If you have decided to make your own wedding flowers, you need a clear sense of direction and plan of action.  Have a schedule so you’ll know exactly what you need to do when.

Four Days Before Your Wedding

Pick and condition your foliage and any flowers that you want that would come from a garden. These flowers and foliage were picked 2 weeks before your wedding day and you tested them to see if they were hardy. Contact your flower arranging helpers to discuss a meeting time for the day before your wedding.  An early start is recommended.

Three Days Before Your Wedding

Prepare the floral foam.  Fit it to the containers, cut it to size, and tape it into place. Fill the containers with water so the floral foam will absorb the water. Once the floral foam has absorbed the water, fill up the containers with water again.  It is very important that floral foam stays wet.  After it starts to dry it is no good any more and must be tossed out.

Two Days Before Your Wedding

Pick up your flowers and some empty flower boxes from your florist.  You’ll want the boxes to store your bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. Condition the cut flowers and put them in clean bucket full of clean water with flower preservative. Keep the flowers in a cool, dry place away from drafts and direct sunlight. When putting your flowers into the buckets of water, you can organize them by putting in the correct number of flowers for a specific arrangement.  Label the buckets so you’ll know which bucket is for which arrangement.

The Day Before Your Wedding

Meet your helpers very early at the church to show them how you want it decorated. Arrange all your wedding flowers and put them into the flower boxes.  The pieces that simply must be put in the boxes are the bouquets, flower girl basket, headpieces, corsages, and boutonnieres. Mist the flowers with your spray bottle, spraying both the back and the front. Cover the box with plastic to seal out any air and to keep the moisture inside the box.  If you do not cover the boxes with plastic, the water will evaporate and the flowers will wilt. Have corsage pins in a container beside the flower boxes.  You don’t want the pins in overnight – they could start to rust. Put any of your other arrangements that are meant for either the reception or the ceremony in their positions.  Top up the containers with water and mist them gently.

The Day of Your Wedding

Ask your helper to go to both the ceremony and reception locations to check on the flowers.  They should top up the water and mist them gently. Get the best man to pick up the boutonnieres and corsages and give them to the correct people. Take the plastic off the flower boxes with the bouquets to see if the flowers are still fresh and perky.  If they look a bit dry, mist them gently and cover loosely with plastic. Just before leaving for church, gently shake the head pieces and bouquets to get rid of any extra moisture. Attach the headpieces, pick up the bouquets and you’re ready!

Follow this schedule for how to organize everything for when you make your own wedding flowers.  A clear plan of action will help you see through it all and will spare you from missing any important details that could lead to panic.  You want your wedding day to be as stress-free and enjoyable as possible.

Planning a wedding is never easy – like a jigsaw all the pieces need to fall in together to make the complete picture. The wedding flowers often form not only the beautiful background to that picture but also part of the centrepiece itself and so it is important that they fit perfectly with all the other components of the wedding.

So, where to start planning the perfect wedding flowers? A good starting point is to make a list of the flowers you are likely to need. Whilst each wedding is unique areas to consider initially are: fresh or silk flowers, colour scheme, theme, bouquets, headdresses, boutonnieres, parents, grandparents, flower girl, ring bearer, throw away, alter arrangement, aisle arrangement, reception tables, brides/grooms centrepiece.

As you choose your wedding flowers remember that, while some flowers are traditional each year new trends and species become available. A good florist will help you with choosing styles, colours and trends suitable not only to your budget but also to your personality. Your florist should listen and advise about flowers and arrangements to suit you and your venue perfectly.

As you begin your search for the ‘right’ flowers for your day you may be overwhelmed by the vast choice available. Your florist should help and guide you along the way to make the right choice for you. A perfect flower for an outdoor wedding, the tropical Anthirium – originally from Hawaii – is available in a wide variety of colours such as pink, white, red, green and purple. You will also find colours that include combinations: pink/blush, coral/orange and rainbow. Proteas is another versatile choice – available in a variety of species and sizes – the King Proteas being an ideal choice for the aisle or alter arrangement.

Ideal for a contemporary bride, another stunning and versatile tropical flower is the Heliconias. With its’ sharp appearance and pointed petals the Heliconias comes in richly vibrant shades of purple, red, fuchsia, orange and coral.

