How Would I Do my Own Flowers

[lovelylulu]

My fiancee and I are heading back up to vermont this weekend for another wedding planning trip. among other things, we are having our first meeting with a florist that has been highly recommended (both for niceness and reasonable pricing). so, i''ve been sitting at work, trying to track down good visual aids to bring along to all my meetings...

In my searching, I came across a possible table arrangement/church pew decorating idea that I love. it''s simple, but really fits into the whole feeling of the wedding. i wish i was better at posting pictures so i hope this works.

Centerpieces:
We are going to have round tables (not straight like the picture) but the idea still works. I would find (already did) inexpensive glass vases, of variable height and design. paint the inside a nice buttery yellow. and then have 3 vases per table and each vase would be all one kind of off-white or yellow arrangement. i''d also have tealights sprinkled about (no children at the wedding)
i''m thinking lilies, roses, hydrangeas, snap dragons, etc for the flowers...

Visual Aid #1

 

[lovelylulu]

We are also getting married in a church and don''t have an enormous flower budget. so as a simple, yet really lovely church decoration, i love this idea:

 

[lovelylulu]

the french flower buckets and the table vases are roughly the same size. so, i was thinking that i could simply take all the church arrangements out of the tin buckets and put them into the vases on the tables...a recycling of the flowers of sorts. it that hard to coordinate? i'm assuming that we'll need more flowers at the reception site, so some flower-filled vases will already be set up on the tables, so the 12 or 14 church flowers will just be transferred to 12/14 empy vases.

what do you think of this idea??

also, if i want to order flowers, where would i do it from and how far in advance would i get them delivered...

 

[AmberWaves]

LuLu, I think that''s a fabulous idea, all you have to do to transfer the flowers to the reception (since I assume no wedding planner?), have someone you can trust, who won''t be needed in pictures to transport them to the reception ASAP, that way it gets done, and you don''t lose anyone from your wedding party. LOVE the church idea. I don''t know where you can find flowers online, though.

 

[flopkins]

I know costco has a wedding package... might want to look into that.

 

[selflove]

Hmmm...you''re going to have to enlist the help of some family/friends who won''t be needed in the pictures after the wedding and who will commit to doing it fast and getting the reception site before anyone else. You''ll probably need something like a mini-van or a huge trunk of a car and something sturdy to put the vases in, or maybe get a couple really big buckets and consolidate all the pew flowers for the drive to the reception. But you''ll have to be sure the buckets don''t spill in drive over!

Eons ago when I worked for a florist we had huge flat pieces of foam with different sized cutouts where we''d put the vases or pots that we were delivering, so they wouldn''t tip over. I''m doing my own flowers and that''s my plan for how to transport the centerpieces to our reception (several hours before the ceremony).

 

[dani13]

Hey LL-

I love your ideas for the flowers- Costco sounds promising! And I love your color scheme- let me see if I can dig out a few photos for you, since I adore the green-ivory-white combo too...

 

[dani13]

another....

 

[dani13]

and another...

 

[dani13]

Can you tell I have a lot of wedding related pics on my computer???

 

[lovelylulu]

dani: Those pictures are beautiful! I''m thinking that i would have mostly creams and whites, with an yellow being an accent color and then the greens of the leaves...

Does anyone have suggestions for wholesale flowers online?? I don''t happen to live where there is a great flower market

 

[teebee]

So, I''m confused. Are you wanting to do the flowers yourself or you''re just getting ideas and prices prior to your meeting?

I''ve been looking for online direct flowers the last day or so (I have no idea why... we have a florist!). Here are a couple that I ran across that look promising: Growers Box and Fifty Flowers

Also, check out the knot''s flower message boards for reviews of online flower vendors - I''m not crazy about the knot or their message board format, but it''s a good resource for reviews and suggestions for things like this.

