Save Money on Your Wedding Flowers

From time to time, we find a need to save money on our wedding flowers. There are probably as many reasons for this as there are individuals getting married. For most though, it is simply that their own budget will not support efforts to 'keep up with the Jones'. Others might have had the resources to be extravagant with their wedding flowers in years past, but a recent economic downturn has made such an effort no longer possible.

Fortunately, it is possible to save a large portion of the money that would have otherwise been spent on wedding flowers as long as we take the time to plan our efforts:

• Choose a venue that needs little or no augmentation to be beautiful. For example, if the wedding is held on a beach or in a lush garden, the need to have the florist import a large amount of flowers is unlikely at best. Under these conditions the chances are good that the most the wedding party would need from the florist is corsages, boutonnieres, and possibly a display for the alter.
• Likewise, choose to marry during the Christmas season or, depending on the practices of the church, right around Easter when the church is already decorated and don't need much, or anything in terms of flowers.
• Conversely, schedule to avoid a Valentines wedding. February might be an extremely romantic time of year to tie the knot due to the Valentines celebration but the demand for flowers at that time of year is extremely high, driving the cost of flowers through the roof.
• Choose flowers that are in season for the wedding celebration to hold the cost down. Many flowers are quite expensive when they have to be forced by the growers or shipped from another hemisphere, yet cheap when they are naturally blooming locally.
• If renting a venue that regularly hosts weddings, talk to the venue manager to get the name of other brides holding their wedding the same day and contact them to see if an arrangement can be made to share the cost of the wedding flowers.
• Rent or buy large potted plants that will add to the lush look of the wedding venue. If they are purchased, the couple can get years of use of them in their own home afterwards. This is usually much cheaper than filling the same space with a floral arrangement.
• Use the same flowers at the reception as at the wedding ceremony. However, be careful with this one. This works best when the wedding and reception are held in the same location as some flowers do not travel well. Furthermore, check with the church. Many churches, as a trade off for minimal usage fees require any floral arrangements be left in place after the ceremony for the church's benefit. It's not a bad trade, but worth noting.
• If someone in the wedding party has a good eye for floral design and style that is similar to the couple's, consider purchasing flowers from an online flower vendor and making the arrangements without paying a florist to do it. But be careful, this option leaves the wedding party responsible for making certain that the flowers stay fresh until the wedding.
• Save on floral arrangements for the wedding reception by employing a craft oriented member of the wedding party to create the centerpieces. If nothing else, a clear bowl with a light flower such as a daisy floating in water is a simple and inexpensive centerpiece.
• Plan a backyard wedding. Where possible, a back yard wedding is a great option to save money on both the cost of a venue and the wedding flowers. It is personal. But more than that, if a couple takes a bit of the money they would have spent on the venue and flowers and puts it into a bit of landscaping they have the added benefit of a private retreat that they can enjoy for years to come.

The need to cut back on the wedding budget is not necessarily a bad thing. Often brides fall into the trap of trying to plan a wedding by simply buying everything that catches their eye. Sometimes this works out. But the need to watch the budget allows a bride to think through the choices that she has to make and come up with creative ways that will help her save money and achieve the look that she has always dreamed of, all while saving money on the wedding flowers.

Save Money on Wedding Flowers