DIY flowers

[miss-erin]

Hey everyone - I'm thinking about doing the flowers for the reception myself. I still want a florist to do my bouquet and all the other flowers for the ceremony, but the centerpieces that I want are very simple arangements of dendronium orchids.

Anybody had luck (good or bad) with DIY flowers.... anybody know anyone that pulled it off? Where did you get flowers (know any good sites online?) and how did you not kill the flowers before the reception???

Any advice would be great - TIA!!!!

[SusanM18]

I would be very careful about DIY flowers, unless they are silk. You have to remember that flowers die, and if you do an arrangement for the centerpieces, you can't do them too far in advance. I know personally, it's going to be stressful a couple of days before the wedding as out of town guests start rolling in, and you are getting your nails done, and rehearsal dinner, etc etc....

I realize it's a good way to save money, but personally, I would save $$ other ways, OR do silk flowers.

[nadia]

I'm thinking about doing it myself and am intending on using silk flowers or anything reasonably priced/pretty at the crafts store.

I plan on getting some floral arrangement books at the library to get ideas on how to make them look pretty.

Depending on how big your reception area is and how much time you have, it could really go either way. I have tons of time and we're having a small wedding, so it's no big deal for me to do it on my own. If your wedding is big, enlist the help of some creative friends/family to get this project done. :D

[miss-erin]

geting books from the library is a great idea - i'd been looking at books at the bookstore and haven't been able to find one that looks helpful enough to warrent the cost. (why didn't i think of the library? duh!)

my wedding is pretty small, I'm looking at making centerpieces for about 8 round tables. I found pictures of very simple centerpieces made of dendrobium orchids. Orchids are really expensive though, so to cut down on the cost I've been looking into DIY - it could save me a couple hundred dollars. Lots of stuff to consider though, and I'll price a couple of options out with the florist before I decide for sure (I'll have them do the ceremony flowers anyway). I'm pretty sure I could pull off the centerpieces myself but I need a bit of courage... everyone naysays it when I bring it up (not that they're aren't good reasons for the naysays.....)

I'm rambling.... I'd better quit now!

[nadia]

let the naysayers bite their tongues OR let them pay for the florist, this is you and your FH's day! (mainly yours ;) )


I'm just too cheap to justify paying 500 or so for a floral arrangement that i could create for like 100 or so.

[nle5]

I'm thinking about doing it myself and am intending on using silk flowers or anything reasonably priced/pretty at the crafts store.

I plan on getting some floral arrangement books at the library to get ideas on how to make them look pretty.

Depending on how big your reception area is and how much time you have, it could really go either way. I have tons of time and we're having a small wedding, so it's no big deal for me to do it on my own. If your wedding is big, enlist the help of some creative friends/family to get this project done. :D

Have you ever thought of looking online for the directions for arrangements you like? I am constantly looking online for different things. If I come across any I like I will let you know. Here is one site, www.offray.com/pewbows.html, I found for pew bows which I really like and have started making the ribbon flowers it shows. I really enjoyed making some of the flowers already and they are fairly easy. I was surprised at how easy they were to make.

[nle5]

This website has a lot of different instructions on how to make various flowers for the wedding and reception. The exact link is http://www.save-on-crafts.com/gifandpac.html. Hope this helps some.

Here is another website I found which has instructions on how to make floral arrangments. http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_floral_arrangements/0,1792,HGTV_3418,00.html.

Here is the HGTV link on different centerpieces they have with instructions. http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_floral_centerpieces/0,1792,HGTV_3419,00.html

[MauiGirl]

Hey everyone - I'm thinking about doing the flowers for the reception myself. I still want a florist to do my bouquet and all the other flowers for the ceremony, but the centerpieces that I want are very simple arangements of dendronium orchids.

Anybody had luck (good or bad) with DIY flowers.... anybody know anyone that pulled it off? Where did you get flowers (know any good sites online?) and how did you not kill the flowers before the reception???

Any advice would be great - TIA!!!!


Okay When I was 18 years old I was really, REALLY stupid and got married! With that said I did my own flowers for the ceremony & reception; I also did the bridal parties flowers and my bouquet.

