A Bride’s DIY Flowers Resource Guide

This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are 100% my own. See my full disclosure here.

There are so many good reasons to DIY flowers for your wedding….

1. You will save a LOT of money
2. You can fully customize your bouquets and arrangements to be exactly as you like them
3. You gain a MUCH greater appreciation for the flowers than you would if you saw none of the prep work

Despite all these attractive points, this task can be very daunting for many brides.  I fully recognize that this route is not for everyone… but if you are considering DIYing and are not sure where to begin or how to go about exploring this option, my hope is that this guide will assist you in your planning process.

If you don’t know what your flower vision is yet…

Chances are, if you are looking into DIYing, you already have a vision for what you want your DIY flowers to look like.  But, if not, I would suggest beginning by creating a pinboard of flowers that you like for your wedding.  From there, take note of colors, shapes, and styles.  Specifically note if you are drawn to simpler one-flower type bouquets (all roses for instance) or more ornate bouquets (cascade style can be difficult).  Also, for decor, do you like low vases with a few blooms or are you set on elaborate table arrangements.  These are important considerations, if you like simpler styles in general (of course there’s nothing wrong with a couple challenges in there too ;)) then DIYing could definitely work for you, but if your heart is set on awesomely crazy bouquets and arrangements; think long and hard about whether the pressure will be worth it.

If you have a vision, but don’t know the exact flowers…

So you have pictures stored away that represent what you want your wedding flowers to look like, but you are unsure what those flowers are or if they are too expensive, or even available during your wedding month.  I would suggest starting by looking at bouquet recipes on the Wedding Chicks to begin familiarizing yourself with flower names and types.  Click on bouquets that come close to your style and begin dissecting which flowers you like and are interested in using for your wedding.

Next, visit a wholesaler like Fifty Flowers, and view flowers in season during your wedding month.  By choosing flowers by season, you will save a lot of money and heartache (out of season flowers can sometimes be much lesser in quality than their seasonal counterparts).

You know what flowers you want, now find out their pricing/availability…

Start visiting flower wholesale sites you would be interested in ordering from and looking up your flowers to check when they are available, what colors, and pricing per stem.  I would recommend starting at either Sams Club or Costco if you have a membership: they have the best prices, but a limited selection (so yay for you if they have your flowers!)

Next, visit an exclusive flower wholesaler.  I highly recommend Fifty Flowers; they have the largest selection I have seen, are organized well, and are very bride-friendly.  Look by flower name, or sort by wedding color.  Their selection is so wonderful, it makes me giddy! 🙂

{TIP} Flowers are usually sold by stem or bunch-which will normally contain 10 stems.  Some flowers are called ‘spray’ because they contain multiple blooms per stem.  These can be great budget savers-as long as you don’t mind sacrificing some stem.

If the flowers you like aren’t in season or cost too much….

It’s ok, there are many many ‘look-a-like’ flowers out there that can get you the same look for a lesser price or different season.  Try looking through Fifty Flower’s flowers by color or season to find acceptable substitutes.  A very popular substitute is garden roses instead of peonies (pretty expensive except for several months of the year).

Also, consider the centerpieces and types of designs you’ve chosen and ask yourself if you could find a simpler/more cost effective arrangement without compromising too much.  Using the same flower gives an appearance of a larger, richer arrangement, and using low bud vases or bowls creates chic and affordable centerpieces.

You’ve got the flowers picked out, but how much do you order?

Create a list of everything you will want to use the flowers for.  Personally, I used Excel and it worked great!  Decide how many you’ll need of each item, and how many blooms to go in them.  Below you can see the method I used.  By putting in a starting number of flowers I was thinking of ordering.  I divided them out between the items to see if I had enough or where I was lacking.  If you would like to use this worksheet, click here to download.

You’ve decided how many to order… now what?

For most places, the sooner you order the better.  If there are shortages of a certain bloom, they ration them on a first come first serve basis.  Several months before is not too early!  Ideally you should set the delivery date to 2-3 days before your wedding (I do not recommend doing flowers the morning of).  This is because the blooms often come in tight buds and need time to hydrate and open before your event.

Consider what supplies you will need.  If you are doing corsages and boutonnieres you will need floral tape, and wire, and maybe ribbon.  You will want to order flower food, and buckets to keep the flowers in once they’ve arrived.  I used floral foam to secure my arrangements.  You may decide to use other methods depending on your type of arrangements.

At this point you should have a very good idea of what you are going for, now it’s time for the nitty gritty…  Unless you do trial runs, going cold before your wedding can be dangerous.  I suggest you watch several videos to get a feel for what you will be doing.

DIY Flowers Videos

1. Prepping Flowers   (E.g. Basics of Fresh Flower Care,  How to Prep your DIY Flowers or Preparing Wholesale Blooms)

2. Bouquets   (E.g. Romantic Bouquet, Spray Garden Rose Bouquet, DIY Bridesmaid Bouquet, or Hand Tied Garden Bouquet)

3. Centerpieces   (E.g. Pedestal Vase Arrangement, Mason Jar Arrangement, or Hydrangea Arrangement)

4. Corsages   (E.g. Ribbon Corsage, Wrist Corsage or Vintage Corsage)

5. Boutonnieres    (E.g. Ranunculus Bouts, DIY Boutonniere, or Wildflower Bouts)

6. Anything extra…   (E.g. Baby’s Breath Wreath, Floral Crown, or Carnation Pomander)

And if you are still thirsting for more DIY flower-arranging knowledge, I would suggest checking these youtube channels out: Blooms by the Box, and Flower School.  Now…. don’t you feel excited and geared up to tackle some arrangements? 😉

See details on our DIY Wedding Flowers, or all our wedding projects and photos. 🙂

Please comment with any questions/suggestions/etc, I’d love to hear how I can improve this guide or add more helpful info.  Hope over to DIY Blooms for a plethora of DIY flowers tips and tricks. Happy DIYing!