r/weddingplanning • u/starryeyedluv • 19h ago
Decor/DIY DIY Florals success!!!
We did our own wedding flowers, and I was SO happy with how everything turned out!
What we made:
12 centerpieces
4 handheld bouquets (bridal party)
6 boutonnières
~18 bud vases
Fireplace mantel decor (18 ft long)
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What I bought
Costco mountain bouquets: 2 orders of 10 bouquets at $110 each = $220
100 lavender roses from Costco: $85
Sam’s Club eucalyptus: 2 bulk orders (40 stems each) at $45 per order = $90. One box would have been plenty! Turns out, 40 stems is a LOT of eucalyptus.
25 ft eucalyptus garland for the mantel from Sam’s Club: $190. I’m a little annoyed we didn’t get a better picture of the mantel!
30 spider mums (Fuji mums) from a local florist: $55. These added SO much to the overall look! I picked them up on Wednesday before the wedding, and they opened up so much by Saturday. It was fun walking into the room and seeing the flowers looking even better than when we arranged them.
Boutonnière kit from Amazon: $10
12 plastic 5x5-inch vases from All Floral Supplies: $69
Floralife finishing spray from Amazon: $18
Free/borrowed/thrifted items:
Bud vases were thrifted or gifted by others
Zip ties were gifted
Scissors and glue gun were borrowed
I borrowed 4 regular tall vases to display our bouquets around the venue after the ceremony
Extra flower food
One lady I invited is a local farmer, so she brought some extra flowers that she grew as a gift. This was a nice unexpected addition. I used them in the boquets and the bud vases.
Total spent on florals: $737
We didn’t get many pictures of the bud vases, either, unfortunately
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How we did it
1. I practiced throughout the year.
Whenever I bought a grocery store bouquet, I practiced arranging it. I learned that the size and shape of the vase really determine the size and shape of the centerpiece, so I experimented with different sizes. I found the plastic 5x5-inch vases in bulk at a good price, and that’s what I used for our 8-person tables.
I used Flower Moxie tutorials to practice.
2. I ordered everything to arrive on Tuesday for our Saturday wedding.
We arranged the flowers on Thursday, and I wanted a buffer day in case anything went wrong. Costco arrived on time, but Sam’s Club was a day late.
Some of the lavender roses were a little wilted by Saturday, but everything else looked fresh and vibrant, so it was totally fine. I do think the arrangements would have looked a little underwhelming without the spider mums from the local florist. Those statement flowers made a HUGE difference.
3. We had a flower-arranging party!
This was honestly one of my favorite parts of the process. We provided lunch and mimosas, and 10 ladies helped me arrange everything at my neighborhood clubhouse. The whole thing took about 4.5 hours. It was such a nice way to spend quality time with some of my wedding guests. A few of them were my mom’s close friends who weren’t invited to the wedding but wanted to be a part of it.
I stood at the front and demonstrated how to make the centerpieces, and everyone made theirs along with me. They weren’t all exactly the same, and I was totally fine with that!
I delegated some people to the boutonnières, some to the bud vases, and three people to work on the bouquets with me.
4 Transportation .
We used cardboard boxes and various packing materials saved from Amazon deliveries to keep everything from tipping over during transit. We drove slowly and carefully for the 20-minute trip to the venue.
Luckily, my bridesmaids’ parents have a huge campervan (the Dodge equivalent of a Sprinter van), so we were able to transport everything in one trip.
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Final thoughts
Overall, I was THRILLED with how the flowers turned out! I definitely recommend recruiting plenty of help if you’re planning to DIY your wedding florals.
The flower-arranging party was so much fun, and I loved the flowers even more because we made them ourselves. Seeing everything come together on my wedding day brought me so much joy.
The biggest surprise? I discovered that I genuinely LOVE arranging flowers! Now I have a new hobby and an excuse to keep fresh flowers around the house regularly.
If you’re on the fence about DIY wedding florals, I hope this helps! It’s definitely doable with some practice, planning, and a great group of helpers. While it wasn’t “cheap” we saved probably thousands for everything we ended up with.