We used a local florist which is by far the most cost effective and logistically easy way to do things. Our florist was great, she sourced all of the flowers for us. I am not sure where they came from but because she is an established florist she had local connections thus keep down the costs. For the church flowers she delivered them to the church and my aunts, grandmother and a friend of the family did the flower arrangements for us. All we needed to do was give them some tea and lunch which is a bargain considering it took them 4 hours!
The florist did the flower arrangements on the tables at the reception and a huge ball of flowers that she suspended from the top of the marquee – it looked stunning and was a real talking point.
I had wanted to have creams/whites/greens as the flower colour theme in the church – it looked so classical and pretty. I then had spring colours in the marquee and lots of people commented on how nice it was to have the two ‘venues’ looking so different. It really made an impact.
I bought my confetti from Confetti, they were lovely petals and many people commented on them and how lovely
they looked (I put the confetti into cones and then into wicker baskets in the porch of the church). It is also eco-friendly. I also bought bubbles from Confetti, this was really reasonable and looked lovely in the photographs. We had a few small children there and it kept them occupied for a bit. I also saw that some parents whose children weren’t there took some home for their kids – that was sweet I thought!
Top Tips
- Check the dates of big annual events (eg Mothers Day, Easter) in both the UK and Europe as flowers tend to rise in prices around these times and because there is an increased demand florists tend to find it hard to get their hands on certain flowers. We found out a few weeks before the wedding that it was Mothers Day in Europe and the price of Lily of the Valley had gone up to £2 a stalk which is extortionate!
- Ask friends and relatives if you can use flowers/foliage from their gardens as this really cuts down on costs.
- Ask friends relatives to collect and dry rose petals as this makes a free and environmentally friendly way to have confetti on your big day!
- You can give away flower arrangements at the end of the night to thank people for helping out on the day.
- We used Lily of the Valley for the buttonholes. The Lilly of the Valley came from my grandmother’s garden which meant that there was a personal touch as well as a cost cutting element!!!
- If there are some flowers that are portable (ie will survive a journey in the car) then ask someone to take some of the flowers from the church to the reception venue.