Flower Alternatives

I am doing DIY bouquets from Trader Joe's so 8 bouquets will be less than or around $150

For centerpieces we are doing photos of us through the years.

Bridesmaids are carrying clutches in lieu of flowers.

View Quoted Comment Sounds like what I’m going for. Simple yet still beautiful!

Silk flowers? Or go to the Farmer's Market and get flowers to make your own. Grocery stores have very pretty bouquets.

I'm only using bouquets for myself and my MOH. The rest of the ceremony/reception will have paper lanterns, and tea lights. I've wanted to do a paper flower backdrop for everyone to take pictures, but since it's going to be on a beach it may clash with the overall theme. So I'll see if I still do them.

Have you looked on Pinterest! I saw a picture of bridesmaids carrying a broom instead of flowers for a Halloween themed wedding. If it’s out there, it’s on Pinterest!

Cool trends I have seen for bridesmaids are hoops! The photo I've attached is a little more "extra" (lol) but I've seen tons of these with things like tassels and tinsel instead of flowers.

Depending on season and wedding colors maybe they can walk down with fans? I've also seen bridesmaids walk down with a single flower!

I’m not huge on flowers outside of my one bouquet. I know amazon sells faux flowers that are cheap and I’ve heard from a family member that they were reliable and were easy to work with! I looked them up and definitely affordable for a decent amount, especially if you do not want a lot. For my bridesmaids I’m doing a single rose instead of a bouquet. Keeps it simple, but yet elegant (and you’re saving money in the making)

If it’s a Gatsby theme then those pretty feather fans would look cute. Paper flowers made out of love notes is another cute look.

There are plenty of options out there now. I personally do not mind fake flowers as long as they are not crazy fake looking lol. For me, flowers was not on my must have or “okay to splurge” list. Luckily my fiancé’s groomsman’s wife just started her own business and she is going to help us out but we’re still keeping it to a minimum. Weddings do not need to be covered in flowers to be beautiful. It’s all personal preference and budget because they are crazy expensive in my opinion.

What about artificial flowers? But, you can do edible centerpieces. Mini lanterns (with flame less candles) would be awesome centerpieces.

I got mine off etsy for cheap. Cheaper than real flowers. Always look into doing your own. Check local thrift stores too. Never know what people will donate!

Hi there... Such a great questions... I was just talking about this same thing to my BFF who is getting married next summer. One of the simple things you can do is focus on more greenery as opposed to actual bloom such as coin eucalyptus. You could even add springs of flowers throughout to give it a pop of color. Also, look for alternate flower choices. For example the peony bloom is very popular making it more pricey. You can have the same look by using ranunculus or dahlias which have lower price points.

Also, search on Instagram for florists near your area. There are plenty of people looking to grown their business who will be able to offer a much better price than going straight to a florist. Some examples of great hashtags to search are #santabarbraflorist or #santabarbaraflorists

Hope this helps. By the way, keep checking my blog therosegoldbride.com I have a couple of posts in the near future covering more about this topic.

View Quoted Comment My cousin made her bouquet out of yarn. They were actually pretty cute. You don’t have to do anything big. They could hold a single rose or daisy or calla Lily. A full bouquet isn’t necessary....

Go to etsy and do silk flowers I did and it wasn't that expensive

I did sola wood flowers for everything and came in under $200! I did Bridal Bouquet, MOH bouquet and 4 BM bouquets and 9 boutonnieres and 2 corsages plus lots of centerpieces with extras. I plan on using extras as misc. decorations just not sure how yet. I also bought some faux flowers from hobby lobby for centerpieces (I have a triple stack centerpiece design).

There are lots of cute centerpieces on Pinterest with no flowers or minimal flowers. We are doing just baby's breath we are buying ourselves with a cute lantern and some tea candles for centerpieces. For bridesmaids, you could do just baby's breath bought from somewhere like Sam's, or you could look at paper flowers/silk flowers or just do corsages. You could also have them hold a single long-stemmed rose. I also know some brides go completely no flowers, and I've seen them carry gold lanterns and even parasols as alternatives. Good luck

I’m doing just a single rose for my bridesmaids instead of bouquets, which may still only be silk ones (haven’t decided yet). For centerpieces I’m creating my own paper flowers, like 3 per table and then adding other decorations to it. Flowers have gotten so expensive that’s nice to find other ways to do it!

CANDLES! I don't know what kinda vibe you're going for but candles make everything so elegant. You can get cylinder vases from the dollar store and candles are pretty cheap. That's the way I would go. For the bridesmaids I've seen lanterns being carried. I think that's a cool look. you can also have them just hold a single flower or a corsage.

Can’t upload pics but we bought gold candelabras from eBay for about $20/each. Perfect!