Slash Your Wedding Flower Bill With These Money Saving Secrets!

Anyone who has ever planned a wedding knows how incredibly expensive fresh flowers can be. Yet, really, what would a wedding be without them? The great news is that there are a few simple steps you can take to trim your wedding flower bill and still have all the beautiful blossoms you need to make your event look gorgeous.

This spectacular mum wedding centerpiece is a seasonal and affordable option for an autumn reception. Image via www.wedding-beginning.net.

Use Only Flowers In Season: This might sound obvious, but far too many brides get hung up on the idea of having a particular type of bloom, even if it is the wrong time of year. Seasonal flowers will cost less, be more lush and beautiful, and are also a wonderful way to celebrate the time of year. With so much upside to using seasonal blossoms, who really needs those parrot tulips flown in from Holland in October?

Shop Around: You would be amazed at how much the prices can vary from one florist to the next. This is particularly true if you are comparing a pretigious "floral designer" to a neighborhood flower shop. Most florists will be able to create the centerpieces and bouquets that you want, especially if you bring in lots of pictures. There is no need to pay extra for the reputation of the florist.

This pretty purple lisanthus and snowberry bouquet is every bit as beautiful as a more costly bouquet of roses. Image via www.flower-arrangement-advisor.com.

Substitute Less Expensive Varieties: If you are one of those brides who has been carrying around a picture of your favorite bouquet in your purse for months, it can be hard to let go of recreating yourdream floral arrangement. However, a good florist will know how to get the general style that you like while swapping out more affordable varieties for some of the more costly blooms. For instance, instead of using all roses, combine roses and lisianthus. And when you do splurge on a more pricey blossoms, be sure to show them off to good effect, such as submerging a stem of orchids in a clear vase where they will really be noticed.

Submerged dendrobium and orchid centerpieces only look expensive. Image via http://lewisdesignslv.com.

Reuse Ceremony Flowers for the Reception: Why pay for something twice? Instruct your florist to move all of the ceremony flowers to the reception site to use for decorations. You can even turn the bridesmaid bouquets into small floral arrangements simply by popping them in vases of water. This is one of the easiest, yet often overlooked money saving secrets for wedding flowers.