Other tropical favourites include the fabulous Bird of Paradise flower – with its’ rich purple and orange colour the Bird of Paradise adds a sophisticated elegance to any wedding, regardless of specific colours. Ever popular, the Orchid, with its’ delicate flowers will make your arrangements into breathtaking centre pieces.

Many brides today want to step ‘out of the box’ with their wedding flowers. They want something different, never seen before. Be bold with your ideas and suggestions to your florist – a creative florist should be able to work with you to put together something really special and unique to you & your special day. The fun aspect of wedding flowers today is that just about anything goes – different colours, textures and materials are increasingly being seen together in modern bouquets.

Recent trends towards more pastel colours are being increasingly replaced by whites – white on white being an extremely popular and stunning option for many brides today. Calla Lilies, Miniature White Roses, Paper Whites and Carnations to name a few are in demand, along with stems wrapped in delicate materials that blend or match with the colour of the gown, together with exquisite detailing in bead/pins etc. Each bouquet is a work of art in itself. Ever popular are Red Roses – be it a simply stunning hand tied or a more complicated piece with construction and caging the results are always fabulous.

There are trends for the reception flowers too – still popular are long stemmed Lilies as a stunningly graceful centre piece to any table but increasingly we are being asked for designs containing more greenery and less flowers. The variety of shades and types of greenery available makes for a fabulous display highlighting the beauty of the carefully placed blooms. Also popular this year are containers full of tightly packed roses with more ‘natural’ materials such as pebbles for anchorage or simply tied together with the stems left long – making a stunning centrepiece to any reception table.

Trends are also changing for containers for the table centres; often flowers are combined with coloured glass pieces or water inside the container or mixed with candles to make a romantic light for the reception venue. Increasingly the flowers and petals are submerged within the container making a truly stunning alternative to the more traditional arrangement. Circular ‘Goldfish’ styles of bowls have been popular options for this year, especially with Calla Lilies wound round the centre. Tea lights carefully placed around a centrepiece together with metallic confetti scattered on the table make a lovely romantic glow for the evening time when the lights are turned low and everyone is relaxed.

Buffet tables can be decorated with flower or greenery garlands. Many brides today are also opting for floral decorations on the cake as opposed to the traditional cake toppers. For a traditional tiered cake, your florist can create a magnificent cake topper with coordinating flowers adorning the sides of the cake – this makes a stunningly unique part of your overall jigsaw – perhaps finished off with a few carefully selected petals scattered around the cake table. Another trend this year has been to separate the tiers of the cake with cubed vases containing flowers – beautiful for something a little different!

It’s the little finishing touches that make all the difference however and that is what your guests will notice most on your wedding day. We receive a lot of comments about our grooms’ button holes – which we design to have the look of a miniature bouquet as opposed to a single flower. Traditionally the groom just had a slightly bigger flower and many ended up with the best man or dad unwittingly picking the grooms’ buttonhole on the day – now there is no doubt which is the grooms as it is special and different.

If you have some wacky, way out idea of a ‘look’ or theme you would like your wedding to follow try to portray this to your florist and let them create this for you. Above all else choose a florist who works with you to create that all important look for your day. Just as your wedding is unique to you, so should your wedding flowers be just as unique. Remember, when the day is long since a happy memory, the one constant in your photographs besides your spouse is the flowers – they will be there to delight you, not only on the day itself, but for many years to come. Get good advice and choose them with care!

1) Use orchids in combination with other flowers for your  centerpieces.

It is not essential to decorate every table with a expensive floral centerpiece.  Using orchids, roses, peonies, camellias or gerberas. in a glass container filled with water.and place both a candle and some rocks to turn it to make a centerpiece attraction.

2) Reuse your flowers if  you have two  different areas for your ceremonial activities  and your reception.

If your ceremonial occasion and reception are in two separate places (or even two separate rooms), let the floral arrangements that adorn the ceremony be also  used decorate the reception!
Determine if your florist is able to transfer and setup the flowers at your reception after the ceremony is finished.There is usually comfortable time between the two, and you can economize an incredible amount of time and money by “reusing” your attractive, fresh blooms!

