One way many couples opt to save money is by doing certain wedding tasks themselves. While doing wedding tasks yourself can definitely save money, some DIY wedding alternatives are easier than others.
One effective, but potentially challenging way to slash your spending is by doing your own wedding flowers. That’s why we wanted to put together the best information to equip and empower you with the resources you need to do it well.
DIY Your Wedding Flowers with this Helpful Guide
If you’re thinking about taking your wedding florals into your own hands, you’ve come to the right place.On this page, you’ll find some step-by-step instructions and tips to DIY your wedding flowers from our friends at Blooms by the Box.Arranging your own wedding flowers is totally doable, especially with the help of these resources.
Start by checking out this informative resource from Fifty Flowers:
Flower 101
Where to Buy Your Wedding Flowers
First thing’s first, you’ll need flowers to work with! You could purchase flowers at your local farmer’s market or order bulk flowers for your wedding online.
Shop Flower Suppliers
DIY Wedding Flower Arranging Supplies You’ll Need
Pick up aDIY Basics Floral Supply Kit. This kit from Fifty Flowers contains a lot of the basic supplies, such as:
- ½ lb Spool Floral Wire
- 1/2” Waterproof Floratape Stem Wrap
- Floral Bunch Cutter
- Floralife
Other Supplies You May Need:
- Floral Foam Bricks
- Floral Scissors
- Pins, Ribbon, and Decorative Accents
How to DIY Your Wedding Flowers
Below is some helpful advice and information you’ll need to know to arrange your own flowers for your wedding day or any other occasion.
General Floral Prep
- Take the flowers out of the box and remove their packaging, they might seem kind of weak and droopy. This is okay; they are just dehydrated from travel and will perk up when they get back in water!
- Cut off any thorns and remove all of the leaves from the lower half of the stem (leaves can carry germs, so this will keep the water clean and extend the life of your flowers!)
- If you’re using roses, remove any brown or bruised petals (these are guard petals that protect the flower) by wiggling them off the stem.
- Cut 1-2” off of each stem at a 45-degree angle using and place them directly into fresh, lukewarm water in clean containers (buckets or disposable coolers are best)
- Let your flowers rehydrate for at least 6 hours in a cool environment; a basem*nt, garage or air-conditioned room is best! Do not put your flowers in a regular food refrigerator because they are not humid enough and they can carry bacteria that can infect and damage the flowers.
- Once your flowers have perked up and regained their strength, you are free to start arranging!
Arranging The Centerpiece
- Prep all of your flowers for arranging.
- If you plan on using a clear glass container, fill with fresh water. If you plan on using another type of container, line with plastic and cut a brick of floral foam to size. Let the floral foam soak in water for at least 15 minutes.
- Cut the stem of your focal flower and place a single stem in the center, then surround it with a few more stems.
- Trim the stems of the secondary flower to your desired length and place a few between the focal flowers.
- Cut stems of filler flowers to size and fill in any gaps.
- Trim the stems of your greenery to size and frame the edges of your arrangement as needed.
- Use any remaining flowers to fill in gaps and grow arrangement to desired fullness.
Arranging The Bouquet
- Prep all of your flowers for arranging.
- Cut the stems of your focal flower to the desired length. Place a few blooms flat on a table at a 45-degree angle with crisscrossing stems.
- Trim the stems of your secondary flower and place a few between the focal flowers.
- Cut the stems of your filler flowers and use to fill in any gaps
- Trim the stems of greens to fit and frame your arrangement
- Repeat this pattern and continue layering the blooms on top of each other until you’ve reached desired fullness.
- For a looser bouquet, wrap the stems with a zip tie, pull taught, snip any excess to clean up ragged edges.
- For a more structured bouquet, wrap the stems with floral wire and then rewrap with floral tape. Recut the stems for a clean edge.
- Cover the zip tie or floral tape with your favorite ribbon!
Things to Consider When DIYing your Own Wedding Flowers
Here are a few things to take into consideration when taking on a huge project like DIY Wedding Flowers:
1. Ordering.
There is a little more to this than you may initially think. Cost is obviously a very large factor. You’ll likely want to place a bulk order of blooms from sources such as Sam’s Club, The Bouqs.com, etc. It’s important to do your homework on this. You need to ensure that the flowers you’re planning to get will be available at the time that you’ll need them. Check out this post on seasonal flowers for insight. If you’re picking things out months in advance, you’ll also want to consider if the prices will be the same at the time you order since prices can change based on what’s in season. It’s important to keep timing in mind– to cut any doubts, calling whatever companies you decide to use may be the best option. Also, be flexible! If you pick out a very intricate bouquet online and expect to replicate it exactly (and on a limited budget) you’re likely dreaming.
2. Delivery & Storage.
When you order flowers online and they’re delivered, they’re typically not opened up yet. You don’t want to order things too late as the flowers may not be opened up when they need to be. At the same time, you also don’t want them to be past their prime on your Big Day. An ideal scenario would be to have your flowers delivered on Tuesday/Wednesday and arrange on Thursday/Friday with the wedding happening on Saturday.
Flowers also need to be refrigerated both before and after arranging and can take up a lot of room. The lower temps will help ensure that the flowers don’t open up too early, and keep them fresher. Of course, someone also needs to be available when the flowers are delivered (they shouldn’t sit out in extreme temperatures or you may have a disaster on your hands!) The stems will also need to be trimmed, and everything will need to be put in water, which can be a big job. Make sure you have adequate storage to keep your flowers fresh and cool.
3. Do your homework!
If you don’t have experience with flowers and arranging, you’ll want to do your homework. Seek out advice and insights from experts such as our friends at Bloom Culture Flowers. You’ll need helpers and supplies. You’ll need to know what shape of bouquets you’re trying to make as well as adequate greenery/filler. It may also be helpful to research the types of flowers you’re using, and how easy they are to deal with. Roses are a piece of cake, but wiring delicate flowers such as ranunculus can be a complete nightmare, as their stems are soft and hollow like a dandelion. You’ll need to do some significant pre-planning and learning in order to pull this off — that’s why we recommend talking with experts like Alison from Bloom Culture.
4. Don’t put yourself in a time crunch.
The flowers will likely take a lot longer than you expect. Give yourself ample time to arrange, modify, and store your arrangements in advance of your wedding day. The last thing you want to do is have a last-minute scramble on your big day to arrange your flowers. You want your wedding to be calm and stress-free, so do what you can to get those arrangements done a day in advance.
Get More Help with DIYing Your Wedding Flowers
If you’re seriously considering DIYing your Wedding Flowers, check out our series of DIY Flower Tutorials!
You can get more DIY Wedding Flower help in the Bonus Chapter of our book, .
Get the Bonus Chapter
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