The cost of flowers for your wedding can be pretty expensive so it is understandable why some couples want to cut back and prioritise their budget elsewhere by doing the flowers themselves rather than hiring a florist. But what does it really involve? Today we’re covering the things to consider when doing your own wedding flowers and why hiring a florist might actually be your best investment...
Many of our clients tell us that looking back at their special occasion, they recognise how the floral designs completely transformed their space and were glad they invested in working with us. But some certainly considered creating arrangements themselves at one point during the planning process. If that’s you right now, before making any decisions, you need to first ask yourself the following questions:
Do you know anything about flowers?
Do you enjoy working with flowers?
Are you creative? Do you have any design experience?
Do you have any help?
Do you have the time?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any or all of those questions, then we’ve pulled together some further considerations for you which will help you to make the best decision for you as a couple...
Whether you hire a florist or not, start off with choosing a colour palette and have a vision of how you would like your floral arrangements to look and what types of flowers you would like to use. Consider what you need flowers for - your bridal bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets, corsages, buttonholes, aisle flowers and table centrepieces to name a few. Try to stay seasonal with your choices as this is the best way of keeping costs down. Keep your designs simple unless you have experience of working with flowers and are creative enough to be able to tackle larger floral installations, backdrops or floral arches.
If you are making plans well in advance, use Pinterest for inspiration. There are lots of tutorials on flower arranging on YouTube. Also, many schools/colleges or even some local florists hold workshops (including us!) that you might like to go along to. Once you know what your vision is, you will need to know how many flowers you require.
Spend time finding out where you can source your flowers. Maybe there is a local flower market or perhaps go online. You can buy DIY wedding flower packages from online wholesalers but nothing beats going out to choose them, which is why we take our clients for a trip to London flower market.
Have you thought about the vessels you would like to use to display your flowers? You may already have some mason jars or bud vases that you can use, otherwise you could hire some or even buy some second-hand ones from charity shops or car boot sales.
Once ordered, the flowers will need to be collected or delivered several days prior to your wedding day as they will need to be prepped before being made up into arrangements. Ask yourself do you firstly have the time to collect them or have the time to stay at home when they are being delivered or is there somebody else available who can do this for you? Secondly, do you have space to be able to prep and then store the flowers?
The blooms will need time to open fully and be conditioned. Remove all thorns, strip the stems leaving just a few leaves and trim off several inches off the bottom of the stem prior to putting them in a sterile bucket or container with clean water. Ensure that the temperature is right - you don’t want the flowers wilting in the heat!
Be prepared that a crisis could occur. It may be that a certain variety of a flower you ordered are not available or it’s the wrong shade. Stay calm and be flexible.
Have you considered what you need to keep your floral arrangements in place? It’s not a case of just tying a ribbon around them. Many floral arrangements need wire, pins and tape so that they can have some kind of structure.
Before you can start being creative, ensure that you have enough work space. Flowers are fragile and can be easily damaged in the styling process. It is always wise to buy extra flowers.
Have a trial run with making up your creations - you won’t want to leave it down to chance for the big day.
How are you going to transport the flowers to the venue the day before the wedding/event? Who is available to drive the vehicle? Does the vehicle have flat space? Who will assist with the final flower set up while you both get ready?
Working with flowers can play havoc with your hands! It’s not vain to want smooth hands and beautifully manicured, polished nails on your wedding day. Do you have enough time for this treatment?
Are you up for the challenge? It’s absolutely possible to have DIY wedding flowers and we’ve seen lots of couples do this very successfully. But if you’re questioning if it’s really for you, we wanted to share some of the reasons working with a florist might be more suitable...
Professional florists can take that stress away from you so it’s one less thing for you to think about. It’s really important to us that we listen to what you’ve dreamed of having and work within your budget. We’ve spent years developing our skills and working creatively to define or complement the whole look and feel of weddings and events. And why do we do it? Because we truly love working with flowers!
There are so many different options available to you that we can advise you every step of the way to ensure you avoid feeling overwhelmed and that your floral decor is exactly how you envisioned.
We’ve cultivated long-term relationships with our suppliers so that we only use premium, quality blooms, meaning you only ever get the best from us.
Freshly cut flowers don’t tend to stay fresh for very long, so we also bring with us the experience of knowing when to source, order and collect the flowers and hire any vases, urns, arches, candles, other props that are required along with consumable supplies – such as wire, ribbon and oasis foam.
We have a secure space which has been specifically designed for us to prep the flowers, store them and then arrange them, so you know they are being taken care of at all times.
Depending on your needs, we can be there to deliver, install and move the flowers between venues if that’s what you’re looking for. After your magical day, we even clear away or preserve your floral arrangements.
If you would like to find out more about how we can help you to create your dream wedding, event or photoshoot through floral design, then why not get in touch today? You can also click here to learn more about our process or follow us on Instagram / Pinterest for more ideas and inspiration.
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