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DIY Flowers

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karebeartg Posts : 831 Registered: 6/25/08
DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 4, 2008 3:15 PM

I decided it was time to try to bring back a discussion with any brides who did their own flowers. Flowers are...rather unimportant to FH and I, other than that I want to carry SOMETHING down the aisle. 

We met with a couple florists when we were down in Durham this weekend to get quotes for wedding party stuff. We want simple, white flowers. 1 bride, 4 BMs and about 12 assorted corsages/bouts... all the quotes were about $1000. 

So...FH and I aren't spending $1000. Any suggestions for DIYing? Have any of you had success ordering bulk flowers online to make the bouquets? 


north_carolina , flowers , diy
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nanette927 Posts : 1,749 Registered: 1/28/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 4, 2008 3:42 PM Go to message in response to: karebeartg

WHAT!!!!!! $1,000! WOW!  I'd so DIY...no way no how..would I spend that much.  Have you thought of silk flowers? And I have heard that the BULK flowers work out great you just need to know how to make what you want.  you can always google instrctions.  I remember seeing mail order stuff already done online and they were nice and no where near $1,000. I will see if I still have the link somewhere. :]  

                              

Check out my Album for wedding pics!

diy
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S2BColeman Posts : 60 Registered: 3/10/07
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 6, 2008 3:21 PM Go to message in response to: karebeartg

if that is all you need I would look into proflowers.com  They have all kinds of packages and styles depending on your need.  They will be delivered to you two days before the wedding... No DIY needed.

diy
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crystalizeddreams Posts : 321 Registered: 10/18/07
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 6, 2008 3:55 PM Go to message in response to: S2BColeman

I did my flowers myself. I ordered them wholesale online and had them delivered 4 days before the wedding. Here is what I learned

1) If you are ordering flowers needing vastly differant care, order them to be delivered seperate. I ordered Stargazer lillies, which need to arrive 4 days or more prior to the event because they take nearly a week to open up from the bud form they arrive in. I had my roses delivered at the same time and I ended up tossing over 12 of them because they wilted. I should have had the roses delived 2 days prior instead of 4.

2) Its alot of fun but VERY labor intensive. Both making the bouquets/ whatever else, AND readying them when the flowers arrive. Be prepared to spend all day unpacking and grooming the flowers appropriately or they will not survive. Dont worry, the distributor packs a list of what you need to do, it just takes forever to do it. I ordered 5 dozen roses, 2 bunchs of astrolmeria, and 80 stems of stargazer lillies ( 2 to 3 flowers per stem). I spent from 9am until 3 pm getting them cut, cleaned, stripped, housed, and watered.

3) Do centerpeices and boutineers/corsages 1 or 2 days early. they will either be refrigerated or have a water supply, they will look fine if done early. Bouquets take a long time, dont save it all for one day. We did all ours the day before. It took 3 people 7 hours to make 7 boutineers, 5 corsages, 5 bridemaids bouquets, brides bouquet, toss bouquet, and 2 flower girl pomaders. Loved it but if you dont have enough time youll panic.

4) Practice!! Go get a couple cheap flower bouquets at the grocery. Play with them, figure out what tools you like and what you dont. You will be much less stressed the day of if youve done this before. Its really easy, but it takes practice to learn how to hold the flower tape and twist for expample.

Heres some photos of our flowers

 


I MARRY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE OCTOBER 4TH 2008!!

DANNY & LISA 10/04/08

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SteffMay2009 Posts : 383 Registered: 10/22/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 6, 2008 4:00 PM Go to message in response to: crystalizeddreams

also, don't know if you have a JoAnn fabrics near you, but they offer floral classes for cheap (usually like $25 or so). Might help, and they might be able to answer questions about specific blooms..


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karebeartg Posts : 831 Registered: 6/25/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 6, 2008 4:28 PM Go to message in response to: SteffMay2009

Thanks ladies! These are all helpful ideas.

PP, have you used proflowers? I was a little wary of them. 

The flower classes are a GREAT idea. I don't mind spending a little money (or a lot of time) to save a lot of money. 


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crystalizeddreams Posts : 321 Registered: 10/18/07
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 6, 2008 4:46 PM Go to message in response to: karebeartg

Yes you sure can save alot. We were quoted $1500 and up for what we wanted. I paid less than $400 total, for flowers and supplies

I MARRY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE OCTOBER 4TH 2008!!

DANNY & LISA 10/04/08

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Megan0071234 Posts : 71 Registered: 8/24/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 7, 2008 1:19 PM Go to message in response to: karebeartg

I did my own flowers for my 1st wedding & will be doing them for this one as well. I spent about $500 for cala lillys & made everything. They cost that much because I had them in March & they were out of season so they had to be ordered from Amstedam. This time, I am going to the flower market a few weeks before the wedding to see what is in season & am going from there. Choose a single flower- it is really easy to mess up really complicated boquets. Single flowers tied with a ribbon or something look elegant. Good luck!

