Frugal Wedding Flowers
This is part two of my six-part series on saving money while planning a wedding.
One of the most enduring
symbols of a wedding is the bridal bouquet. It is a focal point
during the ceremony, when the bride traditionally bears it down the
aisle, and again during the reception when it is tossed to a
clamoring crowd of single ladies hoping to catch the fragrant prize.
The flowers worn or carried by the groom and wedding attendants often
match or complement the bouquet; the same goes for other decorative
flowers and plants used as centerpieces. The price tag for all of
these blooms can add up significantly; according to The Knot, couples
spent an average of nearly $2,400 on flowers alone in 2017. I think
you can keep a lot of that money in your pocket and still have
beautiful wedding flowers! This is NOT a sponsored post, but I will
be name-dropping some brands below.
Here are some options for
more affordable wedding blossoms:
Big Box Stores
I
must admit, I am biased toward this option since that is what I went
with for my own wedding in 2019. I personally opted for a calla lily
package from Costco that included a bridal bouquet, a throwing
bouquet, three boutonnieres, three corsages, and three bridesmaids
bouquets all for the low price of $200. You could easily pay that
much for just the
bridal bouquet,
or you could enjoy dozens of gorgeous flowers shipped right to your
door, wrapped carefully in a special box for transport. Costco also
offers a mixed roses and calla lilies package as of 2019, which one
of my friends chose for $450. Other big box stores offer similar
floral packages at similar prices, but I can vouch for Costco
personally. You can net some additional savings by purchasing loose
flowers from a big box store and arranging them yourself, or
enlisting helpful friends and family.
It may be worth noting that the big box stores differ from location
to location in terms of floral options. If you order online for home
delivery, you will get just what you ordered on the website and the
order will be fulfilled by a third party contractor. If you go to the
store, you will be speaking to the floral manager (if there is one)
or they may refer you to another contractor.
My bridal bouquet, courtesy of Costco, the frugal wedding ally.
Photo credit: Simply Sweet Snapshots
Grocery
Store Flowers
Local, regional, and national grocery chains all offer flowers at
reasonable prices and in customizable arrangements. For example,
Trader Joe's offers fresh flowers that are sourced locally, which may
jive with your twin goals of both thriftiness and ethical sourcing. I
personally contacted Big Y, which is a Northeastern grocery chain
with individual franchisees, and they offered a wide array of flower
styles and colors. These stores also source locally (you will need to
speak with a floral manager to make your sourcing and design
decisions if you go this route) and create the arrangements right in
store.
Artificial
Flowers
When I started to consider budget-friendly alternatives to extensive
wedding flower arrangements, I really thought there would be more
resistance to using artificial flowers. Surprisingly, everyone I
asked, from fellow frugal brides to traditional family members,
seemed to think it was perfectly reasonable to use silk or plastic
flowers in place of live ones. My best friend actually
used her mom's artificial bouquet as her bridal
bouquet. She added additional flowers and ribbon from the craft store to update the vintage bouquet, and created a new bouquet. The flowers looked great in person, in photos, and now they make
beautiful keepsakes of her special day. She also fulfilled the bridal traditions of "something borrowed," "something old," and "something blue" all in one!
My best friend's beautiful heirloom bouquet.
Photo Credit: CT Photo Group
Some companies such as Afloral specialize in creating particularly
lifelike artificial flowers. Some of these flowers are advertised as
feeling like real flowers, which does sound amazing! I decided not to
go with these due to their price. They looked gorgeous on the website
but I did not want to spend $3-$12 per flower and then need to
arrange the bouquets and boutonnieres myself. If you would like
realistic flowers as a keepsake, they may be an option for you.
Sola wood flowers also appear to be growing in popularity. These flowers made of thin pieces of lightweight wood are
another option for permanent keepsakes in a wide array of colors and
styles. Again, I cannot vouch for this style personally, but I wanted
to bring it to the attention of fellow frugal spouses-to-be.
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