*Amazing florals by LB Floristry and styling + photo by my girl Stephanie Abbitt*

Girl, I see you…

So excited to finally be planning your dream wedding!

Creating separate boards for all your vendors, then pinning beautiful bouquets + lush greenery garlands, drooling over garden roses, peonies, and hydrangeas. And finally Meeting with a florist whose work you love.

Getting a quote back and.………..wait what? A peony costs how much?! I thought greenery garland was supposed to be cheap?!
Wowwww, bridesmaids bouquets add up fast.

Girl, I see you.

And I want to let you in on a few secrets to save money without compromising the look & feel you want!

So let’s dive in, you’ve got a wedding to plan after all!

1. Silk Flowers only save money if you compromise on quality!

First off, you may be tempted to hit up Hobby Lobby to check out their selection, because surely a silk rose cannot cost as much as a real one.

So here’s the thing, you can buy silk flowers at a lower price than the real deal. But, only if you are willing to buy a low quality, silk flower.

Surprisingly, most high quality silks carry a price tag that is equal to or more expensive than a natural flower! If you are wanting your bouquet to last forever, I suggest investing in these higher quality silks, just know that they will not necessary save a ton of money.

Your wedding photos are going to highlight every detail of your wedding day, and while you may be willing to invest in silk flowers because they don’t look too bad from a distance, I guarantee they’ll be front + center in your wedding photos.

My Advice: Invest in real flowers for your bouquet, since it gets all the attention, and talk to your florist about what they could provide with the remainder of your budget. We make our living by being creative, and would love to help you come up with alternative designs if need be.

2. Be upfront and direct about your budget!

Communication is key in any relationship, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now!

And the vendor team you assemble is no different! I want to hear all the fun details about about how the two of you met, how he proposed, what you love to do as a couple, etc. Andddd, I want to hear the nitty gritty stuff like how much you have set aside for flowers.

Floral designers are different from most of the vendors you may have worked with up until this point. For the most part, they have had x,y, and z packages, and clear prices listed on their websites, and odds are, you understand what all they offer and what they provide.

You check out a few websites, can’t find any prices, and you figure you’ll just see what the proposed total is before you show your hand.

Time for a moment of truth.

Ready?

This actually wastes your time. And time is valuable to you when planning a wedding. Secondly, it wastes our time as well. Many brides go into a consult vaguely knowing they don’t want to spend any more than “x” amount, receive a quote for “y” amount, assume the florist is out of their budget, and we never hear from them again. The truth is, when a client doesn’t provide us with a budget, we have to assume they are willing to spend top dollar for premium flowers.

For example, this would be like searching for a bridal gown without a budget. Your stylist is going to pull out all the stops and dress you in the most glamorous dress in the salon, and when you see the price tag, you’d be majorly disappointed.

Thankfully, there is a way to avoid all this!

Maybe you don’t for sure know what you want to spend. Try this! Think of a number that would scare you if you received it on a quote. It’s probably less than that. Then think of a number that would leave you questioning why it wasn’t more. It’s probably more than that!

My Advice: Set aside 10-15% of your overall budget for flowers to start with. Then, dream up with your florist a plan for maximizing that amount. Hold no secrets back, and watch them provide you with stunning florals within your budget! It doesn’t get any better than that.

3. DIY can save you money, but not time!

How important is time to you?

Picture yourself on your wedding day. Are you lounging with your girls, feeling fresh, and ready to rock your day. Feeling pampered after a mani/pedi, and just glowing with excitement?

Orrrrrr…

Are you exhausted because you were up till 2 AM tying ribbon onto bouquets, because, oh my goshhhh, having 10 bridesmaids sounded like so much fun until 5 hours later, you still weren’t done with their bouquets, let alone all the personal flowers, and the centerpieces? Or you’ve been watching those flowers that showed up so perky and fresh slowly fade because the weather decided to be 90 degrees all week, and the flowers are not responding favorably?

I don’t know about you but I’ve been there before. And it’s not much fun. I have been in weddings where I was both a bridesmaid + the florist, and it’s stressful!

