Don’t let florists break your wedding budget

As you've probably noticed by now, adding the word "wedding" to any item on your budget will raise the price by at least 50%. Florists are no different. A typical hand-wrapped nosegay with 24 roses and a soft bow will run from $100-$200 depending on your location. The cost to make the same bouquet yourself: $35-$50 depending on your location. That includes your flowers, ribbon, wire and vase.

On average, the typical bride can expect to spend between $500-1,200 to have a florist prepare her wedding flowers. With prices running from $25 for a boutonniere to over $500 for an altar arrangement, it’s not surprising to see wedding flowers consume 10-15% of a bride’s budget. DIY wedding flowers have emerged as an alternative for resourceful brides and family members.

High Flower Cost
Wedding flowers are an expensive commodity to begin with. Even before florists build profit into every bud and bloom, the process of shipping flowers from South America takes quite a bit of time and effort. This complicated process translates into higher costs for your wedding flowers.

The typical wedding rose begins its life in the Andes Mountains of Columbia and Ecuador. Flowers are picked by hand, packed and cooled at the farm. Within hours of harvesting, these blooms are shipped by refrigerated trucks to the airport. They are then flown to North America. After passing through the importer’s warehouse, they are marketed and distributed to wholesalers and retailers. When the florist finally receives the wedding flowers, they figure in their labor costs and add their own markup.

Expensive tastes
Somehow your tastes seem to run towards exotic and unique. Unfortunately, getting just the right flowers can drive your wedding flower costs up very quickly. DIY wedding flowers provide an opportunity for your creativity to shine. There are hundreds of flower suppliers who provide excellent quality blooms for a fraction of the cost a typical florist’s bouquet. You can compensate for exquisite flowers by eliminating the middle man and creating your own flower arrangements.

Having it your way
Trusting your artistic vision to someone you barely know requires a great leap of faith. Like any bride, you want things to be perfect for the most important event of your life. As you’ve likely discovered by now, customization does not come cheaply. If you’re willing to put in a little effort of your own, you can achieve amazing results with DIY wedding flowers and save quite a bit of money.

There is another way
You don’t have to live at the mercy of the florists. If you are looking for a way to avoid exorbitant wedding floral prices, or want to find a way to express your creativity and taste, consider doing your own wedding flowers. This do-it-yourself approach also adds special memories to your wedding scrapbook when you enlist the help of family and friends.

With all the aspects of the wedding that are beyond your control, you can have peace of mind knowing your flowers will come out exactly as you imagined them. DIY wedding flowers will also relieve budget pressures by helping you save money. Maybe then you can afford your designer wedding gown, that brilliant caterer, or the string quartet you envisioned

Browse our gallery for inspiration, get crucial tips for planning your wedding with our free newsletter, or get started on your DIY wedding flowers today.