Beautiful Flowers on A Budget
With the economy of today, it is increasingly important to stick to a budget while planning a wedding—and understandably so! Many brides still love flowers and still want to carry a breathtaking bouquet. There are many ways to accomplish this and if you speak to your trusted florist they may have more ideas on ways to make this possible. The most popular, and most traditional, wedding flower being used today are Roses. If you have a passion for roses, but are afraid of sticking to budget, talk to your florist about using similar substitutions. Lisianthis or Ranunculus are excellent substitution options—not necessarily to use alone in place of roses, but to incorporate into bouquets in place of some roses. By incorporating other varieties, it reduces the number of roses required to make a nice sized bouquet. Lisianthis and Ranunculus blend very nicely into a rose bridal bouquet. Another suggestion would be to utilize several varieties of roses. Sweetheart Roses and Spray Roses are not only less expensive than standard Roses, but add an element of interest to an all rose bouquet. Spray Roses are small clustered roses with several flowers per stem. Sweetheart Roses simply look like a miniature rose, one flower per stem. By creating a bouquet with a variety of rose sizes and color shades, even if it is a monochromatic bouquet, you will have a nicely designed all rose bouquet, and will have decreased your overall cost by a nice percentage. Another element to floral arrangement cost is the style of the bouquet itself. There are many different styles of bridal bouquets; hand tied bouquets, cascades, arm bouquets, crescent bouquets, etc. Any bouquet that is designed “in hand” requires less time to arrange the bouquet. This basically means, hand tied bouquets and arm bouquets, will be less expensive than a traditional cascade bouquet—they take about half of the amount of time to design from start to finish. If you would combine the style element, with the substitutions as explained above, you should be off to a nice start! It is important to mention that not all flowers are created equal. Fresh flowers, as with other agricultural food items, are grown by different grades. There are roses that are flawless, open beautifully, and last for 2 weeks, and there are roses that have blemishes, will not open, and last for a few days. Quality is one aspect of fresh flowers that should never be overlooked. Speak to your florists and make sure they do not cut corners with the quality of the flowers being used for your wedding or special event even if you are on a tight budget. Packages sometimes are an option when trying to stick to a tight budget. Sometimes florists will offer packages that match exactly what you will need, and other times you may have to speak to a designer and create your own custom package. Either way, be sure to talk to your florist about your budget concerns--they should try to work with you to bring you as close to your budget as possible. Florists are aware of seasonal restrictions, variety differences, as well as locally grown less expensive options. By making your florist aware of your budget, this will ultimately help them to help you stay within your budget.