Did you know that your wedding flowers will account for approximately 10-20% of your overall wedding budget? While this may seem like only a fraction of your wedding costs, that 10-20% could be the equivalent of thousands of dollars and it’s one of the reasons the floral industry rakes in $7 billion dollars every year. However, your wedding flowers don’t have to break your budget. You can find a number of discount wedding flowers that will add beauty to your big day at your local florist shop. Here are two ways to make the most of your wedding flower budget with your local florist.
Use Less Expensive Substitutes

The trick to purchasing wedding flowers on a budget is to think outside the box. While you might have your heart set on expensive flowers, choosing affordable wedding flowers substitutes can save you a lot of money, allowing you to stretch your wedding budget even further. Some substitutions you may want to consider are:

• Madonna lilies instead of Casablanca lilies- Madonna lilies look almost identical to Casablanca lilies, but they are far more affordable. They are also steeped in tradition because they have been in use for nearly 3,000 years. With religious undertones, Madonna lilies represent the Virgin Mary, but they also represent faith, charity, and hope- all wonderful values for a healthy marriage.
• Sweet Pea instead of Hydrangeas- Sweet Pea flowers look very similar to Hydrangeas. Sweet Pea flowers come in a variety of colors such as white, blue, purple, red, and peach. These flowers are very fragrant and make gorgeous bouquets as well as wedding table flowers.
• Cabbage roses instead of Peonies- Just like Peonies, Cabbage roses are fluffy and colorful. Cabbage roses come in a variety of pink, orange, caramel, white, and red shades. The large blooms of the cabbage roses will fill out your bouquet nicely, but for far less money than Peonies.
• Carnations instead of roses- There is no doubt that roses are beautiful and symbolize love. This is why they’re given to sweethearts on Valentine’s Day. However, roses are expensive, especially for a wedding, where you may need hundreds of flowers. A better option for your wallet is to choose carnations. Like roses, red carnations represent love, but it is a deep and enduring love, which is exactly what you hope your marriage will be.

Add Greenery

When shopping for your discount wedding flowers, you’ll notice that your florist charges per stem, or per flower. This is a common practice, but it can quickly cause you to exceed your flower budget if many flowers are needed for bouquets and table arrangements.

To reduce your per flower cost you’ll need to use less flowers. However, the last thing you want is for your arrangements and bouquets to look sparse. One easy way to keep your costs down and fill out your flower arrangements and bouquets is to use greenery.
Greenery will add fullness and allow the colors of your flowers to look more vivid. When considering your greenery options, look for low cost options such as

• fern
• lamb’s ear
• baby’s breath
• ivy

By employing these two tactics, you’ll be able to find the right discount wedding flowers for your big day. They’ll not only be beautiful, but inexpensive as well, allowing you to have the wedding and the flowers, of your dreams.
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