Weddingbee Blog

I’m DIYing my flowers too. I am purchasing my flowers through a local florist b/c originally I wanted like 4 different types of flowers. However, if you would like the same flowers (i.e. white & red roses) it may be more cost effective to buy them online. I have not gone through my trial run yet but I plan to do so this December. I’m hoping to find out how long the flowers will last, exactly the amount of flowers needed, etc, etc.

I hope more people reply. I would love to hear their real DIY stories.

Good luck!

I did my own flowers for my wedding. But, I also know how much time is involved in terms of prep and creating floral arrangements. Hence, I went the fake route for mine using real touch flowers.

To me, it’s a matter of “What is your time worth?” Sure, I can clean my house. I’m perfectly capable of washing my car… however, when I’m running around and have a ton of errands to do, it is absolutely worth the time and stress I save to pay someone else to do those things for me.

There are some easy things to keep in mind when DIYing stuff. (Things that I personally am incapable of adhering to.)
1. K.I.S.S. - Keep it simple. The simpler your arrangement is, the easier it will be to do.

2. Get help! The more help you have, the faster it goes. I was the MOH and florist for a girlfriend’s wedding, and with four people working away, we prepped all her wedding flowers in 3hrs. (Usually it takes me all day alone.)

3. Practice makes perfect! A trial run will give you an idea of how much abuse the flowers you choose can take. Also, will give you an idea of exactly how many flowers you need to order for your big day.

Other things I’d recommend to brides DIYing their flowers.
1. Make sure you have considered transportation for your flowers. A big truck, cargo van, SUV with fold flat seats…. something to transport.

2. Find a trusted friend or two who can transport arrangements and set up for you. The last thing you should be doing on the big day is running around trying to set everything up. You need to be getting ready.

3. Assign people to help tear down or wrap out at the end of the night… family, friends or your coordinator.

4. Make sure you budget plenty of time! Roses don’t magically appear as a pretty bloom. They come covered with leaves and thorns and thirsty. They need to be carefully prepped with leaves and thorns removed w/o causing too much damage to the stem, and they need to be treated properly so they are open and fresh looking for the big day. All this takes time.

5. Make sure you have the right tools:
- Clean buckets or containers for the flowers to drink
- Sharp knife
- Sharp sheers
- Gloves to protect against thorns
- Floral tape to bind
- Floral Food to go in the water.
- Quick Dip or pre-hydrating solution.
- A cool place to store flowers out of the sun.
- Ribbon
- Pins
- Clean vases

The list goes on, but you get the idea.

@FinallyGettingMarried - Part #2 looks like it’s bound with dark green floral tape. It’s a product that gets sticky and attaches to itself when stretched. You can always cover the floral tape with ribbon or raffia afterwards if you want something more decorative.