I made all of the flower arrangements 2 days before my wedding. It took me the whole day to do them which isn't bad concidering the amount that I had to do. I knew a wholesaler so I purchased the flowers through them; I was able to walk around the shop and pick the flowers that I wanted. My ladies carried Calla Lillies & purple Irises laying on a; I think it was a Ti leaf... I don't remember. They ladies carried them laying down across one arm. Oh those were tied. My bouquet had White roses and Calla Lillie... Well I attached some websites on here that will help you make bouquets & boutonnieres. Just remember if you go with fresh flowers you have to keep them in a cool area; ie... basement; etc. Good luck! I had a blast making mine. :D

http://www.floralshops.com/ideas/freshwedding.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_17568_make-boutonniere-wedding.html

Keep you flower arrangements last
Here's How:

Always keep the flower vase or container filled with fresh clean water.
Change water daily if possible, otherwise every other day. Completely empty old water and refill immediately with fresh water.
Place arrangements away from heat sources such as heater vents, radiators, sunny windows, stoves.
Move flowers to a cool spot every night, either in the refrigerator, cool porch, or even to a basement.
Remove any dying leaves or flowers daily. Replace with new plant material if possible, to keep arrangement looking full.
For vase arrangements, remove the entire arrangement from the vase (grasp with one hand) and cut 1/2" from stems every few days. Refill vase with clean water and replace arrangement into the fresh water.
As more flowers begin to perish in an arrangement, gather any blooms that still look good and arrange them in a smaller vase to use on a shelf or next to a bathroom sink.
Individual blooms that look nice can often be set in a shallow bowl of water after the stem is clipped off to 1/4".
Learn to purchase flowers in the freshest form. Examine not only the blooms, but the leaves, and stems. There should be no yellowing and no rotten areas, no wilting flowers, and no brown marks or broken petals.
Find out about flower varieties that are longer lasting such as carnations, mini-carnations, daisies, mums, alstromeria, and others.
Ask for advice at the florist shop. Tell them you're having a dinner in several days and need a fresh bouquet that will last as long as possible.

Tips:

Buy small bunches of flowers more often and make a number of tiny vase arrangements that are easy to refill.
Keep water clear by pouring out the old water and refilling daily.
Keep arrangements cool and away from hot direct sunlight.
Keep vases clean by washing in hot soapy water and scrubbing with a bottle brush.

[strbright72]

I made all of my wedding flowers for the wedding. My bouquet, my bridemaids bouquet's, the boutineers, and corsages.

They were made from silk flowers, and they turned out very nice. Since my wedding is not until September and my flowers have been done for some time now, I have stored them in a plastic container with a lid. My bouquets are covered with plastic bags as well.

[maybride]

Hey everyone - I'm thinking about doing the flowers for the reception myself. I still want a florist to do my bouquet and all the other flowers for the ceremony, but the centerpieces that I want are very simple arangements of dendronium orchids.

Anybody had luck (good or bad) with DIY flowers.... anybody know anyone that pulled it off? Where did you get flowers (know any good sites online?) and how did you not kill the flowers before the reception???

Any advice would be great - TIA!!!!
My florist actually suggested that I make my dendrobium orchid centerpieces myself to save money (he knows I am on a budget). I have butchered a set of silk flowers before trying to make an arrangement and I didn't even want to see what kind of a disaster I could create with real ones with the hands of a nervous bride-to-be! That's just me though. I did have him make me a sample arrangement and I have to say, they did not hold up very well after a couple of days. The buds were falling off the very next night. I think he may have used old ones knowing that it was a sample arrangement but I could be wrong. I didn't keep them refridgerated but I did keep them in fresh water. If you are going to use them, I would suggest buying some and making a sample arrangement ahead of time to see how long they will last you to see how far in advance you can actually put them together for your big day. Also, make sure to use the Hawaiian ones because they have more blooms and the blooms are closer to the tips on those. Good luck to you!

[sandstar]

I'm gonna attempt to make my arrangements myself too. I worked at a florist and took 2 flower design classes so I feel pretty confident. I am going to have a florist make two big arngements for the alter and I'll do the rest. I just want simple boquets of beig bright flowers in vases, real simple.

I had a cousin do her own flowers, which were real simple but beautiful. They told me samsclub and costco sell wholesale flowers for a great price. I checked it out online and their prices were great. The only problem I see is flowers are shipped before they bloom and often take several days to open to their prime beauty. So the flowers would just have to be shiped a few days early and stored in a cool place.

Good Luck