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Peapod Posts : 7 Registered: 6/24/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 17, 2008 2:04 PM Go to message in response to: karebeartg

You should look into BloomsByTheBox.com. My sister used them for her wedding and they were outstanding. The customer service was fabulous and the flowers were gorgeous. They talk you through everything you need to do and answer any questions you might have. They also have a wide variety of flowers and small order quantities which is nice if you don't want a hundred of every flower you decide on. My sister saved alot of money! They also have supplies so it's really a one stop shop. Good Luck!

april_2010 , flowers , diy , north_carolina , central_new_jersey
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SweetPeaNC Posts : 1 Registered: 7/29/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 17, 2008 9:40 PM Go to message in response to: karebeartg

Costco.com has the best deals in my humble opinion.

flowers , diy , july_2009 , north_carolina
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azvballer Posts : 2 Registered: 8/26/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 20, 2008 6:25 PM Go to message in response to: Megan0071234

I'm looking to do my own flowers as well, and I would like to use Calla lillies. Megan, where did you buy your's the first time around?



MySpace Countdowns

arizona , flowers , september_2009
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Nalamienea Posts : 2,930 Registered: 6/13/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 21, 2008 1:04 PM Go to message in response to: SweetPeaNC

I remembered costco.com being a great deal when I was looking in to diy'ing my flowers. Here's what I found:
A Box of 30 boutteniers/corsages (15 and 15 I think), the ones I pictured below, is $160. Maybe you could use extra in little round vases on teh tables? That's WAY affordable. You pick gold or silver.

Boutonnieres-WhiteCorsages-White


Or, if you like roses, you can do the "40 piece Rose Collection" In white that has the following:

  • 1 Bridal bouquet
  • 1 Maid of Honor bouquet
  • 4 Brides Maid bouquets
  • 1 Toss Away bouquet
  • 2 Mothers petite hand-tie
  • 12 Corsages
  • 12 Attendant boutonnieres
  • 6 Centerpieces (vases not included)
  • 10 Rose Petal buds
For $750. No assembly! And this'll take care of centerpieces too! :) They have a lot of different flower combinations and colours available.


White Rose Collection


Star of Bethlehem Collection, Same 40 pieces, Same price $750.


Star of Bethlehem Collection


Calla Lily, Same 40 pieces, Same price $750.


Wedding Calla Lily Collections



I don't know how I get so excited for people when I think I found solutions to their problems. You may hate how these look! LOL I hope i helped though. :)



10/26/08 


 


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HandL Posts : 20 Registered: 7/17/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 25, 2008 9:46 AM Go to message in response to: SweetPeaNC

SweetPeaNC wrote:Costco.com has the best deals in my humble opinion.
I absolutely agree. The flowers are a very good quality and they have a decent selection.

For my wedding I am DIYing my centerpieces. I am taking pumpkins I am growing myself cleaning out the insides, placing a florist's sponge inside and getting an assortment of flowers from Costco.com to fill each one with. I have practiced once and will probably practice again while pumpkins are still around for this year. They last at least 3 days without smelling so I can do them myself like Thursday and not have to worry about it the day before or day of the wedding.

Then with the leftover pumpkins I am growing and assorted gords I will decorate the church. We are having a September wedding but going with a more fall feel. My flower girl is actually going to toss fall leaves instead of flower petals! I got these silk leaves from Michael's on sale for 80% off this past weekend, they will be cute and colorful and best of all, easy to clean up!

 

A relationship is not 50/50  It is 100/100

 

flowers , diy , july_2009 , north_carolina , september_2009 , indiana
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YoliAntiNegative Posts : 22 Registered: 10/31/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Nov 29, 2008 8:50 PM Go to message in response to: karebeartg

Ok, Maybe I'm totally weird, but I'm doing fake flowers. Not the cheap ones (price or look), they are really nice. My friend had some for her wedding and I thought they were real, until I touched them. They look good in pictures too.

I love the JoAnn class idea. I'm going to look into taking one of those classes. I actually want to go ahead any make my arrangements now, and store them.

Question--does anyone know how to make boutteniers and corsages? It it hard?


- Yoli Yoda

CocoCafe Bridal Queen~

april_2009 , flowers , diy , florida
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CarolinaBride09 Posts : 2 Registered: 11/21/08
Re: DIY Flowers
Posted: Jan 1, 2009 8:04 PM Go to message in response to: karebeartg

Hey girlie, my wedding is in Hillsborough in July of '09...not far away from Durham! If you're in the area, try the Flower Patch in Hillsborough. I was referred to them by several of my friends and my cake bakery. I'm using Hydrangeas and they quoted all of my wedding flowers at around 400. That includes all of the wedding party including myself. Not to mention the lady was really sweet and helpful. She understood I was on a budget. Have you considered Hydrangeas? They're gorgeous in a white color. For my reception, I'm ordering Hydrangeas from the Sams Club in Durham. I know several brides that did that and I didn't notice the difference. I'm just having two girlfriends clip them and put them in crystal vases...simple but classic. Good luck!!

flowers , diy , july_2009 , north_carolina
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