How to Save Money on Your Floral Arrangements and Wedding Decorations

Decorating your wedding is very important as it allows you to personalise the wedding. Flowers, candles, candelabras, vases, planters, are some of the elements you can use to transform your hall into a beautiful wedding reception.

Brides on a strict budget look for ways to cut costs of wedding  flowers and decor. Some of the most beautiful weddings I have designed last year were on a very strict budget and these weddings were featured in magazines, and on much loved South African bridal blog The Pretty Blog (click here to see Dom and Bryan’s Wedding, and here to see Kelly and Michael’s Wedding). Today I would like to share with you how you too can save on your wedding flowers.

The business of flowers is very personal, and not many floral artists will be able to give you a set package, or a price list. Having a consultation is the only way to obtain an accurate quotation for your flowers and decor. At your first meeting you will get to know the floral artist, discuss your needs and find out if you can work together in creating your perfect wedding. This is where the creative process begins. After all, do you really want to walk out of the first meeting with a wedding design that someone else had already? If your answer is yes, then there are some florists that are more than happy to recreate the same look over and over again. Most floral artists are waiting for a challenge and anticipate creating something unique,  fresh and something that is totally relevant to each client – I know I do.

Personally, I love getting to know my clients.  At the initial consultation I like to establish a direction for the wedding, then I present a design proposal, along with a full quotation. My quotation comprises of the wish list option (everything the bride mentioned she would like to have) and a list of recommendations on how to save costs without compromising on the quality of the overall presentation.

Here are a some of my top recommendations:

1. Get to know your decorator,  and come up with a shared  creative vision for your wedding. You need to trust the person you are going to hire.

2. If you are serious about cutting costs of flower then you need to be flexible on your choices of flowers. You will save a great deal if you leave choice of flowers to your florist who knows what flowers will work best for your wedding style. Prices of flowers fluctuate, and there are daily bargains too, but special deals can only be known  on the day your florist goes to purchase flowers at the market. Let them do their job. What you need to do is create your flower wish list (what you would love to have), and rank the list of flowers from most desirable to potential maybes. You need to include your hate flowers too, so your florist knows which blooms to avoid.

The more rigid you are about specific flowers and colours, the higher your flower bill as  you florist has to place a specific order with a dealer/farmer and pay a premium on that order.

If you do not work with flowers, you do not have the same understanding of how certain blooms compliment each other and using certain combinations in fact put a focal point on the more prominent and more expensive flowers. Again, you have to trust the person you hired to create beautiful arrangements that suit your style and wedding.

3. Get creative with containers. Look beyond the traditional candelabra-flowers-candles look. Make smart choices. Remember you do not have to stick to the uniform look (where all centerpieces are matching). In fact, uniform look is more expensive. The more you mix and match, the more cost effective it gets. If you love traditional candelabra look, you can always opt for the half tables with tall arrangements and half the tables with low arrangements.

For example:

On average an impressive candelabra arrangement requires up between 50- 100 stems of roses, as well as other flowers, and an expensive ball oasis florist foam. Candelabra arrangements are also more time consuming as correct weight distribution and stability of the arrangement is of a great importance. Hence you labour costs will be higher too.

(Image by Pascal Photography)

Yet a gorgeous crystal bowl filled with flowers, only requires 30 roses and half of the expensive oasis ball florist foam, and looks really stunning too:

Consider using various beautiful pots and you can save even more!  You can get away with using just 3 roses with kolkol and you have a very pretty arrangement. Group 3 pots together with candles and other ornaments and you will have amazing table centerpieces:

(Image by Dror Eyal Photography)

4. Find out if you can collect the flowers and decor yourself. This works especially well for more intimate weddings with more compact arrangements. You will have to be very careful with the flowers, but your set-up costs will fall away. You will need a big enough car, preferably a 4×4 with folded seats.

5. Be very open about your budget from the beginning. This saves time and frustrations. You probably never bought flowers for a major event and the price of flowers may come as a shock to you. If your florist is happy to explain where the costs are coming from, then you will be in a better position to make an informed decision regarding your flowers and decor.

Good luck with your wedding plans and you are most welcome to contact Splendid Affairs for your floral design needs. Email info@splendidaffairs.co.za or call 072 221 5882