandma both said they have no interest in wearing one and would rather see it on a table than pinned to a nice dress they've purchased or getting in their way every time they move their hand. FMIL said her feelings wouldn't be hurt if she didn't have a corsage. Same goes for FH's dad (he has no interest in a bout, he jokingly requested to wear jeans to the wedding! haha) We've also decided to cut bouts for grandfathers too. Everyone will know they are family by them being ushered in. We just prefer for the floral to look nice on a table than putting holes into someones formal wear. Two of the florists we've met with have actually said it's becoming more and more common to not have corsages. I would also recommend re-using BM bouquets on a table.

I think that they keep them refrigerated in water, but it probably depends on the flowers and how hardy they are.