Early on in the wedding process, I was convinced that we would not have any flowers at the wedding. Flowers are beautiful, but I couldn’t stomach the price tags for floral arrangements (mind you, I hadn’t done any research into costs and just assumed that this would be well outside of our budget). I originally planned for the BMs to carry feather fans and I would carry a silk bouquet, like the ones in the images below.
Beautiful silk bouquet / Image via Etsy.com
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| Feather fan / Image via TheBijouBride.com |
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| Feather fans / Image via Etsy Shop IvynDell |
As for the table centerpieces, I figured we could have feather and/or candelabra ones, like the ones below;
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| Ostrich Feather centerpieces / Image via LoveisintheAirEvents.com |
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| Candelabra centerpieces / Image via Flickr.com |
So with these images as inspiration in mind, I started looking in to actual costs and the logistics of having to order from multiple vendors for the various items above. It turns out that ostrich feathers and silk bouquets were not nearly as cheap as I thought they would be. That silk bouquet above? The retail price was $195 on Etsy. Yikes. The feather fans for the BMs ranged anywhere from $40—$65 (later on I discovered that this was more pricey than a small floral bouquet).
At this point I was starting to reevaluate including actual flowers into the wedding, because it seemed that we’d end up spending the same, if not a little bit more, for the non-floral items I had in mind. We asked our wedding planner for florist recommendations and when we went on our second wedding planning visit to Montreal, we came prepared with the images below (from one of my Pinterest boards, of course).
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| Peacock & Pink Cymbidium Orchid Bouquet / Image via WeddingandPartyNetwork.com |
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| Peacock and Calla Lily Bouquet / Image via SaffronMarigold.com |
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| Low centerpieces / Image via TheKnot.com |
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| High Centerpieces / Image via Disboards.com |
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| Teal and Gold Tablescape / Image via GreenWeddingShoes.com |
After looking over the images with the florists, we ultimately decided to work with Montreal-based florist Madame K. She had some great ideas on how to make the various ideas above work and also had great recommendations that ultimately saved us a good amount of money—like mixing in some inexpensive flowers within some of the pricier ones to make the arrangements look more full. She also recommended having high and low centerpieces—not only does it add dimension to a reception space, but using the smaller centerpieces also saves us some money.
We will also be reusing a lot of arrangements between the ceremony and reception spaces (the two large arrangements that will frame the ceremony space will also be used to decorate our sweetheart table). In addition to the floral elements, we will also be renting large candles, clear vases and mirrored pillars for the ceremony, and votive candles and more vases for the reception.
Are you using real flowers in your wedding decor or are you going a different route?
I looove your inspiration, and I don’t think you’ll regret live flowers. Mine made me so so happy on our wedding day, and they smelled amazing (I couldn’t stop smelling my bouquet! 
) Did you end up ordering calla lillies or orchids for your bouquet? Both are so lovely and exotic…
I love your inspiration, we don’t get to appreciate real flowers enough in everyday life, you’ll love having them at your wedding!
Glad you were able to find a happy medium! I think the flower/feather combo will look amazing.. although that picture with all the feather fans? So cool!!
I originally thought I’d have zero flowers too. We ended up using some for our centerpieces and I don’t regret it one bit. I love the feather touches – will look amazing!
Miss Mongoose, New Haven, CT Age and Occupation: 28, Digital Advertising Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Business Development Engagement Date: November 19th, 2011 Wedding Date: May 2013 Venue: Hotel Nelligan in Montreal, CA About Me: I was born and raised in Queens, NY (though you would never know due to my lack of a "real" New York accent) but currently live in Connecticut with my fiance. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a crazy obsession for planning and organizing things, so it comes as no surprise that I'm currently obsessed with planning our wedding. I love dancing, music, traveling, reading fiction novels, cooking, the color blue, cupcakes, all things space science-related and TV shows created by Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams. My fiance and I have been together for seven years and are so excited to finally get married next year. We are planning a peacock-themed destination wedding in Montreal, one of our favorite cities in the world, with 100 or so of our closest family and friends. While we may look very different on the outside, we have eerily similar personalities (probably due to the fact that we share the exact same birthday) and share very similar passions. But above all else, we love each other and love to have FUN!!!
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