Do it yourself wedding flowers!?

Hi All,



I am getting married in June of '08. I pretty much do not like my florist and have tried to work with him several times. Soooo, I've decided to order the flowers myself and do everything myself besides the centerpieces. I have PLENTY of help lined up. My bouquet with have two different color roses in it and the bridesmaids will as well just smaller (8 roses total for bm's). The flowers outside will be 4 vases with about 20-30 roses and greenery in them and three roses on the end chair in each row with a pink bow. I am just curious if anyone has done this before? ANY advice would be awesome. If so do you have any helpful hints? Also, how early before the wedding were your flowers delivered? Any advice on storing them etc. ?? Thanks for your help :)



P.S. I have already purchased the flowers through a wholesaler so there is no turning back! They are all roses by the way so atleast I don't have alot of different flowers to work with.

Do it yourself wedding flowers!?
I did my own flowers and boutonnieres for my wedding in September. We ordered through a wholesaler (www.theflowerexchange.com) and they turned out better than I could have ever imagined. It was just my mom and I who did them. This link (http://www.theknot.com/co_profileview.ht... really helped with tips.



Good luck! I'm sure they'll turn out beautifully.
Reply:Store them in a refrigerator. Flowers need to be cold to keep fresh once cut. If you treat them gingerly they should be fine. Florist wire the heads to the stems so that if it breaks the head stays with the stem and doesn't fall off. You have taken on quite a bit using fresh flowers. I hope your help comes through. The wholesaler should be able to tell you the very latest you can have them shipped so they will be fresh and you won't have to store them long.



My husband and I are renewing our vows in our Church (we had a civil ceremony before). I am doing silks and have them all ready made, centerpieces etc. But that is the beauty of silk you can make them well in advance and storage isn't a problem. They are less expensive as well. Below is my website.
Reply:First, realize that what your taking on is going to be challenging, however, it is not impossible. If you have decided to take this on, you must have a knack for doing crafts and things, I know you can do it. It is not that difficult.



Basically, what I would DEFINITELY DO...is go to a florist and purchase enough of these flowers to do two bouquets well ahead of the date of your wedding... and do a couple of 'practice' bouquets.

This will do two things. First, it will give you some idea of the time and level of difficulty your going to face when you start to assemble the bouquets so you can multiply that by the amount of bouquets you have planned for the day of the wedding. Second, it will allow you to modify them, either to make them more elaborate or more simplified to suite your tastes. The information that the prep will give you will prove to be invaluable when you start counting down to the last days before your wedding.



Now, as far as the flower delivery time goes, the closer you can make it to the day of the wedding the better. With roses, you can keep them refrigerated and get them in bud form about three days before the wedding, which should allow plenty of time for assembly.



Make sure you have plenty of floral tape, vases for the bouquets, and all the stuff to actually 'assemble' them. Don't forget the flowers for the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom to wear. Don't forget the booteniers for the guys as well. These things are expected. Also, some opt for flowers to put at the end of the isle on the church pews, (if you are in fact getting married in a church).



To assemble your flowers into a bouquet, you can find supplies at Wal-Mart, at a craft store, or at a florist. I suggest that you go onto Craigslist.com and put out the word that you want old wedding bouquets that you can tear apart and repurpose for your bouquets. Many times you can save TONS of money by doing this. You will need to get floral tape to bind all the stems together. They do not have to be perfect, just pretty. The way you are doing this will be a HUGE money saver. AND... it will have the added benefit of your KNOWING that your florist will not be late, and that the flowers will be JUST the way you want them to be. Have fun with it. It is afterall, YOUR day.



HERE IS A WEBSITE...that depicts 8 basic types of floral arrangements. It tells you what to use to achieve the looks you desire using foam or floral tape to bind the arrangement together. If you want more websites, just go to your toolbars search engine and type in the words 'How to floral arrangements'.... tons of sites will come up. (It is how I found this one.)



http://www.save-on-crafts.com/eigbasflow...



Congratulations on getting married, I wish you much joy and happiness in the future.... and GOOD for YOU for taking matters into your own hands... Literally. I love that you have that 'Can Do' attitude!!!
Reply:I haven't done it yet, but I am doing it, so I can't help you much there.



All I can say is practice, practice, practice. When roses are on sale, pick them up at the grocery store and make a bouquet. It's not as easy as it looks, but it's not terribly difficult. Practice wrapping the stems with ribbon (I assume that's what you are doing)...this is not a trivial task.



Simplify your designs as much as possible. You don't want a whole bunch of stress on your rehearsal day and wedding day!!!
Reply:Hi. I think I answered your other question, but you must have changed it with this one.



YES...I have done this...but not bouquets. Bouquets will take a lot of work. Look online...there are step by step directions. Practice with some roses beforehand.



If you are having a Saturday wedding, have your flowers delivered on Thursday. It's a LOT of work. You will need to unpackage them....cut the stems...put them in buckets of water with rose food.



They will need to be in a COOL/COLD place. Our wedding was in the summer and I have central air...so it was no problem! You will get instructions that come with the flowers. You CANNOT put them in regular refrigerators. Only commercially grade refrigerators.



The flowers will not look that good at first...don't freak out! You will need to do everything the DAY before...and then they may still not look that good. Keep them in water overnight...and then the morning of the wedding...you will need to have someone wrap the stems with floral tape and then silk ribbon or whatever you are using to "hold" the bouquets!



Good luck!
Reply:enroll in a floristry course at your local TAFE

It is cheap to do and will give you a better idea of what you need to do.

And remember simple is better. not only will it look more effective but it will be easier and less stressfull. I am doing my flowers, simple gerberas tied together with a ribbon. Sounds boring but it looks really effective.