How Can I Keep Flowers Cost down?

If you are using real flowers, you can always look into silk. Sometimes silk are much cheaper and look lovely.

Tell the florist what your budget is, and THEN she should be able to work around different types of flowers to make those fit your budget. Then again, you have to have a *realistic* budget if you want real flowers at the wedding.

If you don't mind me asking, can you give us the breakdown of the quote? I think if you post the price, type of flowers used and the quantity of each, brides who have already had quotes given (and even florists on here) can give you a better idea if the quote is on target or not.

STB Mrs. Crumpet: I will get that as soon as I can get access to it - at work atm!

Good idea. Thanks.

Skip[ the floral centerpieces, or scale them back. Use candles instead- they are much cheaper!

A bridal bouquet averages $150. BM bouquets are around $75-100. So, make sure your estimate is appropriate for that.

Use simple, common flowers instead of exotic. Maybe stick with all roses and get a bulk discount.

Single flower boutonniere in a color that pops. local flowers that are in season. have flowers from your ceremony that you use in the isle double as center pieces. also find a way to use your bridesmaids Bouquet to decorate the head table.

It depends a lot on the flower..I wanted daisies or tulips and my florist informed me that Daisies were cheaper, so Daisies it is!!! Tell them what your budget is. They will work with you!

Also you can price out other florists. Get 2 or 3 quotes so you know if you just got an expensive quote or if that is what is realistic in your area.

I am going to refrain from posting my pricing as after your comments, I think my reaction was just sticker shock. There is definitely wiggle room with the choice of flowers & overall arrangements & decor.

Moving from peonies & orchids ($$&dollar to daisies or even roses would help I am sure.

& using candles could help alleviate the need for a bigger center display.

Keep the suggestions coming esp. what else can I use in lieu of peonies & orchids?

Not the greenest thumb around here = this gal

Ranunculus has a similar look to peonies. I don't know how much they cost though. Not too much, I hope, since I like them a lot

The place i talked to quoted me $125 for mine and $40-$60 for my BMs. I Don't know much about the flowers yet, but I'm not doing anything but the bouquets and bouts because I'm allergic-ish. To cut the costs but keep real and centerpieces, I'd say ask for the cheapest flowers that are what you want, as well as maybe consider making some yourself with wholesale flowers. Saves a ton supposedly!

I'm gonna do them myself.
I did it for my friend for dirt cheap..
I only spent $277 and I did
1 bridal bouquet
6 bm bouquets
8 corsages
I bought the flowers (real flower) wholesale from a store on Long Island
and i had ALOT of flowers left over

HERE IS A PIC OF HER BP - THOSE ARE THE FLOWERS.....DIY VERY INEXPENSIVE

Some suggestions not mentioned above:

1. Go for hand-tied bouquets instead of wired ones. The cost of a hand-tied is usually about the same as the flowers that go into it, but there are much higher labor costs for wired.

2. Think about having each of your BMs carry a single flower instead of a bouquet. This can be very elegant, and still lower the cost.

3. Eliminate flowers where you can. For the evening, you can use candle centerpieces instead of floral. For during the day, you might look at some of the centerpieces that are based on bowls of fruit (limes?) instead of flowers.

What colors are you looking for? That might help.

Hydrangeas are big, full flowers, that aren't horribly expensive, but they only come in certain colors...

Did you tell the florist your budget first? Orchids & peonies are definately not budget flowers. A David Austin roses & lisianthus have a ruffly-, peony-like look. The DA roses aren't cheap, but mixed with others may give the look you want.

A single flower rarely looks elegant, unless you are using callas, I wouldn't recommend that

Candles are nice IF it will be in a place where candlelight will have an effect - i.e. not in the middle of the day in a daylit room. Fruit in an arrangement or inplace of an arrangement can be nice.

Re- purpose church arrangements at the reception, including the maid's bouquets.

We are using hydrangeas because they are big and only cost about $6 a stem.

@Ana: I've been doing some research recently and found that Ranunculus are reasonably priced. We'll be using those at our wedding too.

I think Katie (KK) is using ranunculus too

23 April is getting late for Ranunculas, but it just depends on the year. Be advised that they generally arrive at wholesale looking like this pic

Do you know anyone with a gorgeous garden?? my mom, aunt & MOH all have gardens so they just snipped from theirs... put the flowers in buckets of water & that's what we used for the centerpieces. as for the bouquets, etc... we used a florist & it cost a total of ~$350

- 1 bridal bouquet

- 3 smaller bouquets

- 3 wrist corsages (mothers & step-GM)

- 6 boutineers

We also bought fake flowers from Michaels & spray painted them.