 

[lovelylulu]

teebee:

I''m a little confused too. or maybe not confused, but just not sure of what to do right now. up until yesterday, i thought that i would use a florist to do my flowers. i got a recommendation for a great florist with great prices. then, in doing some research in anticipating of meeting the florist this weekend, i developed this idea of small vases with single flower arrangements using a few different kinds of flowers. because these arrangements are so simple, just sticking some stems in a vase, i got to thinking that i could do it myself -- not so sure about bouquets though.

so, this post was to get some feedback on where to get flowers for wholesale prices, get some ideas about the timing of when i should get the flowers delivered, and just generally some opinions on the ceremony/receptions floral ideas.

thanks for those websites. i''m going to check them out.

here is also the page i made up to bring up to the florist.

 

[sparkel]

Hi,

I know up to this point I''ve just been a lurker but I have some pretty strong opinions on flowers. I have worked at a flower shop for nearly six years and have seen all sorts of weddings. I would SERIOUSLY advise against doing your own flowers. My hands are nasty after I work with flowers and you don''t want that on your wedding day. They stain your fingers and wreck your manicure. Plus the actual design fee to put your bouquets and arrangements together is really not that high for most shops so most of your money really goes into the flowers themselves. The stress of doing it yourself is not worth it. I won''t do my own when I get married and I have a pretty good idea of what I''m doing.

As far as buying flowers from Costco or other places like that the problem is that you REALLY need to know how to tell good flowers from the bad and though it sounds easy it''s really not as there are many misconceptions about how to tell if flowers are "fresh". U''re much better off talking with your floral designer and having them make suggestions about how to maximize your budget. The best money saving tips are trying to pick in season flowers and reusing church arrangements at the reception. Don''t skimp on your bouquet though b/c that is going to be the focal point along with your dress and you future husband in all the pics.

The best advice that I can give you is to make sure that you go with somebody''s work that u''ve seen and buy from an established florist. Maybe even ask if there is a weekend comming up where they have a wedding that maybe you could come in early on the sat morning and take a quick glance at the bouquets before they go out the door. No matter what your budget a good florist should be able to work within it. I looked at some of the pics that have been posted and most of those flowers (orchids peonies) tend to be higher end flowers but a florist should be able to create a "look" that is similar perhaps with more affordable flowers too.

Sorry for rambling but I would just hate to see somebody stressing about their flowers on their wedding day.

R

 

[lovelylulu]

sparkel: thanks and i appreciate the advice.

I''m going to talk with the florist and explain my ideas. The pictures are not necessarily to be copied, but like you said, to give them a general idea of the colors,shapes and feel i''m going for. i''m going to also let them know our budget and see if what i have in mind can be funded.

i just got to thinking yesterday, that since my table arrangement idea is not so complicated that i could pull it off.

and i have been inspired to consider the idea by some other brides on PS that did their own flowers did a beautiful job!

 

[sparkel]

lovelylulu

I hope you have a great time on your Vermont trip and get lots of ideas.

Cheers,
R

 

[teebee]

Okay - I understand, that makes sense Lulu!

I agree with what Sparkel is saying about talking to the florist about what you want and your budget; they are good at finding ways to maximize the budget. I had my heart set on orchids, and as Sparkel mentioned, it''s a high-end expensive flower. My florist and I went over everything, came up with a simple design and we''re able to have orchids at less than $1000. So it can be done... but we are sacrificing a few things to stay in that range - the groomsmen are getting ivory rose or fresia bouts and the moms are getting ivory rose corsages. The centerpieces will be fairly minimalistic and we won''t need to decorate the chapel because of it''s already beautiful location/setting.

Good luck on your trip!!

 

[AmberWaves]

I thought I''d bring this up since I saw it in my Modern Bride last night and thought of Lulu: Proflowers.com is at cost that''s 30-50 percent less than traditional florists, you can order all the flowers (from boutonnieres to bouquets to centerpieces) just three weeks before your wedding. Shipped directly from growers, delivered a few days from the wedding, and are ceremony ready straight out of the box (what the article says). Choose from six floral collections and a variety of colors.

Whew. Just thought you might like to peek, just in case.

 

[selflove]

I read that same article Amber. I was intrigued by proflowers.com....

