7 Smart Wedding Flower Strategies

It's no secret that flowers add beauty to your wedding ... gorgeous draping floral canopies, floral wedding arches, pew arrangements, wreaths, centerpieces, and more. They set the stage for your walk down the aisle, dress up the ceremony venue, and adorn the reception tables.  By the time you add up all the bouquets and arrangements, you can quickly bust your wedding budget.

Try these 7smart (and simple) floral tips to keep your floral budget in check while still enjoying the beauty, elegance, and fragrance of fresh flowers:

1. Keep your floral arrangements simple.  For your centerpieces, use hand tied bouquets. These require much less labor than complex arrangements that have to be pinned to foam boards or that require on-site assembly.
2. Concentrate your floral budget on the flowers that will show the most. This includes your bridal bouquet, flowers on the altar, and the centerpieces.
3. Use candles as centerpieces instead of fresh flowers. Then decorate the reception tables with small inexpensive wedding favors at each place setting. This also gives your guests a small memento from the wedding.
4. Use a fun cake topper instead of flowers on the wedding cake. The cake will be disassembled anyway ... why not choose a whimsical cake topper that reflects your personality or hobbies? It becomes a conversation piece for your guests and a keepsake for you after the wedding.
5. Choose a smaller wedding party. Ten bridesmaids can mean ten bouquets totaling $1000 or more on the high end.
6. Avoid having your wedding around dates where there is peak demand for flowers. This includes Mother's Day and Valentine's Day.  Not only will your florist be extremely busy, but the price of the flowers can almost double.
7. Choose a beautiful venue. If you select a venue with incredible beauty, either architecturally or interior decor, you won't have to spend as much on floral arrangements to decorate it.

Talk with your florist to see if he or she has done a wedding at your venue previously. It's likely that s/he will have some ideas on where you actually need fresh flowers versus where you don't. Florists understand weddings and will often provide great advice on how to how save money by selecting less expensive (but equally beautiful) flowers. They can also provide guidance on making flowers look incredibly lush, using a few of your favorite expensive buds as the focal point and combing them with less expensive fillers.  Take advantage of your florist's expertise and you are sure to have a gorgeous floral spread without busting your wedding budget.

Do you have any money saving tips for your wedding flowers?  We'd love to hear them!




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10 Essential Questions to Ask Your Wedding Florist

Avoid hiring a florist who might be a thorn in your side by carefully interviewing three or four different shops before signing a contract. These 10 essential questions (and their answers) will help guide you to the best decision, the best service, and most beautiful floral display for your wedding. Is my date available? If your date is available, the next thing to do is ask what deposit is required to hold the date. What is your cancellation and/or reschedule policy? It seems like a negative question, wedding do get cancelled and rescheduled for many reasons. You might decide on a different florist later, have a death in the family, or reschedule the date for some unanticipated reason. You need to know the answer to this question, and have it in writing. Do you charge a delivery or setup fee? This is a standard question. Some shops will charge a separate fee for setup and delivery, while others include it in the cost of your flowers. You just want to make sure you have all the costs up front so there are no surprises later. Have you done flowers at my ceremony and/or reception location before? If they have, they may have some photos you can look at or some floral ideas you haven't thought of. If they haven't, it's not necessarily a problem. You may want to arrange a time to meet them at the location to have a look at the layout. Do you just deliver the flowers, or do you stay  to help distribute the corsages, bouquets, etc? If you've hired a wedding coordinator, this may not be necessary. You could also have someone in your family help with this task. At a minimum, you should ask the florist to label everything so whomever is helping you will know who gets what. What time will you be at my site(s) to setup? There's not necessarily a right or wrong answer to this question. You just want to be certain that things arrive on time, but not so early that your flowers will not look fresh when the wedding begins.  Do you rent decorative items? Some florists will rent archways, candelabras, runners, and other decorative arrangements. Be sure to shop around with local rental companies, as well. The florist may be higher in price for these items. Do you offer silk or dried floral arrangements? If you want to keep your bouquet or allow your family members to keep their corsages and boutonnieres, you might want to consider silk or dried arrangements. You can also make these yourself by purchasing stems at a local craft shop.  Another option is to have your live floral bouquet freeze-dried after the wedding. What items will need to be returned to your shop and what is your return policy? You will obviously have to return any rented items, so be sure to ask the return policy on these. You also might be required to return any plant stands or other items not included in the cost of your actual arrangements. Be sure to ask ... again, to avoid surprises. Do you have references that I can contact? Your best source for unbiased information is another bride who used this florist at her wedding. Ask the florist for references. Selecting a florist is like selecting any other vendor. Be sure to comparison shop and take good notes at each interview. After you have met with three or four florists, you'll be able to make an informed decision and get the biggest floral bang for your wedding budget. What additional questions would you ask (or did you ask)?  Please share here so other brides can gain the benefit of your experience! ~ The WhereBridesGo.com Team Where brides go®  ... for what brides love! For more gift ideas,  wedding favors and accessories, check out WhereBridesGo.com! Don't forget about our Coupon Code VIPBRIDE which saves you an additional 10% off your entire order at WhereBridesGo.com!!  We also offer FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $100 (continental US only). Connect with WhereBridesGo.com online! Follow us on Twitter @wherebridesgo LIKE US on Facebook! LIKE US on Google+