Flower Money Saving Tips

Your bouquets and floral arrangements can cost you a fortune if you don't plan well ahead of time. There are a few ways you can save money on your flowers for your big day...

Purchase fake flowers. You'll be surprised what you can find at the dollar store! Even Walmart has a wide selection of fake flowers. They cost a little more than real flowers, but they will last as long as you want them to. Your bouquet can be a great keepsake after your wedding, or you can always sell your bouquets and floral arrangements to other brides looking for a less expensive option. Two great places to sell your wedding items are Weddingbells and Canadian Bride forums.

Buy used fake flowers. If you can sell your used flowered on the online forums, you can definitely buy yours from there too! If you're lucky, you will find another bride with the bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages you are looking for.

Buy wholesale. Here are three websites for wholesale flowers direct from the farm:
- Amazonia Flowers
- The Flower Exchange
- Fifty Flowers

Buy from Costco! Have you ever thought of that? Make your own simple bouquet out of roses from Costco or other supermarkets. Purchasing from smaller flower shops will also save you money.

Size down your bouquets. If you can get away with less flowers and more greens, go for that option. Also chooing accent flowers that are less expensive will save you some pennies you can use for other more important wedding items.

Choose flowers that are in season. If your florist have to specially order flowers that are out-of-season, your cost may increase significantly.

DIY. I am a huge DIY fan, I did my own bouquets and my bridesmaids bouquets out of fresh flowers I bought from the wholesale flower market. For the boys' boutonnieres and mother's corsages, I used a mixed of faux flowers bought from the flower market and Dollarama.

I can honestly say that was my first time trying to make a bouquet with real flowers. I took a shot at it the day before our wedding and voila! And let me tell you, I think faux flowers are even more easy because you can ben and twist the wired stems to just the way you like them! If you're doubting you can put together a bouquet, why not purcahse some real flowers from Costco a few weeks before your wedding and give it a shot. You'll be surprised what you can do!



Photographs courtesy of Fong Lam Chu Photography.
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