Ways to save on your wedding flowers
Wedding flowers are expensive – and there are many good reasons for this. Flowers are perishable and require careful handling, preparation, and storage to look their best.
However, there are numerous ways to keep costs down while still enjoying beautiful blooms on your special day. Here are some ideas and recommendations if you're trying to do your wedding flowers on a budget.
1
Choose local and/or seasonal flowers
Most flowers used for weddings in the U.S. are grown in Central or South America and flown here. If you're getting married on the Front Range in Colorado between May - October, you have the option of using seasonal flowers from local farms.
Because local flowers don't require long-distance transport, they're fresher, often less expensive per stem, and much more sustainable for the environment. Plus, you’re likely to enjoy flower varieties you’ve never seen before!
You can also ask your florist to recommend blooms that are in season at the time of your date, which helps keep costs down. For instance, peonies are in season in May - June, while dahlias are available in later summer and early fall.
2
Repurpose your blooms
There are lots of ways to reuse ceremony flowers at your reception. For example, bouquets and aisle flowers can be reused as centerpieces, as accents on your cake or gift table, along a bar or in front of your head table. Aisle flowers can also be reused if you work with your florist to design them appropriately.
3
Go green
Greenery is fantastic because it's much less likely to wilt than flowers, it requires less attention and care, and it makes an ideal "stage" or backdrop for arrangements. Using garlands as your primary table decorations or adding more greenery into your bouquets and arrangements is a beautiful (and on-trend) way to create a lush look while sticking to your wedding flower budget.
4
Consider downsizing
Those floral arches and installations you’ve seen on Instagram look amazing. However, they have price tags to match due to the high flower count, necessary labor and design time, and the number of stems required.
By choosing smaller arrangements, centerpieces, and bouquets, you'll save a great deal on your overall flower costs.
5
Ask about substitutions
Some flowers are more expensive than others, whether it's because of the time of year, where they're grown, or because they're just harder to grow and care for. If you don't have your heart set on a particular flower type, ask your florist to suggest substitutions that will still match the wedding color palette or overall style that you've chosen.
6
Choose pickup instead of delivery if possible
On-site setup and delivery fees can add hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to your flower order. If you're ordering primarily personal flowers like bouquets and boutonnieres and smaller arrangements like bud vases, you or a family member may be able to pick them up yourself and avoid those expenses altogether.