Weddingbee Blog

Remember my big flowers-are-too-expensive dilemma? Well, after talking incessantly about other options, I figured I would take matters into my own hands and whip up a test bouquet. Never mind the fact that I have zero floral training or experience. The catch? The flowers were all from my local Trader Joe’s and cost a whopping eight dollars. Not too shabby for a bridal bouquet, huh?

Because I really don’t know anything about what flowers go together in bouquets, I chose the two cheapest bunches of flowers and died of happiness when sunflowers were just four dollars! Don’t think for one second that I didn’t use to douse myself in Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers perfume while wearing a sweatshirt covered in hand-embroidered sunflowers.

Yes, I was that girl in junior high.

So this is what I started with: a hot-mess pile of flowers that I really had no clue what to do with.

I figured it would be easier if I sorted it out to see what I have.

Oooh, lookie there! Five sunflowers, five orange daisy things, an unopened lily sprig, a bunch of fun green fluff, some berries, and a couple terrifying palms (which I didn’t know what the heck to do with).

Despite my lack of floral-arranging knowledge, I threw everything together and…

I’m no professional, but it’s not too shabby, right? I was secretly really excited to hold it and act bride-like in the privacy of my backyard.

And after removing some of the daisies and the lily sprig, I got this…

…which I LOVE! It’s simple and showcases my beloved sunflowers. Plus it took about five minutes to whip up and about four dollars to make. Cute for bridesmaids, yes? The best part about my evening of DIY? We got to fill our house with the pretty-smelling goods. Behold our eight-dollar decor:

And there’s our snugglekitty, Cha Cha, enjoying a drink in the sink next to the flowers. Yes, we let her do whatever she wants because she is Queen of the Jam Household. And all of those fun milk-glass and vintage containers? Maybe a dollar each at garage sales. They will be making an appearance at our wedding, too.

So what’s the verdict on grocery-store bouquets? Easy but not that pretty? Sassy and worth the savings? Would you be caught dead carrying it down the aisle? Not gonna lie, I would try it again (hey, it won’t break the bank), and then even consider doing something like this for my very own thrifty wedding.

Coming up tomorrow: Part 2 of the “I Think I Want to DIY Flowers” adventure, but resulting in more bouquets for less money. Swoon.