Wedding flowers on a budget: 3 Tips for maximizing fresh flowers

Want some inspiration to help you navigate maximizing your wedding flower budget?

I’d love to help!

Below, you’ll find my top 3 tips for being both incredibly satisfied with your fresh flowers and feeling like a wedding budget boss.

Love Lisianthus and Cosmos? The double-flowering, ruffled creamy lisianthus you see here and the cosmos are varieties you’ll only get if buying locally-grown. And in East TN, this combo is at its peak in July.

#1: Shop seasonally

Supply and demand plays a major role in determining the overall cost for a design. Daydreaming about peonies? That’s May for East TN. Being flexible with enjoying the flowers of the moment can lower the cost of designs. Check out my Bloom Times Guide to get a copy of my own personal field notes so you can shop seasonally right here in East TN.

#2: Re-purpose feature flowers and bouquets

Though this doesn’t work for every wedding, sometimes it’s easy to drop those bouquets you and your maids have been carrying into a ready-prepared vase to enjoy all night long at the reception. Opting for a trending Ceremony Nest (aka Ground Arbor) for a spectacular display of feature florals? Usually, those same component pieces that make up the nest (about 5-6 large ground-level arrangements) can be repurposed as a floral feature in front of a sweethearts table for the bride and groom. Ask your floral designer if your timeline and venue would lend to repurposing any designs to continue enjoying them.

#4: Choose just one: Focals or Photographs

Instead of spreading your budget thin, you can opt for focusing on a select few designs to have the greatest impact. It just depends on which impact you want to choose. Do you want to infuse your wedding memories with fresh flowers? Opt for choosing to focus on the most heavily-photographed designs. Do you want the lasting impression to be more for your guests? Then opt for focusing on a floral feature and less on designs that tick up in quantity quickly (bridesmaids bouquets, boutonnieres, reception tables). For example, Cake Meadows make a huge statement and a lasting impression.

Ready to see how far your budget can go? Check out my Wedding Flowers Calculator linked below to start planning your dream design lineup for any size budget.

Cheers to locally-grown flowers and feeling like a wedding budget boss!

Sara