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Well. I loved how our flowers turned out - and I would not have changed a thing about them. However...it was a real LABOR of love from the women in our families who committed to helping us with it. I don't think I'll ever know the true story of the set up of those flowers (was it stressful? a headache? fun?) ....remember at the last minute Tommy and I didn't help set up the reception area...we walked around downtown Flagstaff instead (and that makes me feel both loved and a lil guilty).
Also - ordering flowers wholesale on line was terrifying. Hahaha...terrifying....what a word to describe ordering flowers! I had read good reviews, and poor reviews...and in the end we just had to go for it. Fortunately, they were lovely. But it was tricky to pick out the types of flowers to get - I know nothing about flowers so it was a big shot in the dark. I wonder if we had hired professionals would it have been a lil less stressful? Not that I was stressed out silly or anything...but it added to the complexities of the wedding planning.
I tell inquiring minds that the diy route worked for us. But I'm also quick to interject that if we had a bigger budget hiring a professional florist would have been an idea to entertain.
We ordered our reception flowers from the local Safeway store. We ordered many, many dozens of roses and completely underestimated the time commitment of assembly. We stayed in different areas for our Colorado wedding - I stayed with my girls in a large suite, while he was with his family at the presidential cottage. He got stuck with the flowers - and his sisters did an amazing job of assembling everything. But it took hours! I'm very happy with how they turned out! Plus - it saved us a BUNCH of money.
ReplyDeleteI think it works best for brides who have family to execute the florals. Too stressful for the bride to do it alone unless it's a very small wedding.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind helping a family member or close friend because it would be very rewarding. And I love flowers! ;)
As a person who has helped a friend DIY her (elaborate) wedding flowers, I can tell you that it is NOT fun. I would do it again, because she is a friend, but you are right that it is a true labor of love. In fact, this experience solidified my decision to hire a florist.
ReplyDeleteI'm not complaining or trying to make people feel bad. But I think that brides and grooms out there really need to know what they are signing their friends and family up for when they ask them to help with DIY flowers. In my case, the bride had $1100 worth of wholesale flowers and three people helping her. We we worked on the flowers for 8 hours straight the day we picked them up and at that point had only prepped all the flowers - we hadn't even started arranging.
I would really caution brides who want to DIY their flowers to take a step back and figure out whether they have the proper support system to execute their vision, and if not (or if it's questionable) to really think through whether the stress it will likely put on their helpers is worth it to them in the end. Becuase I can honestly say that by the time the wedding rolled around I had a hard time enjoying myself because I was so tired and frustrated that so many of the brides other friends and family were unwilling to help us with this huge task.
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ReplyDelete-yumi-