Did you know that, on average, couples spend around $2,000 on floral arrangements for their special day? That’s quite a reasonable figure because flowers aren’t something you want to skimp on.
You’ll be looking at photographs of your wedding day for the rest of your lives. And your floral wedding arrangements will be in every picture, so you want to make the right choices.
But there are so many different varieties, arrangements, colours, and prices of flowers. How do you know which to pick for your wedding bouquets?
Don’t worry, these wedding planning tips will help you budget, plan, and pick your wedding flowers.
Start a Mood Board for Inspiration
If you haven’t been to many weddings (or any weddings where you liked the flowers!) then you might not know your options.
Allow yourself to dream big, at first, when it comes to your wedding arrangements without the constraints of a budget. This will help you develop a taste and figure out what flowers you like and don’t like.
You can either create an offline or online mood board. If you’re old school, buy a stack of wedding and flower magazines and snip out any arrangements that catch your eye. But if you prefer digital, start a Pinterest board and use Google images and wedding websites to find photos.
Make a Budget for Wedding Flowers
At some point during any event planning process, you need to succumb to the limitations of your budget. Making a budget will help you be realistic about how much you can spend on wedding essentials like flowers.
There are lots of different opinions on what percentage of your total budget should go on wedding bouquets and flowers. Some think it’s 8-10% of your budget, and others think you should assign around $500 for every table of guests.
Using the percentage as a guide seems more logical. Then, you can scale up your floral budget if you’re celebrating with a big blowout or scale down if you are eloping.
But one of the best wedding planning tips that anyone could give you is you remember that it’s your wedding day. If you want to spend a higher percentage of your budget on flowers and less on outfits or cars, you can.
List the Floral Arrangements You Want
Even if you don’t know which flowers you want yet, you likely know where you want to have floral wedding arrangements and how many. Making a list will mean you can give your florist a rough estimate so that they can create a quote.
Here are some ideas for wedding flower placements:
- Main bridal bouquet
- Bridal flower crown/hair flowers
- Bridesmaid bouquets
- Flower girl petals
- Groom’s boutonniere
- Groomsmen boutonnieres
- Boutonnieres for other family members
- Ceremony flowers (aisle decorations, etc.)
- Reception flowers (card table decoration, etc.)
- Centrepieces for all tables
- Flower arch
- Wedding cake flowers
- Wedding car decorations
Of course, this is an extensive list and you might not want flowers in every single one of these places! But use the list to pick and choose what you want.
Contact Local Wedding Florists
It’s better to contact wedding florists as soon as possible to get quotes and pencil them in. If you wait until you know exactly what you want, they might get another booking in the meantime. Plus, you will be able to ask your florist for their expert opinion on your wedding flowers to help you make decisions.
Check out the website and Facebook page of different florists to see images of previous wedding flowers and make a list of ones you like. If you have the option, contact at least three different florists for quotes. Then you will know whether one florist is overcharging you or not and you won’t blow your budget.
Learn About Wedding Flowers
As Phillips Flowers says, the right flowers will set the right mood. Learning more about popular wedding flowers and different varieties will help you create the vibe and aesthetic you want.
Popular wedding flowers at the moment are peonies, roses, sunflowers, hydrangeas, and calla lilies. You will no doubt see them often during your research. But hydrangeas aren’t a great choice for bouquets because they wither without water after around three hours.
You also need to consider the season of your wedding when you are choosing flowers. Sunflowers and daisies are perfect for summer, but you won’t find many sunflowers in December. Carnations and roses are best for winter weddings.
Roses are a classic wedding flower because they come in so many different colours. Sunflowers are beautiful, but Mother Nature only creates them in yellow! So, you need to consider your wedding theme’s colour as well as the season when choosing your flowers.
Your florist will be able to help you when pairing different flowers and foliage for your bouquets and arrangements.
Dare to Be Different With Flowers
There are lots of alternatives to the usual wedding flowers you see on Pinterest and in magazines. If you want your wedding to stand out, consider choosing unconventional arrangements.
Did you know that dried flowers last between one to three years? If you opt for a dried bouquet, you will be able to treasure it for far longer than a fresh one.
Some brides are opting for bouquets made only from foliage and local wildflowers to be more sustainable. These floral arrangements are perfect for outdoorsy, rustic, and casual weddings.
Use These Wedding Planning Tips to Pick Beautiful Bridal Flowers
Organizing a wedding can be one of the most fun and exciting times of your life as well as being hectic and emotional. You need to take all the wedding planning tips you can get! And now you know how to find the best wedding flowers, that’s one thing you can tick off your never-ending to-do list.
Weddings can be stressful, so don’t forget to look after your health and well-being while you’re busy planning. Check out the “lifestyle” section of our website for lots of self-care tips.
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