Flowers are not something that a red-blooded, he-man alpha-male like yourself usually thinks about. Too girly. Too romantic. Too…well, flowery for you, right?
We hear you. Picking out the bouquets, centerpieces and arrangements is the bride’s job. It’s not like you have an opinion about flowers anyway–they’re pretty much all the same, right?
You’re looking at this all wrong.
Don’t think of flowers as those brightly colored plants that smell nice, attract bees and sometimes make girls cry. Think of flowers as one more line in your itemized wedding budget, and apply the same strategic and tactical perspective.
There’s an art to this, and if you figure out how it works, you’ll save yourself some money.
For instance, you can substitute one type of flower for another. Carnations can be used instead of peonies, if arranged correctly. But that only makes financial sense if it’s during the off-season for peonies. From May-July, peonies are in season, which means they cost less and have bigger blooms. Bigger blooms mean you don’t have to buy as many to make the right impression.
You see where we’re going with this?
Floral arrangements can be as complex and engaging as your fantasy football draft or your stock portfolio. You just have to get over the idea that planning the flowers is exclusively a woman’s job.
Cut out the middle man
One of the biggest expenses when it comes to wedding flowers is the florist. We don’t have anything against florists–unless they’re infected with Dutch tulip mania–but you’ll be able to save some money if you cut out the middleman and order the flowers yourself.
Keep in mind, what you save in money you may have to spend in time. Even a cool service like Itsbyu (which claims it can save you 80% off the cost of a florist) requires that you assemble it’s flower kits yourself. So if you can manage a day of cutting stems and potting roses, this might be your best move.
Cut in the middle man
On the other hand, there are plenty of reasons to go with a florist, even if it costs more. For a start, these people know their shit. They’re specialists, after all, so they’ll be able to tell you which flowers are in season when you’re getting married; which ones require extensive labor to set up, and which ones will wilt before the ceremony is even finished.
If you decide to work with a florist, go into your first meeting like a boss by remembering a few key strategies:
1) Choose only one or two types of flowers. The less you diversify the less it will cost.
2) Stay away from flowers that need labor intensive care, such as special wiring.
3) Stick with flowers that are in-season and aren’t going to wilt. You don’t want a bank of dead roses to be the last thing your guests see as they leave the ceremony.
4) Don’t bother with big centerpieces for your reception tables. People will just move them out of the way so they can see each other.
Above all, keep things simple. It’s more elegant, and it won’t overpower the rest of the ceremony. This isn’t a flower show at a botanical garden, after all. The flowers have one job: to make you look good. They can show off on their own time.