Wedding Blog
One of the first vendors I pondered after becoming engaged was a florist. Immediately, my mind drifted off to the picture perfect flower shop I would always drive by on Olympic Boulevard. The shop had these amazing window displays that would make anyone’s heart melt - not just wedding-happy brides-to-be. I remember passing by in February and obsessing over the Valentine’s Day setup complete with huge hearts made wholly out of red roses; more red roses than I had ever seen in my life. I was sold. I had found my florist! So I Googled the shop name and tracked down their website. Upon first click, I felt my heart drop. My cute little flower shop was actually an exorbitantly overpriced celebrity haven specializing in “floral event productions”. I don’t think I could cover a flower bill from this shop with one year’s worth of pay.
I’m noticing that these are some of the pitfalls of living in West L.A. If you don’t know what you’re doing, Los Angeles (or any big city for that matter) can be like a cruel joke for budget brides. If I don’t do my research and I walk blindly into a wedding planning situation of any kind, it ends up in disaster because, like a magnet, I’m attracted to EVERYTHING EXPENSIVE!!
Here are a few pictures I found as “inspiration shots” for wedding flowers. Stay tuned while Mr. Glitter and I try and find low budget, high quality vendors throughout L.A.
(All images taken from here)
After an extensive amount of internet research and some common sense advice here on Weddingbee, I realized that it is possible to do “the designer look for less”. (Isn’t that the slogan for Ross or TJMaxx?) So now I’m obsessed with finding everything on the cheap. Since I’m not a huge Do It Yourself girl, I’m going to have to hone my negotiating skills with vendors.
Did you have one dream vendor in mind for your wedding before getting engaged, only to find your dreams dashed when you were quoted a price? Did you move on without them or manage to squeeze your budget to fit them in?
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Share this post: Flower Power: Adventures in Budgeting
Please check out Jacob Maarse Florists in Pasadena! They are absolutely WONDERFUL and will work with any budget. Their website is limited, but I promise that it is worth the trip to their store… especially during this time of year! And they deliver all over So Cal. They are even delivering out to our wedding in Laughlin, NV! All of the designers are fabulous. (They do the bouquets for the Rose Parade court!)
Hey glitter lady, I can hook you up with my amazing eco-friendly florist… she’s great and very reasonable 
Just an idea…
We fell in love with a photographer and her trash the dress photos. It was in a bit of sticker shock at first but we made sure that the budget included her. She was the one area we splurged on.
We initially were set on an outdoor wedding. It was all we looked at. The outdoors is very important to DH, involved with his hobbies and career. And I, well, think they’re pretty! But at least in our area, outdoor venues are SOOOOO expensive. At least twice the cost of an indoor venue of similar quality. 
We had to go with an indoor wedding.
In the end, it rained the day before our wedding day, so we would have been completely nervous basket-cases. Whew! I was relieved that we didn’t break the bank just to worry and have everyone walking through muddy fields.
Yes, I wanted to get married at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. But I already KNEW the price, as I had planned a holiday party there for my previous job. I just stubbornly thought we could “make it work” since it was a dream of mine. But since the venue price is twice what I’m paying now, and the space provides you nothing, the cost added up pretty quickly.
Once we picked our venue, I never looked back or regretted the choice. We’re getting married at a historic mansion that even has a small art gallery upstairs, so it really couldn’t be more perfect for us.
I love all of those pictures! It’s so hard to keep a straight head about the budget when sooo many awesome inspirational pictures are out there. Good luck!
Photobooths! I want one so bad, but there’s no way. Plus, we are photo snobs and would want the old school kind, but we can’t even afford the digital ones! *sigh*
Florist budget tip- ask if you can supply the vases. This is saving us a ton!
I would want a great photographer.. that’s going to be my splurge!
@ready2bmrsd: Thanks, I’ll check them out!
@Miss Meatball: Thank you, darlin! We’ve had consultations with two florists and I can’t say that I was particularly loving either of them. One was recommended by our venue. I’ll contact you to get more info on your lovely florist!
@budgetbeautiful: Your venue sounds amazing! We considered a museum in LA, but like you, I realized they provided nothing. We would have had to bring in everything…no thanks.
@Miss Champagne: {sigh} I’m all about inspirational pics. That’s why I can never make a decision!
@Miss Taffy: Thanks for the tip re: vases. I heart photobooths. We are going to try and squeeze one into the budget…keyword: try! @Erin: I’m glad it all worked out in the end!
I just booked Lily Pad Florist, based out of Hermosa. Rebecca, the owner, was very open about prices and willing to make any changes necessary to fit my budget.
Go big with flowers, but never underestimate the power of candlelight. Candles are so cheap and they really also add to the romance of the evening.. hey, words of my florist. We’re in Houston. =)
I feel ya, Miss Glitter! It’s very easy to SAY that you’re a budget bride, and that you’ll be able to make the tough choices, but the reality is, when the quotes start coming in and you actually have to lay out the dough, all those inspiration shots can weight heavily on your mind!