3) Limit the  Corsages and the Boutonnieres  Altogether.

Corsages and boutonnieres  are not as  popular anymore Ask the  moms  and the dads whether they want a flower fastened on them. Ask first.

4) Pick Out  the Orchid and other  flowers in Season.

This is an  important money-saver. Keep in mind that blooms look and smell best when they are new and in season. This is especially true for orchids and roses. In winter time , it is very hard for these flowers to bloom .. But if you have your heart set on a special bloom that carries special value for you, it would be advisable to program your ceremony around the time period it will be in seasonal bloom.Although flowers in season will give you a beautifully scented bouquet, Be  cautious  with the flowers you choose to include in any centerpieces at your reception. The fragrances that come from flowers   can be overwhelming and   overpowering flowers might  agitate any allergic reaction* that your guests may have.

5)Take the time to fully consider all of the activities when doing the floral arrangements.

Do answer the following questions that you might want to ask when considering the preparation of the wedding floral arrangements.

o Do i have enough motivation?

o Do i have somebody to help me  with the floral arrangement before the wedding?

o Can i save enough time by doing this and is it worth it?

Choose among friends and relatives  who would be willing to help you with  your floral arrangements and bouquets. Would you want the memory of a bachelorette spending her last single days  with your best friends!or  are you  willing  to spend it working frantically working out the last floral arrangements before your wedding day.

The internet is a fantastic resource to get  free instructional lessons that will tell you not only which flowers work best in a bouquet, but provide valuable steps designed to help you put your arrangements together successfully.  Remember that it is a very key aspect of the wedding and should be an expression of the bride’s personality   Balance the different items between the wedding gown, the bridesmaid’s gowns, the ceremony flowers and decorations and the bouquet.The other flowers, such as the bridesmaid’s flowers, the flowers at the reception can follow the theme and take on the elements of the bride’s bouquet.

Have a florist consultant nearby  to assist you in your planning the details  . Take heed because  florists can generally charge 4 times the price that a wholesaler would and charge additional labor costs for designing and assembling the flowers, you would still be saving money.Buy your flowers from a wholesaler.   You can locate many floral wholesalers online. OnlineWholesaleFlowers.com actually offers “Wedding in a Box” packages of varying sizes that come with all the flowers necessary to create the look that you want. Budget-Bride.com has a similar package, which even Includes items such as the cake knife and ring pillow!

6) Have a Garden Wedding

Weigh having the ceremony and/or the reception in a beautiful garden! Look for a friend or a relative  that has a beautiful backyard and would be esteemed to host a wedding there?  If  you are already surrounded by lush greenery and blossoming flowers then minimal arrangements would be made.. Be prepared, though! Depending on the weather   (or the time of year you hold your wedding), you may want to make use of either awnings, patios or sophisticated white open-air tents in case Mother Nature decides to become a wedding guest!

7. Cut down on attendees.

By limiting the  attendees, you will not have to furnish as many bouquets and boutonnieres. Because small ceremonies are presently a  fashionable trend, it will be a natural progression to balance out the ceremony with a more intimate wedding party. Many couples favor a privy setting with soft, glowing candles or lights to offer a   romantic theme. These more intimate, family oriented gatherings are also beneficial because they help the bride and groom to stay within their budget.

8.Do not schedule  your wedding day on or near a holiday.

Flowers are mostly in high demand around Valentines Day, Mother’s day, proms, graduations and other special holidays. These holidays moved the  prices  dramatically and certain flowers are often hopeless to find. As if this isn’t enough bad news, florists tend to be extremely engaged on holidays while they desperately try to keep up with their expanded business.   Do they have  enough
time to put the desired attention into your flowers?

You can take great advantage of this if planning your wedding around the Christmas holidays. It is a safe bet that most venues, either indoor or out, will be festively decorated before you arrive!

You have waited your entire life to reach this day, and it should be as beautiful as you always imagined it would be. A ceremony without the soft, delicate beauty and fragrance of flowers would be like having a cake without icing. Although bearing the traditional retail price for wedding flowers can cost you a bundle in materials and fees, employing these great cost saving tips will keep the floral arrangements from becoming one of the costliest items on your budget checklist.