Remember last Wedding Wednesday when I said ‘pay for a good photographer because the photos will last forever’ (unlike the day and your memories)? Well, flowers will not last forever no matter how much you pay for them BUT having a beautiful bouquet will not make your future-self cringe. With this being said, ordering a bride’s bouquet plus flowers the girls in your wedding party plus corsages and boutonnieres for your families plus table arrangements plus room decor can add up!

Mike and I each had only one person standing* with us so we ordered the two bouquets and the family corsages and boutonnieres from The Flower Shop in Halifax.  However, we were lucky because my aunt graciously grew an abundance of wild flowers and Sarah (maid of honour) put them together in to beautiful table arrangements. 

A great cost saving idea is ordering your bouquet from a flower shop (splurge and get want you really want!) but save on table arrangements, corsages and boutonnieres by either doing them yourself or better yet – hiring someone to make them for you from flowers you got for a good price.

I know not everyone has an aunt who’ll grow a field of wild flowers but did you know you can order great flowers (in bulk) from places like Costco and the Superstore? An affordable way to add flowers to your space. If it local you want, check if there are U-Pick flowers in your area – one that we love is Hennigar’s Farm in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The problem however is it takes time and talent to put it all together once the flowers are purchased. I was lucky because Sarah has professional floral experience.

Relying on your wedding party to help you with your floral arrangements can be tricky. These days the lure of Pinterest makes everyone believe they can DYI everything and although some pinspirations are easy, it can be time consuming – especially since you need to work on flowers the day before and are likely busy. With this being said, look into hiring someone to help bring everything together. Someone like Sarah can help you source ideas and then shop and make great arrangements, which can be delivered to you on your wedding day. Or, you can arrange to have her teach you and your wedding party how to DIY ahead of time if it’s what you desire. 

And… We are excited to announce an opportunity to do just that! If there’s a couple interested in hiring Sarah please let me know! Plus, we’re offering a special pop-up floral workshop to one lucky bride. A night of drinks and appetizers with your wedding party and us! We’ll teach you how to make your own arrangements, which you can then replicate for your big day. See below for details!

The Pop-up Flower Workshop includes:

• 1 pre-event phone conversation with the bride about what she likes, colours and favourite flowers
• 2 bottles of wine and a cheese plate (you are welcome to bring more food and drinks with you)
• A 2-hour pop-up workshop – we will supply the flowers, tools, ribbon, note pads and pens!

Please reply by leaving a comment below and I will announce the winner in March.

* Tip: The smaller your wedding party, the cheaper your wedding.

Photos 1, 2, 5 and 6 are by Shannon George
Bouquet and corsage by The Flower Shop in Halifax
Flowers grown by Maureen Woodlock and arranged by Sarah Overmars

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