How to arrange your own wedding flowers!

Don't let the economy have an impact on YOUR BIG DAY! If you are getting married this summer, plan a fun night in for you & your bridesmaids...DESIGN YOUR OWN FLOWERS! Of course, you may want a little help with your bouquet, but take advantage of saving money and do your own flowers! Most of this article is thanks to "Suite 101" with a little input from me...

Wedding bells are ringing in your ears, and the cash register is chinging as your wedding expenses add up. Well, there's a way to reduce the cost of your flowers by a huge amount - arrange them yourself!

Select a Color Scheme
Before deciding on flowers, you need to decide on wedding attire colors, if you do not already have your bridal and groom parties' clothing selected. Your flowers will compliment the attire of your entire wedding party, so it is crucial to have a color scheme.

Real or Silk?
The next step is to decide on fresh or silk flowers. The advantage to silk flowers is that they can be arranged and ordered at any time. Silk flowers can be found in several online locations or craft stores.

Pick Your Varieties
If you are interested in using fresh flowers, it is a good idea to use flowers that are in season at the time of your wedding. This will save you an enormous amount of money.

Get Ideas for Bouquets
Decide how elaborate you would like for your bouquet(s) to be. If you are looking for a cascading or large bouquet, you may want to enlist the help of a true floral designer. You will want to choose a few different varieties of flowers in different sizes and shapes. This will add visual interest to the bouquet. If you like the simplistic look, aim for one type of flower such as all white roses or an armful of large lilies tied with a simple ribbon.

Start looking at bouquet ideas online and in bridal magazines for ideas. TheKnot.com has a great gallery of bouquet ideas listed by color.

Practice creating bouquets using cheap flowers from your local grocery store. This will get you comfortable with shaping the bouquets.

Get Quotes
Start pricing flowers after you have decided on colors, types, and sizes of bouquets. Check with your local florist first. A floral wholesaler will probably not sell to an individual without a tax ID #, but some savings can be found at Sams Club.

ALthough there is alot of hype about ordering wedding flower packages online, I do caution you that I have heard several horror stories about receiving the wrong colors or wrong flowers altogether.
If you do decide to order via the internet, make sure you have the flowers arrive soon enough that that are opened up by your wedding day.

Tip! Be sure to order enough flowers! You will probably have some messups on the day of arrangement. Make sure you don't short stock your supply. Order an extra box if you are using delicate flowers.

Prepare for the Buds
Once the flowers arrive, you will need to have a room prepared for them to open or stay fresh as you will want to make bouquets the day before the wedding. Lilies and some other flowers will arrive in bud form. They will need time to open. Have several large and small buckets on hand to put flowers in with specially treated water. PLease ask for some flower food from wherever you purchase your flowers. Be sure to follow the directions exactly.

Showtime!
Make the bouquets. It's important that you have the supplies you need:

•Clippers that are made for cutting flower stems. Purchase these at a craft store. (FEEL FREE TO USE SHARP SCISSORS)
•Floral tape - You'll use this for wrapping boutonnieres. Again, craft or floral store. It becomes sticky when you pull it, and it only sticks to itself. A little tricky, try a couple first so you don't have a big clumpy mess.
•Large Floral Pins - Use these to attach boutonnieres. Craft supply stores have pearl-tipped pins for a fancy look.
•Ribbon - Use this to decorate your bouquets and boutonnieres.
•Hot glue gun and sticks - Use hot glue to attach ribbon and join ends of ribbon when wrapping.
•Bouquet holders - Purchase bouquet holders at your local craft shop. These can help in arrangement. Some floral suppliers provide these as part of the floral package.
Put your bouquets, boutonnieres and other arrangements together in a place with a sink. Many times the location has this available in a kitchen area. Store your arrangements in a refrigerator overnight so they don't wilt. Make sure the temperature is turned up to a cool, humid setting to trap moisture.

In lieu of fancy, designed florals, use ferns and hanging ivys in nice containers to decorate the ceremony area. There a lots of centerpiece ideas using 1 or just a few flowers per table.

By using your imagination, arranging your own flowers for your wedding can make the day that much more memorable.