Three problems when planning to DIY your wedding flowers and what it can really cost
Pinterest Weddings are all the rave: It has become a very popular way for Millennials to plan their weddings. Engaged couples create Pinterest boards full of all the things they want to have created for their special day. It is an easy way to collect ideas and organize them as you work through the wedding planning process. However, using these images as your wedding planning guide without the help of professional guidance can create wedding week havoc. Keep in mind the following potential problems that can arise from unrealized pinterest expectations
- Because you see it in a photo does not make it easy or cheap or even possible
- Because you see it in a photo and some other bride did it DIY does not mean you should try to do it without professional help and careful planning
- DIY projects can cost way more than you think in not only supplies but time and labor and it all has to happen 48 hours before your wedding
Our DIY bride fell in love with Pinterest photos of green garlands on the table and that was her primary request for what was important to her as wedding decor. All flowers had to be shipped in and her aunt, me….. a former florist, had taken on the job of making her dreams come true.
While it was a joy and an honor to do this for my niece, this ended up being a huge project and without the help of 10 other family members, could never have been pulled off in 48 hours! Because it was a destination wedding in Heron, Montana and far from any cities or my home town of Las Vegas, everything had to be ordered and shipped to our rented condo by Wednesday before the wedding.
As a former florist, I still met with a professional for additional guidance to complete the florals for this wedding. Kathryn of Enchanted Florist not only shared what this wedding should cost but saved me from making some mistakes that would have been difficult to solve once on site at the wedding.
What the Brides Floral Inspiration Included:
- Table Garland
- Bridal Bouquet
- 5 Bridesmaid Bouquets
- Boutonnières
- Table Centerpieces
- Bud Vases
- Flowers on the cake
- Leaf accents on table settings
Table Garlands: It would take 200 feet of green garland minimum to create the look she wanted with garlands on all the long tables.
Bridal Bouquet: The bride wanted peonies and simple greens. Unfortunately peonies just were not available this time of year (July) so we went with Cabbage roses, which also did not hold up well and we had to buy white roses at the last minute to fill in.
Bridesmaid Bouquets: Simple green and white rose bouquets
Boutonnieres: She really did not want them, but it is such an important part of the wedding in setting the groomsmen and groom apart from the guests we provided them anyway.
Table Centerpieces: We created 3 low centerpieces for the head table of similar flowers.
Bud Vases: The bride planned on just candles amongst the greenery, but we added short budvases with white and green flowers to add interest to the long banquet tables.
Flowers on the Cake: To add a floral touch to her “no icing cake” we added greenery and flower touches
Leaf accents: For this one we hit our heavenly bamboo bushes for weeks before the wedding, cutting off leaf points and storing them in the refrigerator until time to head to the wedding.
Rose Petal Circle: The bride wanted to stand in a circle of rose petals for the ceremony, it took bags 3000 white petals to complete this circle. We totally had to guess if it would be enough and I wish we had purchased more.
So how did we pull this off out in the middle of no where? How much did it cost and where did we get our supplies? Would we recommend this as a DIY wedding? Stay tuned for the answers.
- We had to rent a condo big enough with a large kitchen to work in
- As a bonus it had a large garage and a laundry room with a work counter to create on
- It was in the mountains and it stayed cool enough to keep our flowers fresh otherwise you would need very large refrigerators.
- We had 10 family members working together to make it happen
- All flowers had to be ordered online and delivered to the condo by Wednesday before the wedding
- What if the flowers had not arrived? That was our biggest fear. Thank God they came in 3 separate deliveries on Wednesday.
- We worked non stop Wednesday preparing the flowers, Thursday and Friday buidling garland and bouquets
- Saturday everything had to be delivered and set up in only 2 hours and the wedding destination was still over an hour away from our condo.
How much did we order of everything? What is the cost of DIY flowers?
Garden Peony Roses 48 Stems $239.00 Needed for bouquets and centerpieces
Ruscus 85 Bunches $420 for Garlands
Eucalyptus 10 bunches seeded $119.99 for garlands, bouquets and table centerpieces
We estimated 106 bunches of greens needed for the garlands plus we brought greenery from home off of an african sumac and olive trees, We did 200 ft of garland and the time to complete was at least 25 hours or 5 people for 5 hours each
Lisianthus White 80 stems 94.99 – for bud vases and bouquets
Asst White Fillers 150 stems 99.99 bud vases, bouquets and centerpieces
Assorted White Fillers 15 Bunches (150 stems per box) Inlcude: $200 included
- 4 Bunches (40 stems) White Godetia
- 3 Bunches (30 stems) White Babies Breath
- 4 Bunches (40 stems) White Lysemachia
- 4 Bunches (40 stems) White Trachelium
Rose Petals 3000 $99.00 for Rose Petal Circle
145 Leaf Points for the table settings – we cut from back yard bushes
42 Bud Vases, 3 Table Centerpiece containers $150
Fresh Floral Foam – 1 Case
APPROXIMATE TOTAL SPENT $1,500 TOTAL HOURS IN LABOR 75 (including time before the trip)
Resources:
Sam’s Club, Costco & and FiftyFlowers.com for Flowers – all orders were placed online and did arrive the day we needed them. Most everything was in good shape except for the vital cabage roses. Last minute emergency flowers, white roses, were purchased from a grocery store when some of our cabbage roses did not make it.
Home Depot for buckets to keep the flowers in water
Wire Cutters, Wire, Floral Tape, floral shine, were all pre purchased and flown in with us.
Rental Car or large SUV for the delivery
So would I recommend DIY flowers for your wedding? Ask yourself these questions? Consider carefully before taking on DIY projects, it is not only about the cost, which will still be more than you can imagine, but you also must consider the labor and the time it takes to complete projects. Will you have that time the day before your wedding? The day of your wedding? Do you have people you can truly count on? If using your bridesmaids and groomsmen, will they have the time to help and get ready for the day too? I was a former florist putting all this together, bottom line I recommend hiring a florist for your wedding day unless you have the resources, time and labor pool:)
Venue: Grace Sandpoint Bible College: Heron, Montana
Wedding Dress: Stella York
Wedding Cake: Friends Amy Jones and Naomi Jensen
Flowers: Debbie Hansen, Bridal Spectacular Events and lots of family help (at least 10 family members including men helped to build the garlands) While the bridal party had planned to help, time, distance and other wedding festivities kept them from being able to.
Photography: Allie Hannah Photographer, Primary photographer. Additional photo Images by Ty Hansen, Davon Larson and Debbie Hansen
See additional blogs about this wedding in Heron, Montana.
Savannah & Zack Destination Wedding
Pinterest Wedding and Unrealistic Expectations