How important are flowers? (and did it change while planning??)

Flowers were at the bottom of our priority list. We just couldn't justify the cost, so we limited our flowers to just my bouquet, the bridesmaid bouquets, my husband's boutonniere, and the groomsmen boutonnieres. We also had greenery attached to the light fixtures in the reception space.

We actually had minimal flowers and used other decorations for centerpieces. We didn’t have any florals for the ceremony besides bouquets and boutonnières. But we were specific on what flowers were used. So in that regard, it was a top priority. But we were able to keep it within budget. Most regular wedding florists in the area would not talk to us if we didn’t spend $3-5k minimum but we did luck out on a full service florist who works in the wholesale flower market and was able to deliver everything to the venue and set up.

I really had this vision for my bouquet, and that was where my focus was. I did shop around for florists, as the first business I went to (highly rated) was so outrageously priced I had a mini-heart attack! That is when I decided to nix the floral centerpieces and concentrate on the bouquets instead. Total cost was right around $700 for a bouquet, 2 bridesmaids, 3 corsages and 3 boutonnieres.

My husband and I are more private with our relationship-- not one for Save the Date pictures. We decided decor, particularly floral choice, was one primary way to personalize our wedding as we love plants and are public garden enthusiasts. Trust, it was very hard not buying other decor during the months of wedding planning. But, I had to make choices to stay within the healthy floral budget and to trust my one vendor to make the vision real. Gifting our arrangements to our Church and to our loved ones at the end of the night allowed us to share our love of living plants. We chose a local, woman -owned, small business.

Florals are medium to me. I want pretty bouquets and a few florals at the reception, but I don’t want great big floral centerpieces. So I spent a bit but it’s not one of the big ticket items.

I would say they're moderately important to me. Initially I would say they were more important. I started planning with a more traditional wedding in mind - bridesmaid bouquets and bouts, corsages/bouts for immediate family, floral centerpieces at the reception. And then we decided we wanted to do something smaller and more intimate with a nice dinner instead of a bug reception so flowers became more minimal than originally planned.


I'm opting to just do faux flowers because I don't want to deal with picking them up on the wedding day. We only need my bouquet, FH's boutonniere, and I'm doing a garland to decorate our ceremony space so a florist delivering wouldn't make sense and we're getting married in a little town 30-40 minutes away from a bigger city (and staying there the night before) so picking them up the morning of would be inconvenient. I do have a specific vision of my bouquet so I care in that regard and I'm spending more and getting real touch flowers so they'll look a little nicer.

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Oooo I would love to see a picture of the greenery on the light fixtures!

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I surprisingly didn't take too many photos that show it up close on the day of the wedding, though here are some photos I took a couple days later, while I was at the venue picking up the drapery that we rented from our florist.


A couple of the lights (the greenery looks darker here than it actually was):


View from directly under a different light:



Partway through taking down the drapery (which went across the top beam and down the sides of the poles) and greenery. This photo doesn't show it, but we also had an LED string light curtain that went in between the two poles.

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That's amazing you found an alternative florist that could execute your vision for less!

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I absolutely love when there's greenery and/or florals on light fixtures, fireplaces, etc. Those little extra pops and attention to detail make such a huge difference!

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I hear ya on the sticker shock!! When I sent photos of my vision to florists I was thinking it'd be around $500. Obviously I had NO idea what these sorts of things cost LOL because the quotes came back $****! I was like Whaaaaat?! Bravo to you for figuring out a way to execute your vision without breaking the bank! So was your bouquet what you originally envisioned? Or did you make concessions to keep it under budget?

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I love that you used florals to personalize your wedding, and that they are a common interest you have with your SO! Do you have any photos of what you decided on?

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I love that you are focusing the floral budget on the bouquets since they will be heavily photographed. Do you have any inspiration pictures of what they will look like?

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This was my inspiration photo, and I told the florist I didn't want the big lilies - just calla lillies and roses. When I saw my bouquet, I started to cry I was so overwhelmed at how beautiful it was and how it ran so close to what I had envisioned. Sigh.

Flowers aren't super top priority compared to stuff like food which is most important, but they are really nice to have. I want my flowers to be inspired by Biollante so red roses and vines all the way.

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Awww I love that you had such a visceral reaction to it! I honestly wasn't ever a flower fan until I met my fiance and he started sending me flowers (we were long distance for over 2 years). Now my bouquet is one of the things I am most excited about! I hope I love mine as much as you loved yours!! (and p.s. your florist definitely nailed your vision!)

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This sounds beautiful! Do you have any inspiration photos?