One things that we saved a big chunk of money on was flowers. I made all of our wedding flowers in advance with silk flowers to not only save money but also reduce stress (and they don’t wilt!). We were pleased with how all of the flowers came out.

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I’m super excited to show all of you how these turned out. You might remember me talking about making flowers out of fabric and trims for the wedding party…well they are finally done – and rather impressive if I do say so myself! Let’s start with the smaller projects – the groomsmen’s boutonnieres. I think these will really pop on their khaki suits!

groomsmen bouts

close up

The bridesmaids bouquets took a little more time because, well there are a lot more flowers in each one – nine to be exact! I tucked the tulle in between the flowers for texture. I think the blue tulle adds dimension. These too will pop as the girls are wearing navy taffeta dresses.

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On at least five separate occasions, I’ve been asked, “What are your wedding colors?” And the truth is, we don’t have any. Which is not to say that our wedding will be void of color — in fact, quite the opposite is true — but at no point did we sit down and pick a two- or three-color scheme for our wedding.

Is that so shocking?

Yes, apparently it is.

Instead, the guiding aesthetic principle for our wedding is: jewel tones. We’re getting married in a stately private club that is already outfitted with rich wood accents, gilded chandeliers and magnificent stained glass windows. It has so much personality going for it already, we thought committing to an arbitrary three-color scheme would just look and feel forced.

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So we met with a florist last weekend. Whew, that appointment was definitely more than I had bargained for!  Lovebug and I had previously talked about what flowers we wanted in a road trip we had taken over the summer. He was content with having my mother and I go to the florist while he was at work knowing that we had pretty much already picked everything. Man, was he wrong.

Our appointment, which we were told would take about 2 hours, took 2 1/2 and we didn’t even get to reception decor! I was really pleased with the florist we met with, Nancy, and LOVED her ideas. I did not realize, however, how much stuff I needed to know already! She asked all kinds of questions that I really had not even thought about yet. Here are a sampling of them:

• How big are the flower girl baskets?
• What color dress is everyone wearing who is getting a corsage?
• Do we want pin-on corsages or wrist corsages?
• What type of wrap do we want for the bouquets?
• What color wraps do we want for the bouquets?
• Do we have swatches of both my dress and the bridesmaid dresses?

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After the vows and, of course, the dress, the most important element of the wedding, in this bride’s opinion, is the flowers.

I’m not just talking about the bouquets; I mean the centerpieces, the aisle décor, the cake table, and those other intimate details that serve as the eye candy for your wedding. That’s what makes those David Tutera weddings so amazing — the venue is transformed into a magical, once-in-a-lifetime space that creates a lasting memory for you and your guests.

But it seems like I’m in the minority for thinking so. People tell me, “Flowers die! Spend on the food instead!” To which I say, the flowers live on forever in the photos! And when was the last time you remembered what you ate at a wedding? It was chicken something, right? Or steak?

It probably looked like this.

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Orchids, as previously discussed, are the leading actor in my floral presentation. And as a DIY, money conscious bride I could not contemplate spending around $40 dollars a pop for orchid corsages, which is what this one would cost:

Plus, there is the added trauma of paying for something that, while lovely, will wither in a few hours.

I found a step by step tutorial at mydiyweddingday.com on how to make your own flower hair clips, and I was enchanted. A few evenings and a couple of trips to hobby lobby later I had all I needed to make something like this:

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When all of the guests had left and Lavender Dude, our parents, and I were standing in the empty room, the coordinator of the venue came up to me and said, “who’s taking the flowers?”

my bouquet - the next day!

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We booked our florist this past week. I couldn’t be happier with our choice.  This florist was a referral from a co-worker (who happens to be getting married the day before us) who was referred to her from another co-worker (who got married last summer).

Bella Flora is run by Claire and the personalized service and consultation she gave us blew me away (we met with her right after our HORRIBLE cake tasting experience).   I knew as soon as we left that I was going to hire her.

My inspiration for my wedding came from this photograph.

My wedding bouquet is going to be JUST like this.

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I have been going back and forth on the idea of doing my own flowers. Or rather, gathering up my ladies on the morning of the wedding (the ceremony isn’t until 6:30pm) and attempting to assemble centerpieces that may or may not resemble something like this:

Pretty! How hard could it be?

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I’m so happy to share some details from our reception! You will recognize things we have been talking about for the last year on this blog. The flowers were all done by a local flower shop, Colonial Flowers. All of the paper goods were done by yours truly of course. (I never want use a paper cutter again, EVER)

We used black table linens and black chair covers to create a dramatic setting to show off the beautiful white and green flowers.

My MOH’s bouquet:

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