Article

FLOWER BUDGET
July 24 2009

The flowers are an expensive wedding item so finding ways to save money without sacrificing quality or elegance is the number one goal for most couples.  The good news is that there are things you can do to cut back the cost while creating your dream wedding full of color and fragrance.

For starters, do you remember when we mentioned that weddings held during off-season times are less expensive?  Well, flowers purchased in March and April would be the least expensive in that they are in abundance, making most species easy to find.

You should also consider buying your flowers directly from a wholesaler.  This way, you avoid the high cost of overhead and can save significant money.  Additionally, many times, you will find a better selection by going through a wholesaler.  Just remember that you want to ensure the flowers are guaranteed fresh and also, that you will probably be responsible for picking them up and either arranging them yourself or having them arranged by a professional florist.

Regardless if you are creating your own floral arrangements or hiring a professional for the job, you should expect to spend 15% of your overall wedding budget, for this one expense.  Of course, if you want more flowers or flowers that are tropical and exotic, then they will use up quite a bit of that budget.  Therefore, you would need to increase the floral budget or choose flowers that fit within the set 15%.

Just be sure you consider all the costs when you begin looking at wedding flowers.  For instance, in addition to the actual flowers, you would need to think about importing charges, administrative fees, delivery fees, and so on.  If you happen to know someone that has recently used a florist and was very pleased with the results, you might visit them and hope for a discount.

In addition to the above tips, remember that you can swap out flowers and achieve a magnificent look without the price.  One example would be using Zinnias or Dahlias instead of the very costly orchid.  If you use a reputable florist, you would be amazed at what he or she can do with any type of flower, which is what makes him or her so great.  Just keep your options open and consider everything.