08 Apr 2017

A question about : Help...cheaper wedding flowers!!

Hi, I am getting married on 1st September. It is a simple and informal registry office wedding in Bath with 45 guests.
We have a budget of Ј100 max.for flowers.This is to include 3 simple bouquets (bride and 2 bridesmaids) and 3 button holes. Apparently bridal bouquets start at Ј70!! It seems as though even local florists charge a lot of money and want a formal consultation before they will discsuss costs.

Does anyone have any suggestions or know if it is possible to make your own bouquets? Or is it too risky, complicated and time consuming? I don't want silk or dried flowers if possible.

Any tips, ideas or advice would be much appreciated.

Best answers:

  • Hi Congratulations!
    I made my own flower button holes- the florist wanted 3.50 a button hole but I bought the roses and greenery for Ј1.00 each and made them up myself.
    Is there a college near you that runs flower arranging courses?
    Good luck.
  • Could you speak to a local florist and say you want a bouquet which contains XYZ but not mention the "W" word- that seems to put prices up unneccasrily . Could you print a pic off the internet and say "I want it like this" and ask for a quote, then bargain.
    If M&S or tescos can do one for Ј20 and you want one similar and they are charging 70 then bargain hard or tell them to sling it.
  • Someone on here went out and bought bunches of flowers on the morning of the wedding and made her own. I can't remember who it was now, but it was a pink and white posy and it looked lovely.
    Have a look through the wedding sticky thread in this forum, as I'm sure I saw it in there.
  • Do you have a local market which has a flower stall on it ? We have a Saturday Market nrby to us , and I know that they do bouquets to order , at a much reduced rate. They could also make use of the best value flowers for time of the year . hth
  • a very simple "bouquet" with 2 or 3 stems or even a single flower can look fab and deffo not Ј70 ! lol
    shop about get quote after quote til you find a price you are happy to pay : )
  • Why not ask around, you would be amazed how many people have relatives who do flower arranging on the side.
    Someone whose mum or neighbour has been to flower arranging classes will probably be delighted to make a bouquet for you for cost price in exchange for a small gift or exchange of a small amount of money.
  • Can you find a photo of a bouquet you like, buy the flowers yourself and make it?
    Here are 2 helpful hints (I used to help out occasionally at a florists)
    1. Florists use wire to make flowers go where they want them to. Just buy some florists' wire and practice feeding it up through the stem of the flower.
    2. You can make things like bouquets a day in advance and keep them in THE SALAD COMPARTMENT (NOT the main bit) of the fridge.
    I should think you could get quite a lot of practice in by spending Ј5 on each of 2 occasions, going to a florist's stall at the end of the day, and asking if they have any dying flowers for you to practise on
    PS For our wedding reception, I bought 10 or 20 very cheap china pots at 50p each (IKEA) and potted up some plants for the table centres. Guests were then invited to take them home. Total cost for the reception was about Ј30 for flowers (we did have balloons as well).
  • Congratulations!!! well, I have done this last year on my wedding...and I do agree that when you say the word "wedding" prices go sky rocket especially for flowers. I have bought or ordered my flowers from a local whole saler here in southampton. Look in goole for you local flower wholesalers and you can definitely save a lot. A florist quoted me for Ј250 for the amount of flowers I wanted which was for 50 dark red roses, 50 white roses , 3 b unches of white chrysanthemums and 3 bunches of red chrysanthemums, 3 bunches of green foliage and 3 bunches of gypsophillias. I bought the same amount from the wholesaler for Ј85 and this also includes 10 pots and 2 blocks of oasis for the flower arrangement. you might be able to ask them also if they can do the arranging for you for an extra price...I had my friend arranged the table decorations and the bridesmaids flowers and OH have arranged my boquet...Hope this helps...
  • For my wedding I rang the florist the week before & said I wnated a tied posy in a "bubble" containg certain flowers & a certain colour line. I didn't mention it was for my wedding. I picked it up the day before in it's bubble which kept it fresh, the day of my wedding I just took it out the bubble, trimmed off some of the greenery (which would look great in a display but was too big for me to hold), tied a ribbon around it & voila! Perfect bouquet for Ј30.
    You could easily ask for a medium size bubble bouquet in pink & white for example, using seasonal flowers, & 2 smaller versions. You don't need to say they are for a wedding. Or just a couple of long stemed lillies (be careful of teh pollen it stains!) or roses with 1 sprig of foilage tied with a ribbon would look great, could pick these out the day before & keep in the freidge to keep fresh until ready to tie them together.
  • Do you know anyone in the womens institute or a similar organisation like a local horticultual society, or someone who arranges flowers for church, or a community based flower arranging class. Many flower arrangesr who do it as a hobby are on the look out for projects to do and may offer to do so for the price of the flowers plus a donation to charity. otherwise you could take a class, or look on-line for how to guides. I did my friends table arrangements very cheaply, I bought some huge bouquets from Tesco and arranged them in cheap ceramic bowls with florist oasis in the base. (bowls from Ikea) Also you could buy a simple glass vase with a single bloom these can be very classy looking, ASDA had some last summer for 99p each, and you can give them away afterwards. . I would not attempt a bouquet but a small round posy is very simple particularly if you keep it to one colour and size of flowers of the same type -say roses, keep the stems the same length and add just enough greenery to set them off, then tightly bind the stems together with florists tape. Add a bow and that should just about do it. The secret of a simple arrrangement is make sure you buy lovely blooms, theses need very little extra embellishment. Buttonholes are really easy, same idea, just choose a single flower like a carnation, add a little greenery (fern is good) and bind the stems with florists tape. Add a small gold safety pin and the job is done. I would not try a hand tied, apart from everything else they can be tricky and I think they can become difficult to hold.
  • Hi,
    Thanks everyone for your advice so far. I think I will start by going to a few local florists and seeing what they can do for my budget and if I have no luck I may attempt some of the other suggestions.
    I am quite keen on the idea of ordering bouquets without mentioning the "W" word, but would they be tied up in a suitable way so as not to fall apart when I walk down the aisle?!!
    Keep the ideas coming...thanks!
  • Hiya and congratulations!
    We were on a budget when we married and i had a florist make my bouquet for Ј25! I originally wanted calla (sp) lillies but these were mega bucks.
    I told her that we were on a real tight budget, told her i wanted something quite contemporary, with lillies and sea grass (again sp). and she showed me something that she had made for a wedding that day and it was perfect!
    Go in with a clear view of what you want and just don't budge on the price. I had one bridesmaid (hubby's daughter) and she carried a little cute bag kinda thing from BHS instead of flowers(cost Ј8).
    Hope you get what you want.
    Smelis
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