wedding flowers

Call me crazy, but I decided I’m going to do all my wedding flowers on my own. Stressful? Maybe. Fun? Yes, I think so!

At one point, I considered using a professional florist or getting premade bouquets from a farmer’s market, but I’ve also been trying to find ways to cut costs. After a little research, it was clear that buying fresh-cut flowers in bulk is much cheaper, and arranging bouquets can be pretty simple.

A local flower guide snapped from a Seattle magazine inspired me to make my own arrangements.

I don’t have specific color preferences; I want all kinds of bright, summery flowers, like dahlias, anemones, gladiolas and zinnias. I found out that there’s a farm right next to our wedding venue that sells bulk blooms all summer, so I’m working with them on what will be available at the time of our wedding.

Pretty dahlias in bulk from a local farm, via Pacific Horticulture.

Then I thought, if I’m going DIY, I might as well REALLY go for it and grow some flowers myself! So I bought a few bags of bulbs at Costco and planted them last weekend in containers on our deck. Hopefully, they’ll add some color to our house, and then we can harvest in time for the wedding. (P.S. If you go to Costco, I dare you to not spend an hour looking at all the pretty color combos and flower choices! I had to be dragged away.)

Nothing says SPRING like planting flowers in the sun!

There are great resources online for how to create bouquets and other decorative arrangements. My favorite is the Cali-based duo Wedding Chicks. The whole wedding site is gorgeous and addictive! In one section, they share “Bouquet Recipes,” with beautiful images, names of every flower used (so helpful!), and easy-to-follow instructions.

Amy, one of the chicks, said, “We decided to create Bouquet Recipes as a segment to help brides identify the flowers that they love. It’s also meant to inspire brides for their own bouquets, whether they hire a professional or choose DIY.” She also made a great point to me about DIY: “We would suggest testing your skills a few times before the big day to make sure you can achieve the desired result and look!”

Peach bouquet via Wedding Chicks with amaryllises, peonies and much more.

Fortunately, I won’t truly be doing it on my own. I’ll be recruiting my mom, mother-in-law, sister and bridesmaids to help. I actually can’t think of anything more fun than sitting in the sun with my girls, sipping sangria and arranging bouquets!