Sparkel--(sorry to hijack!!)--I''m doing my own flowers the night before and storing them in a cool dark place overnight (our covered and well-ventilated parking garage) and then taking them to the site the next morning. I did a trial run of this and it worked great. Our centerpieces are really simple, hydrangea and a few roses (using oasis). The bouquets are roses and I''m using the plastic molds with oasis for those (again the trial runs have turned out wonderful and they''ve lasted for days). I''ve got a couple people helping me and this is for a very small wedding of about 60 people. I''ll get a manicure the day of the wedding and I usually wear gloves of some sort when I work with flowers. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE? (Aside from not doing them myself...not really an option at this point with 4 weeks to go.)

 

[jorman]

Lovelylulu- keep in mind that I am in the Bay Area and everything cost an arm and a leg, but I wanted a purely peony bouquet as well and I was quoted $450 for it. WOWZER! Just be prepared to find out that those fabulous flowers we love so much are freaking expensive!

As for the decorations- you can easily do those yourself! I make floral arrangements all the time for showers, parties, etc. and you can make them the night before and refrigerate them and be set. Plus you can buy the flowers at a cheaper rate at bulk.

Here is a floral arrangement I just did for a double baby shower. I know these are not your colors but you could do the bucket arrangements for the pews similarly with the flowers you like. The pom poms I used last a long time and they have a creamy white- FYI. The theme was mexican food so I used margarita glasses and filled them with a stripe of lime green pom poms, yellow mini daisies and then white pom poms topped with 2 yellow roses, a lime slice and a straw. The methos of making these is the same as the buckets you love.

I can teach you how to make these- SO EASY and so cheap. A few flowers with the bucket idea go a long way. the most expensive thing you will need for those is the ribbon. I will pm you my e-mail address and we can chat about it if you like.

 

[jorman]

Here is a closer view. I have better pics at home.

 

[sparkel]

Date: 4/6/2006 1:10:45 PM
Author: selflove
I read that same article Amber. I was intrigued by proflowers.com....

Sparkel--(sorry to hijack!!)--I''m doing my own flowers the night before and storing them in a cool dark place overnight (our covered and well-ventilated parking garage) and then taking them to the site the next morning. I did a trial run of this and it worked great. Our centerpieces are really simple, hydrangea and a few roses (using oasis). The bouquets are roses and I''m using the plastic molds with oasis for those (again the trial runs have turned out wonderful and they''ve lasted for days). I''ve got a couple people helping me and this is for a very small wedding of about 60 people. I''ll get a manicure the day of the wedding and I usually wear gloves of some sort when I work with flowers. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE? (Aside from not doing them myself...not really an option at this point with 4 weeks to go.)

Hi selflove,

I for sure have a few tips for you! First off GREAT idea doing the trial run. When u are soaking the oasis make sure that you let it naturally soak up water as shoving it under the water can actually cause airpockets which are def not good. As far as the hydrangea make absolutely sure that they are in water up until the point that you put them into your arrangements as they are EXTREMELY sensitive and wilt very easily. That being said I hope that you are not planning on putting them in your bouquet, and if you are I would strongly suggest that you explore other options despite your short timeline, perhaps simple roses, (if you let them blow open and gather them together and collar them with a few greens it can look stunning)

Storing them in the garage souinds perfect as long as it doesn''t get too cool at night should be about the same temp as your fridge and make sure that they are not near any garbage that may contain fruit scraps as fruit releases ethanol which kills flowers. Those are the best tips that I think I can offer based on your description

As my closing remarks though the idea of pro flowers.com seems pretty scary to me, having flowers shipped in a box seems sketchy to me as they are so easily damaged..... Although I''m not big on the idea of ppl doing their own flowers I think that would be the better option if somebody was really stuck for a budget.

Cheers and hope that helps,
Sparkel

 

[selflove]

Thank you Sparkel! I did a couple trial runs actually and found that the first time I must not have had the oasis saturated b/c the hydrangea wilted. The second time I made sure it was saturated and I swear that one looked nearly perfect 48 hours later. It''s solid roses in the bouquet, again using the oasis molds (love them!!) and on both trial runs they held up beautifully. Those will actually be stored overnight in the fridge, not the garage. Thank you thank you thank you for the advice!

Sorry, again, to hijack!