Save Money on Wedding Flowers – Color, Look, and Feel

The most common reaction to the cost of wedding flowers is that they’re expensive. We asked local Orlando wedding florist, Bluegrass Chic, to help our couples with tips to save money on wedding flowers.

Save Money on Wedding Flowers

Every week, we sit down with couples to discuss their wedding flowers and decor. So we’ve noticed how times have changed in the wedding industry.

When I first started my career in floral, Pinterest didn’t even exist yet. (Scary as that seems, it was only eight years ago.) The first step for any engaged bride-to-be was to purchase hundreds of dollars of magazines for inspiration. The client would bring in clippings from magazines or from a friend’s wedding to show their wedding florist.

The challenge was that the pictures were often of things that the bride and groom either couldn’t afford or were not their style, color, or feel.

On the other hand, some clients would come in with nothing but their colors and a style: classic, traditional, vintage, country, beach, or contemporary. They would ask to see pictures of our past work to gain inspiration.

Pinterest changed the wedding flower game.

Today, our clients come in with a Pinterest board full of wedding decor they started the day after they got engaged, and sometimes even before (shhh, we won’t tell).

That board may transition many times, from the grand ballroom design with high centerpieces to the intimate beach wedding with tropical flowers to a rustic barn wedding.  

This is a problem for most of our clients these days. If you are a visual type, adapting the designs you see online to the look of your venue, colors, size of the wedding, or budget can be challenging. Even looking at previous work can be difficult. It may not be the exact colors or style or at your venue.

Don’t worry, this is completely normal.

The first step is to book your wedding venue. This will help reel your design into something that works in your space. The venue often times helps to define the “style” of your wedding.

If you haven’t booked your venue, you can still meet with a florist. But it can be a bit frustrating for both of us. Together, we brainstorm and design a look that may not fit your venue style. It’s more practical to wait so we know that your date is available and that the majority of the design will remain the same.

Let’s talk about how to save money on wedding flowers.

Photo: The Knot

For the past year, people searching Pinterest for a white bouquet usually see this picture within the first line. This is a gorgeous bouquet that our clients often pin and share with us as inspiration almost weekly.

Why is it so popular? It is not the traditional round, cascade, or hand-tied that florists and brides have been restricted to for so many years. It is oblong and has movement, white but with beautiful greenery. And don’t forget the texture!

So, how does this save you money on wedding flowers?

The way we describe bouquets is by style, color, and feel instead of by specific flowers. This bouquet could be made with so many different combinations of flowers to get a similar look and feel at a drastic range of prices.

The bouquet pictured from Pinterest just as it is would be about $350. It is full of garden roses, ranunculus, lisianthus, stock, spray roses, dusty miller, and eucalyptus.

We have made similarly styled bouquets for clients at were inspired by this photo. A recent bride wanted a very similar look in white, gray, green and blush.

We created a beautiful wedding bouquet with garden roses, ranunculus, lisianthus, stock, spray roses, dusty miller and eucalyptus for $365.

But we realize that may not work into everyone’s wedding floral budget. By focusing on why you love this bouquet, we can recreate the color, look and feel with different options. By changing the types for flowers, size, and greenery, we have done this bouquet for $185 before.

Translation = Savings!

Do the same thing across your entire floral quote and this can save you thousands.

When sitting down with your florist or designer, don’t be afraid to talk about your budget up front. If you don’t know what flowers cost and are nervous about giving a budget, give them a range that you are comfortable with.

This will give you peace of mind that while working through the design, your florist can keep your budget in mind.  You don’t want them building you a dream and then telling you everything that doesn’t work at your price point.

Low-Cost Floral Ideas

There are some great suggestions that your florist can make to help save costs.

For example, rather than all tall centerpieces, have them design with half tall and half short. I actually prefer this look so that your eyes dance around the space. All low can be more budget-friendly because of size. Most tall centerpieces need to be approximately three times the size as a short centerpiece to scale appropriately for the distance away from the eyes when seated.  

Photo by: Binaryflips Photography

Floral by: Bluegrass Chic

We don’t expect you to be pinning ideas that work inside of your ideal wedding floral “budget.” It’s our job to be able to take your vision and inspiration and get the color, look, and feel just right!

Bluegrass Chic

Floral design is more than putting flowers in a vase, anyone can do that. Bluegrass Chic offers complimentary consultations where we sit down with you and pull together your ideas into a unique design that compliments your venue. We will discuss the budget, dig into your Pinterest board, and pull together the design you’ve been dreaming of.

Come into our studio for a cup of coffee or glass of wine. We’d love to meet you!

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