Floristy 101

How to stretch your flower budget

Take away wearable flowers (I’ll touch more on this below)

Repurpose as many flowers as possible from the ceremony - keep in mind that not all designs are easy to transport so a light any airy arch may not be able to be reused but some flowers going down the aisle could.
Limit the amount of people in your wedding party. The more bridesmaids you have the more money you will need to spend on bouquets - on average that’s $100 per person. So think through your choices carefully or up that flower budget
Invest in the bridal bouquet first - this will be the most photographed item besides you so opt for those premium blooms for you but scale it back for your wedding party.
Limit what you put on the auxiliary tables and cocktail tables- these are your guest book, card + gift, dessert tables. Don’t divide your budget into all these small categories instead think of a fun welcoming install that will catch their eye more than a piece of greenery on a table.

Flower MYths

These are the most common phrases I hear that are untrue

Greenery is cheap. Yes, by itself greenery is less expensive than a bouquet full of blooms. But when it comes to garlands - the price is actually more expensive than if you were to do smaller floral arrangements on the tables. Garland requires wire, and a whole lot of time so if you are looking for garlands don’t be surprised by the price tag.
I have to have corsages. False. You don’t have to do anything - flowers have made huge strides from what use to be required. Wearable flowers, in my opinion, are a waste of money. These make the least amount of impact and by the time 4:00 rolls around they are sad and wilted - just say no to corsage (and boutonnieres) Think about a floral pocket square instead or purchase a meaningful bracelet for Mom.

Flowers + Pinterest

I love Pinterest, but I also hate it. It’s a dark hole of ideas but for a visual person like myself it is a great tool to use. Here are the Cons

Too many filters applied to flowers - I often get photos sent to me of flowers that clients like that are heavily filtered. This has become a teaching moment for us to be able to show clients what that flower looks like IRL.
Unrealistic budgets. You see every side of the scale when it comes to flowers on Pinterest. There are over the top weddings all the way down to budget friendly ideas but sometimes these pins can be misleading with titles like “budget friendly wedding ideas”
Location. Pinterest is not limited to location so we get to see weddings from all over the world which is amazing and inspiring but also, a lot of times the flowers that other countries can get we can’t or if we can it comes with a hefty price tag!

When pinning inspiration on Pinterest add more than just one bouquet, usually a florist will be able to draw some inspiration based on multiple pins instead of just one.

You asked, we answered!

HOW DO I GET MY FLOWERS TO LAST LONGER?

Like anything, if you want it to last longer you need to take care of it. Flowers will eventually die but some things you can do for them are 1. Keeping them in clean water. Change the water every couple of days. 2. Recut your stems when changing the water 3. Keep them out of the sun and heat - the sun makes flowers bloom quickly. To keep them fresh as long as possible you don’t want them to bloom as fast. 4. Keep your water clean by removing any leaves that will sit below the water line. 5. Don’t crowd your vase. Pick a container that allows your stems to breathe

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO RESERVE MY BOUQUET?

There are so many unique ways to preserve your bouquet these days but some of my favorites that our clients have done are 1. The Heirloom bouquet - have your bouquet turned into a piece of art! 2. Preserve them in resin - if you google this there are so many options of things you can make! 3. Get a tattoo - yes, a tattoo. We had a past client love her bouquet so much that it inspired her tattoo!

HOW DO YOU STYLE THOSE HARLOW STANDS?

There are so many ways to style these - if you search “statement flower pieces” or “Harlow stands with flowers” on Pinterest you’ll get a lot of ideas - if you are styling them yourself you will want to keep proportion in mind. These stands are tall so you will want your flowers to be proportionate to the stand so they don’t look itty bitty - these stands are beautiful but take a hefty amount of flowers!

WHAT ARE MY GO-TO FLOWERS FOR MAKING A BOUQUET?

This was a hard one because there are so many flowers that I love but when thinking about designing a bouquet I always pick linear flowers, a filler flower, and a focal flower. A linear flower is something long and straight - preferably a firm stem that can hold up on its own- I sometimes will have these shooting out or tucked down a little bit for an accent. A filler flower is used to fill out the bouquet, something to add texture but won’t steal the show. And for the focal flower, this is the one that will be the show stopper and will stand out in the bouquet. I’ve listed examples below for you in the next question!