I'm too dumb for flowers... Help!

Peonies are crazy expensive (like $10 for one) and they're in season in the spring.

Ranunculus might be expensive, too.

Hydrangeas are pretty stable, though - I had hydrangeas in mine. That's weird that she said they're fragile/won't hold up - many bridal bouquets have a hydrangea base.

I keep seeing that on here, too, about hydrangeas. I made a hydrangea centerpiece, just as a sample piece for myself, and it lasted at least 4 days.

Obviously, would depend on time of year...if it's hot they won't last as long.

I spoke to a florist the other day and he told me hydrangeas were good flowers to use in a bouquet.

You should be able to show he what look you want and maybe she can show you inexpensive flowers to get a similar look with? I spoke with a guy from a small flower shower and he said he can do that for me. I just needed to give him an idea of what I wanted (ie: a pic).

I have been told the same thing about Hydrangeas from two other florists. Occasionally you can get lucky and they will hold up, but both of the florists had had a number of experiences where they got to the venue and they were wilted. I was also told that about dahlias, they need to be in deep water or else they can turn really quickly too.

Peonies have a short season. My wedding is in August and I know that I'm too late for them, but I don't know when the seasons starts. Maybe look into country roses instead?

Our colors are coral and tiffany blue. For centrepieces we are using: - seeded eucalyptus, country roses (coral), roses (coral), pom pom dahlias (coral), regular dahlias (coral), a few pincushion flowers to give a different texture, and a couple other flowers that I forget the names of. The bowls have to be deep enough for dahlias though.

Lisianthus is very fragile. The larger varieties of ranunculus is expensive. Anemones are fairly pricey, and I've usually seen other brides use varieties of dahlias, cornflowers or daises to achieve the look of anemones.

I agree with EricaTx about hydrangea...they seem to hold up well.

Maybe alstromeria, freesia, snapdragons or stock? They're all in season then, hold up well- especially alstro- and all of them are available in a pink or peach color.

Peonies are usually in season right at the end of May / early June, but they are expensive. My parents have peony bushes in their front yard, and I was hoping to be able to cut some to make a bouquet for my rehearsal on May 24, but there were only 2-3 flowers open then. Growing up, I had no clue peonies were so desirable - they were ordinary to me since we had 4 bushes of them in our front yard, and they were always crawling with ants (the ants help the flowers to open up apparently) so we rarely cut them and brought them inside the house.

Hydrangeas should be perfectly fine in your bouquet. I don't have much personal experience with the other flowers.

I don't have much floral experience but if you have your heart set on certain flowers, have you thought about silks? All of my flowers are silk, beautiful and already picked up. One less stressor for me to deal with.

Depending on the temp and things like that hydrangeas don't always hold up. We get them for our arrangements at work and they maybe last 2 days before they're completely dead and saggy.

I would think that hydrangeas would last longer in centerpieces than in bouquets where they are close to the heat of your body, being touched, laid down, etc.

Hmm, that's a good point ladies about the hydrangeas-never thought that would be a big deal! It's typically mid 60's at the end of May in our area, so I don't think that qualifies as "hot" haha.

I guess I'm more open to suggestions rather than being set on one thing. I am set on peonies for my bouquet and the BM bouquets if I can swing it without breaking the bank. Dahlia's and cornflowers actually sound great! Thanks for the suggestions, are there any May married ladies out there that had some other flowers in their bouquets?

Anemones: I really wanted anemones until my florist actually showed me their most recent shipment. They are very small and very fragile. Most of them were bruised and were not all white. I got lucky in that my florist is able to recreate the look of an anemone by using another flower.

Hydrangeas: My florist told me that hydrangeas will wilt quickly when not in water so she advised not having them in my bouquets. She did say that they're great for centerpieces though, so we're using them.

Peonies: Expensive, yes.

Ranunculus: Given the season, they shouldn't be. I am using them in my bouquet and it didn't affect the price.

Roses seem to be in season most of the year and are fairly inexpensive. If you want the look of anemones, you may want to look into gerber daisies.

@kristenann you didn't find that ranunculus were too expensive? That's good to know! Thank you!

I was married in May and the temp was in the low 70s. My florist used hydrangeas in addition to roses and mini gerbera daisies for the arbor my husband and I were married under (my bouquet is my profile picture.) They stayed fresh and lasted for several days even though the flowers were in full sun.

Yeah, hydrangeas are a pretty hearty flower EXCEPT in the heat/outside of water. If your wedding is outside during a warm weather time they might wilt a bit, especially in bouquets because they are super thirsty flowers and need water. They should be okay in centerpieces. Peonies are expensive, but I have found a few wholesale flower distributors near my wedding location that sell them for sooooo much cheaper...maybe you would be able to track down some cheaper peonies and supply them to the florist? (Also, peonies and hydrangeas are both large flowers that take up a lot of space so you wouldn't need as many as, say, roses, so the price might not be terribly different.)

I'm really surprised she said Lisianthus is expensive. Relatively speaking, they aren't that bad, and they should be the least expensive of the flowers you listed. They can be delicate, though. Ranunculus can definitely be expensive, depending on what color you are trying to get and time of year.

Roses are your best bet for inexpensive flowers. Garden roses are a little pricey but they come in very pretty coral and peachy colors, and they have a similar look to peonies (DISCLAIMER: if you are not careful you can end up paying the same for garden roses and peonies, so make sure you get accurate numbers on that.) Standard roses and spray roses are easy and fairly inexpensive, and there are tons of white tones and corals. Also, flowers like stock, freesia, and snapdragons are inexpensive fillers.

@Megan, you ROCK. Also, you're a date twin. THANK YOU! That was a ton of information!

@L+A - I hope some of that pans out for you! You are actually looking to use a lot of the same flowers I'm planning to use! I was initially thinking to DIY our reception flowers so I've researched this to death. I would honestly do as much google research on local area pricing that you can stand to do. You can get an idea of what is available in the area in the spring season, and the pricing. If nothing else, you will at least have some ammo to take to your next florist meeting.

That's great advice, thank you again Megan I'm definitely considering a different florist because she seemed ridiculous.

Hydrangea ARE a very fragile flower and need to be put in water when they aren't being used for photos and walking down the aisle...a friend of mine got married last summer and had a bunch in our BM's bouquets and by the time we were done taking pictures after the ceremony, they were looking pretty sad and limp

Good to know Maltese I was thinking of hydrangeas in center pieces rather than bouquets, to be honest, I would hope/think that would be okay since they won't be touched too much.

NP...as long as they get into a vase of water when they aren't being used in photos or walked down the aisle then they will bounce right back after hydrating themselves and even last a few weeks after being cut and they DO look pretty in bouquets and centerpieces