For the last few weeks we’ve been talking about creating floral budget, and then deciding where to allocate those funds. You can read those first posts here! Today we are going to focus on actually incorporating flowers! We’ve talked a lot about where to use flowers and how to budget for them, but now it’s time to start picking.
The right flower types can really make a difference in both the mood of your wedding, and how much you are paying. In the coming weeks we are going to expand more on using local or seasonal flowers, but today is all about the basics.
Choosing flowers can mean everything from how many flowers to what type of flowers. The first thing to think about when choosing flowers is how many flower types you want to incorporate. We’ve been talking a lot about where you want to incorporate flowers, in an arch, in a bouquet or elsewhere. Now, it’s time to focus on how many flower types you want. A lot of people think more flower types = prettier. This is not true! We have done so many beautiful weddings using a single flower type. Using a single type of flower can actually really add a lot of cohesion and beauty to your day. Keeping consistency through all the arrangements gives you more flexibility elsewhere.
Of course, this is not to say we don’t love the lush look that comes from using tons of different flowers! It’s just if you are looking to save money, focusing on one flower type means we have to order fewer flower types, which means less you have to pay for! You can also choose a less expensive (or a more expensive if that’s your jam) type of flower to keep costs within your budget too!
Using fewer flowers doesn’t just mean fewer flower types either! Fewer flowers could also mean using a smaller number of flowers, and incorporating more greens. We’ve done beautiful weddings where, instead of a bouquet, the bridesmaids carry a single rose. Or instead of incorporating lots of flowers in the centerpieces, couples focus more on greenery, or simple bud vases with few flowers.
Keep your eyes peeled for more about this in the coming weeks! Another good way to save money on flowers is using in season varieties. This can be rather difficult to do in December in Colorado, unfortunately. Most of the time our winter brides have to ship flowers in. But shipping flowers that are growing locally somewhere and not being forced to bloom in a greenhouse, will typically be less expensive for you. For example, peonies have a very short growing season. Getting them out of season is can be expensive and sometimes difficult, but using a garden rose as a substitute can be more achievable.
Similarly to using in-season flowers, you can think about using flowers that grow locally. There are so many flowers that grow naturally in Colorado, and you can make beautiful wildflower bouquets out of these. Stay tuned in a few weeks for a blog post dedicated entirely to some of our favorite wildflower weddings!
[…] promised two weeks ago, today we are going to be talking about all about seasonal flowers! Christmas is in two days after […]