Some advice that I got from other budget brides (and I mean, wedding on $5000 or less type brides) that helped me keep my head was to limit my “wedding porn”….it seems like a sin to say this on weddingbee of all places, but pouring over too many photos of lavish, amazing $30,000 or more weddings can have the negative affect of making you question decisions you’ve already made, or doubting your ability to make the day what it should be, or just generally make you envious!
Having said that, they can also slap you in the face with amazing new ideas that CAN be done in money-saving ways….so I guess we all just have to draw the line for ourselves!
We fell in love with three photographers, they are amazing. Two would cost us over $10,000, just for our photos!!!! The other was $6,000. We are on a budget so they obviously didn’t work. I still go through their blogs weekly and get depressed. Kind of pathetic, but they are amazing. We found naother amazing photographer in our budget, but he does have a blog or update frequently so sometimes I freak out and think maybe hes not as good, but then think back to how great the work we saw at the meeting was.
I went with Debbie Fields from Floral Fields. I was planning the wedding from across the country, was only able to meet with her in person once, and on the day of — the flowers absolutely blew my world open! My husband, almost 2 years later, still comments on how they were the most gorgeous flowers he’s ever seen and our guests said the same. Debbie isn’t a “budget” florist, but she’s not celebrity-prices either. She’s worth every single penny we spent! email me if you want photos!
Thanks for the florist referrals, ladies! I want to find one that preferably has worked with the Biltmore before, because they are extremely picky and have a long list of venue/vendor rules. But I will definitely check out your suggestions!
@West Coast bride: The wedding porn kills me! I’m addicted to it, but you’re right - you have to draw the line somewhere…I guess
@Newport Nuptials: Umm, I totally understand. I lusted (and still lust) over a photographer who was about $10,000. Ours isn’t nearly as expensive, but honestly, I simply can’t justify spending that kind of money on any vendor for the wedding…
NO JOKE - if it’s ’spensive… I love it… of course (sigh)
You can also try my florist, Kate Baker Florals. She works out of her home, so there’s low overhead. And also try Mrs. Jasmine’s florist, City of Commerce Flowers. They are known for having unbeatable prices. And they’ve definitely done events at the Biltmore before.
@Miss Glitter: Although I realize this post started out about flowers, I can’t help but respond on the photographer lust issue. I found myself in the same boat, pouring over beautiful shots and wondering whether my photographer’s style was right. When I dropped by her office to giver her our second deposit cheque, she mentioned that when I see particular shots from other people’s work that I really like, I should e-mail them to her, and tell her why I like them so much. She keeps a folder for each couple she’s working with, and stores stuff like this in the folder. A few weeks before the wedding, she goes through everything in the folder to really “study up” on the couple’s needs and wants. I suppose some photographers might take it the wrong way, but she prides herself on working across styles, and giving couples a good mix that is balanced according to their tastes.
Maybe you could try flipping two or three shots you really adore from the $10,000 photographer’s site and just sending a little note about how you appreciate their attention to their couples, and you saw these couple of shots that you’re really drawn to.
@Miss Hot Cocoa: Thanks for the suggestions, hon! I will definitely look into both places. Your florals sound like they will be amazing!!
@West Coast bride: You know I thought about showing our photographer some of the shots (there may be a future post from me about lusting over photographers!), but I wondered if he would think I was overstepping my boundaries? Hmmm…I’ll have to think about that one. Thanks for your input! Your photographer sounds really cool.
To NKC: Thanks for the recommendation. I only wish I knew who you are? Please email me - Debbie@floralfields.net sometime, so I know who the wonderful words are from. Oh…and please let Ms. Glitter know that I have worked at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel several times.
Happy New Year!
Debbie
Miss Glitter:
This is Debbie @ Floral Fields. I’m the florist that did the flowers for NKC. If you haven’t already selected your florist, I would love to hear all about your wedding at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel. I’ve worked there many times in the past, and am familiar with their rules and requirements. I look foward to hearing from you. Debbie (debbie@floralfields.net)
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Mrs. Glitter, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 27, Research Consultant/Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Accounting
Engagement Date: May 6, 2007
Wedding Date: June, 2009
Venue: Millenium Biltmore Hotel
About Me: I was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. I spent eight years in the Northeast working and completing my education. Having split time between two sides of the country has given me a true appreciation for both coasts. It has also provided an overabundance of cross country drives, flights and long distance relationship fun/misery! I love my family, my doggy Emma, fabulous wine, Anthropologie, politics, reading, being outdoors, exploring new cities, and good movies! My fiance and I are complete opposites, but somehow we have managed to fall completely and hopelessly in love.
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