You don’t feel like you are able to fully enjoy + be present in the moments because 20 minutes before the ceremony, you’re just now decorating the cake with flowers. And that wasn’t even my own wedding!

Chances are this is the first time you’ve been married! Which also means it’s the first time you’ve DIY-ed your own flowers. There is so much time and love that goes into each flower and design that we make, and I genuinely want to spare you excess stress, because I’ve been there.

There are always exceptions to the rules however! If you are super laid back, and have a tribe of girls who can help you whip everything together the day before, that’s great! Turn some music on, get down to business and have fun! Just plan to spend most of the day before working on the flowers, as well as a weekday cleaning and prepping them as well.

My Advice: Evaluate how important your time is to you! If you are totally okay with spending a majority of your wedding week stripping leaves and thorns and slinging flowers, go for it girl! Maybe you’ll discover that you love floral design and want to become a florist IRL. And if you decide that you want nothing to do with dirty buckets and thirsty flowers, give me a call, I got your back.

4. Pinterest is the worst, but it’s also the best.

Okay, that’s a little dramatic. But I’m sure you understand. I mean, how did people even plan a wedding before this virtual corkboard came to be?

One of the greatest pitfalls of Pinterest is that it tends to set unrealistic expectations.

For example, you see the most beautiful bouquet on Pinterest. It has everything you never knew you wanted in a bouquet. It’s lush, it’s in your color palette, it’s textured but not out of control, it’s perfect. And what even are those types of flowers?! No clue. All you know is that it fits your style + aesthetic.

Then reality hits.

Because yes, that gorgeous cascading bouquet is inspiration pulled from a celebrity wedding that probably costs the same as a designer puppy.

But also yes, we can make a bouquet uniquely for you, using more in-season and locally grown flowers in the same colors + aesthetic that costs half the price.

When the color and feel of the design is more important to you than the actual varieties of flowers, you win big. We are able to buy what is freshest, what is in season, what is local! (so we aren’t shipping flowers from all over the world, which adds up quickly.)
Flowers are organic, sometimes too many of a certain kind are grown one week, and the price goes down. Great! I’m able to get even more for you! A little bit of flexibility goes a long way.

PLUS: This also removes stress from you.

For example, with all the hurricanes last year, the industry had a really difficult time getting flowers out of South America, because a majority travels through Miami. Due to this, product that was typically readily available was scarce, and substitutions had to be made. Being flexible with your exact flowers eliminates any last minute calls + the stress and worry that your flowers are going to be less than what you originally envisioned.

My Advice: This does not mean you can’t let us know what types of flowers you would like to have! Do that! It helps us know what your style is. And chances are, we can make them work within your budget. I’m telling you, we really are magicians.

5. Make a statement

As a guest, are you more likely to remember a stunning floral arch in the background of the ceremony, or the 30 small centerpieces on each table?

Probably the statement piece, as it is something that captures your attention, as well as it being something every guest will notice and spend time looking at.

More bang for your buck, eh?

If you are trying to maximize a smaller budget, do not try to spread your money too thin. It is better to have one large focal piece that makes everyone gasp, than to have 30 smaller things that everyone forgets about in a week’s time.

Using the arch as an example, that puppy will be in the background of all your ceremony photos! When you look back at your wedding album one day, you’ll be able to enjoy its beauty over and over again.

Not really a fan of arches? How about working with your florist to dream up a really unique guest seating chart dripping with greenery + florals, so that every guest gets a chance to enjoy and be amazed by it. Not a seating chart person? What about a floral chandelier over the dance floor? Even a guestbook arrangement that makes a statement is a great place to start!

My Advice: Don’t feel like you have to decorate a certain way because it is the norm. Do something unexpected, and your guests will be ‘gramming it in no time.

Bonus Secret: Find A Florist Who Make You Say YASSS

At the end of the day, you want to hire someone who will take the stress off of you, and who you can trust to carry out your vision.
Be up front and honest, ask about their experience and portfolio, and make sure they really get your style + aesthetic.

And when you do, you can say “YASSSSS, I’ve found the one.”

– Leah Bayes of LB Floristry –