Has anyone done DIY wedding flowers?

Question

I'm going to do my wedding flowers myself to save money, but I'm not sure how many bunches of flowers to get. I need a bride's bouquet, 3 bridesmaid bouquets, a bunch of boutonnieres, about 10 table centerpieces, and a few other vases of flowers for the ceremony and reception decorations. They have a deal where you can get a case of mixed greens for $155, which is 20 bunches of greens, so I think I'm going to get one case of those. I'm also getting 6 different types of flowers in various sizes, shapes, and colors (orchid, craspedia, delphinium, alstroemeria, statice, and iris), but I don't know how many bunches of each I should get (I'll probably get about the same amount of each). If anyone has done DIY flowers before, approximately how many bunches did you order, and did you feel you had too much, just right, or not enough?

This is the place where I'm ordering them: http://www.americanfloraldistributors.com/wholesaleflowers.html

Answer 1

Bride's bouquet, about 24 - 30 stems.  Bridesmaids, around 16.  Boutinierres are 1-2 flowers (1 orchid OR 2 alstomeria) + 1 green,  coursages are 3 or 5 flowers plus 1-2 greens, centerpieces are 18-25 stems, or more depending on how large of a vase you are using.  A very large arrangements, such as an alter arrangement is 60-80 stems.  Use lots of greenery in these - it is a good filler.  Everything you are ordering should be ok with the exception of the orchids.  They are a little tricky.  The purple ones are more hardy than white and, depending on what time of year your wedding is, will have a hard time in the cold. I personally would go with white alstromeria, it's cheaper and much more hardy. Be sure to follow their cutting directions, order to get it in a few days early as the flowers have to have time to open.

I've ordered flowers online with lots of success, and it really isn't difficult to arrange flowers - I mean they are FLOWERS - how ugly can they be?  You do need to stick with handtied bouquets for you and the girls - the ones in the holders require a lot of skill and are best left to a professional.  Coursages and boutieniers are simple, but I would suggest getting some grocery store cheap flowers and working on them so you know how to do it quickly.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

You have to be careful making your own bouquets as they can wilt very quickly if they aren't made properly. Florists make and prepare the bouquets in such a way that they can survive all day without water.

Making your own centrepieces will be fine as you can sit them in water all day, meaning they won't wilt. But your bouquets will be handled, put down, picked up, and out of water all day. So you'd be better off purchasing these from a florist.

Answer 3

have you checked reviews on the place? i've heard bad things about ordering online.

Answer 4

to be totally honest i did my own to save money and it would of been cheaper in the end to of got them made..

i was so mad because i thought it would of been cheaper my way.. dont forget florists get things in bulk if your lucky enough to find somewhere then go for it :)