saturday savings - what's in season?

The biggest expense when dealing with wedding flowers is, of course, the actual flowers.  So one of the easiest ways to keep your budget down is to use flowers that are less expensive.  One way to do this is to go with flowers that are in season.  Many flowers you can get year-round (they're grown in green houses or shipped from other places, etc.) but they may be more expensive if that's the case.

So here are some suggestions for seasonal flowers.  Names of flowers correspond with pictures, left-right and top-bottom.

Spring:  tulips, ranunculus, sweet peas, heather, iris, peonies (late spring- early summer), hyacinth, ranunculus again, peonies again, lilacs

Tulips you can usually get year-round, but you'll probably get a better price in the spring.  Many of these others just aren't available when they're not in season.
*sweet pea and pink peony pictures from countryliving.com

Summer:  bright summer mix (lilies, mums, asters, etc.), roses (although you can get them any time), delphinium, cornflower, lilies, lisianthus, chrysanthemums, alstroemeria, stock (late spring- early summer), chrysanthemums (fuji mums), asters, sunflowers (late summer)

Fall: dahlias, chrysanthemums (pom-pom and fuji), sunflowers, dahlias again, sunflowers again, scabiosa pods, asters, chrysanthemums again.

Dried flowers or foliage are also commonly used in fall arrangements.
*red dahlia boutonniere and orange dahlia bouquets from theknot.com

Winter: amaryllis, sweet peas (late winter), anemones (though really, these are available most of the year except the middle of summer), green holly, poinsettias, camellias, red holly berries, pine/cedar greens

Winter weddings don't just have to be Christmasy!  :)  

*green holly boutonniere from theknot.com

While this list is by no means comprehensive, it does include a lot of my favorites, and a lot of the more popular choices.  Not surprisingly, summer is when the most flowers are in season, so you'll have the greatest variety to choose from.  But you're definitely not limited to just roses or carnations other times of the year.  And if you're looking to save a bit, try to go with something that's in season!

wildflowers

I have this problem - when I see wildflowers, I really want to pick them.  Even if they're growing on the side of the freeway.  Luckily, I do have enough sense to not actually stop and get them there... but when I saw a bunch growing in a field near my parents' house, I couldn't help myself.  And this (along with a few pokes from the thistles and sticky fingers from some sap) was the result:

garden roses

I went to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point a few weeks ago, and these are just a few of the gorgeous roses I saw there.  Some day I will have a big garden with lots of roses and other flowers.  And then I will have a constant supply of fresh cut flowers (well, except in the winter I guess... maybe I'll have a green house too).  :)

saturday savings - consider the container

Often the biggest expense as far as wedding flowers is the centerpieces, simply because you need so many of them.  So instead of slashing your guest list to get rid of a few tables, consider the container for the centerpieces first.

Typical rule of thumb: the smaller the container, the fewer flowers needed to fill it.  But be careful - a lot of people look at a vase that they think looks "small" but it is actually just short.  The size of the opening is what you need to look at. 

The vase here is short, but it has a wide opening, and therefore needs a lot of flowers to fill it (of course, depending on the design you go with, this can be adjusted... but in general)

Here are a few ideas for vases with smaller necks:

Eiffel Tower/Maestro vases

These vases are tall and very narrow, requiring only a few stems to fill them and create a simple, elegant look, and provide some nice height.

Bud vases:

These little vases only need about 1-3 flowers to fill them, and look great clustered together on a circular table or in a row on a long table.  You can find a wide variety at thrift stores, craft stores, etc. and mix and match the styles for a unique look.

There is such a huge variety of options when it comes to vases/containers for centerpieces, but if you're looking to cut back on costs without cutting back on the number you need, look for some containers that won't need as many flowers to create the look you want.

saturday savings - make the most of your budget

On a budget for your wedding?  Most likely.  Figuring out how and where to spend your money for your wedding is often one of the most stressful aspects of wedding planning.  So, I decided to start a series of posts with some tips for making the most of your floral budget for your wedding.

The first and most important tip is: Have a floral budget in mind, and tell your florist what it is!
I  know sometimes people think that if they tell the vendor their budget, the vendor will simply try to spend all of it to make the most money.  But really, most vendors just want to work with you to make your wedding vision a reality.  And if you have only budgeted a few hundred for flowers, but you meet with your florist and plan out all these elaborate arrangements and she tells you it will be a few thousand, there's going to be a problem.

Telling your florist (and really, all your vendors) what your budget is allows them to realistically work with you to get you the most for your money.  They won't recommend the most expensive or elaborate options if they know it's not going to work within your budget, so it will save both of you time and prevent you from having to change plans later once everything's been priced out and planned out.



A few things to consider (which I'll discuss in more detail in future posts) as far as making the most of your budget:

• what types of flowers you want
• what flowers are in season
• what different types of flowers cost
• what types of containers you want to use
• what styles of bouquets, arrangements, etc. you want
• who in the wedding party/family will have flowers
• where do you need flowers

Those are just a few things to think about and talk with your florist about.  Maybe you absolutely love orchids, but they're a bit too expensive - consider only using them in select locations/arrangements, or finding a less expensive flower that still achieves the look you want.

More tips on saving money and getting the flowers you want without breaking the bank coming up in the future!

purple and yellow daisies

Some bright, summery flowers to celebrate the fact that it finally feels like summer!

close up on the flowers - daisy actually refers more to the shape of the flowers than the actual species (most here are actually types of mums or asters)

purple and yellow daisy boutonniere 

Mason jars are a really fun (and inexpensive) option for containers if you're going for a summer, garden look.

baby jack

This post has nothing to do with flowers... except perhaps to explain why I haven't posted anything recently or done any weddings recently.  And that reason is Jack!  Introducing the newest and most adorable member of my family:

But now that he's here, I'll be getting back into the swing of things and prepping for some weddings later this summer, which I'm really excited about.  More to come on those soon!