where to buy wedding Flowers to diy your centerpieces
Living in a really small town means we have to get creative when it comes to sourcing materials and products for Vista View Events. We recently did our first styled shoot (more on that soon!) and I searched locally for a place to get a large quantity and variety of specific flowers I had in mind.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find what I was looking for and ended up ordering them from out-of-state. This experience got me thinking that if I’m having this issue as a vendor then brides who live in small towns like I do, who want to DIY their wedding flowers, could be running into the same problem.
If that’s you, here are a few places to try when sourcing your wedding flowers.
Short on time today but still want this info on DIY Flowers? You can listen to this blog post on the go!
Photo by Chickadee Photography
1.) Farm Girl Flowers - Have you heard of this website? Their bouquets are really more like works of art, they’re that stunning.
At the moment they only provide wedding and event flowers for the Bay Area in California but don’t let that discourage you because we’re about to get thrifty.
Farm Girl Flowers WILL deliver their custom burlap wrapped bouquets all over the U.S. Check out the size of their Fancy Pants Bouquet. You could easily order two of those puppies and break them up into centerpieces, bridal party bouquets or accent table decor.
Wedding flowers for under $500? Um, yes please.
2.) Bulk Wholesale Flowers - We've used this option, even as venue owners, a few times for styled shoots and events we've hosted. Our favorite places to get wholesale flowers is Fifty Flowers and believe it or not, Sam's Club.
Fifty Flowers has a bigger selection and you can easily shop by color on their website. They also have a whole section on DIY Flower Combos to give you inspiration for your own floral design! Fifty Flowers isn't inexpensive but if you're looking for specific colors, flowers and want something unique this could be the stop for you!
We truly think Sam's Club is a hidden gem. Especially when it comes to greenery like silver dollar and seeded eucalyptus. They don't have nearly the selection that Fifty Flowers has but we've been super happy with our orders from them. We've purchased white hydrangeas, seeded and silver dollar eucalyptus and roses from Sam's Club.
Each of these order exceeded our expectations and arrived on time. We do pay attention to the reviews on each floral and haven't ordered anything that doesn't have great reviews!
3.) Your Local Grocery Store - This seems so standard but hear me out! I only recommend going to your local grocery store for greenery and arrangement filler.
Depending on the time of the year you could score a great deal on these since they’re not made to be the center of attention in your centerpiece/bouquet, etc.
Ask the person heading up the floral department what kind of greenery they get in the store in the season your wedding will be taking place. If you tell them what you’re looking for and that it’s for your wedding you may get a little ‘bulk’ discount.
4.) Faux Flowers - You could always go the route of making faux floral arrangements for your wedding flowers. Be careful here though.
I think there is some misconception out there that faux flowers are more cost-effective than real flowers and that is simply not true.
Particularly when you need a large amount, the cost of faux flowers can rack up quick so keep an eye on your budget! My favorite places to find faux wedding flowers are Afloral, Michael’s, and Hobby Lobby.
5.) Hire a Wedding Planner - You can also hire a wedding planner who offers floral design as part of her planning package.
Although this isn't 'technically' DIY, it is a fantastic option if you want gorgeous & personalized wedding flowers. Kat Schmoyer of Dear Sweetheart Events offers floral design to her planning brides and it’s a win-win for both parties.
Kat lives in a really small town (just like us!) but is able to source flowers through her business thus giving her the ability to offer an incredible selection of wedding flowers to her brides that they would not have access to otherwise.
I hope this short post inspired you to think outside the box when it comes to your DIY wedding flowers! Small town girls like us have to stick together! Let’s chat in the comments, how did you source your DIY wedding flowers?