Skipping the flowers?

You could do old fashioned paper fans instead...

I'm actually having fans for the guest to use during the ceremony. But these loo great! Thanks for sharing.

Or the small corsages

I ordered flowers from Costco. Com

Is the $2500 - $3000 for decoration and bouquets/boutonnieres/BM bouquets/etc?

If you need a lower price but still are interested in flowers AND if your destination wedding has these places nearby, perhaps consider flowers from local grocery chains or places like Sam's Club and Costco like Sarah said. Some places have good combo deals for flowers for bouquets and the like.

Good luck!

ETA: To give credit, didn't see post above till after I posted

FH and I will be the only ones with flowers. And I'm thinking bouquet of succulents plumeria and bird of parasdise if possible. I wish succulents weren't so trendy right now. I have been in love with them and have a ton i grow at home.

But I'll do succulents on the tables. Like you my location is foliage heavy so I don't need flowers for my venue. Just do flowers for you and FH. BP doesn't REALLY need them either. They don't serve a purpose.

That's what I would do if I was staying local, but the coordinating for DW is enough without adding DIY flowers.

Do you have a Farmers market near you? They have beautiful fresh flowers usually for much cheaper. That's the route we were going to go until we found a reasonably priced florist.

ETA: just saw it is a DW. That might be harder.

Just get flowers for yourself, FS, and maybe a few small flowers for your party. It sounds like your venue doesn't need them! If you ask a florist to work with a color and within a price range that you give them, they can make it work- you might get carnations and baby's breath, but you've said flowers aren't a huge deal for you, so that seems to me to be your best bet. Research or ask the florist what local flowers are, and they'll be less expensive than something that has to be shipped from far. You can do it!

Thanks Tori! I just got discouraged because I asked what can they do gor $1000... and they're answer was "Impossible". Like they're not even working with me. The pics I sent were so simple, and the BM "bouquets" were of one flower and some greenery... not sure how/why so much. So I figured I'll just skip them. Bit maybe once I visit in January I can do some local research...

I should add that it is a small wedding, around 50 people, 5 tables, 5 BM, 1 bouquet and a few boutonnieres. Is this price even normal? I asked for an itemized price list (to see if I can at least get the bouquet, and they will only give me the "final cost". Am I oblivious, or is the $2500 to $3000 normal?

I recently was researching flowers and came to the same conclusion and was super frustrated. I could never justify that cost for something that does not last. I personally chose to go with silk real-touch flowers that truly look and feel real very close to the real thing. I got most of the flowers for 50% off at hobby lobby and used coupons for the rest at Michaels. I am in love with the flowers I picked and everything only cost me $65 to make the bouquet. I know some people are strongly opinionated about the use of faux flowers but in the end it's whatever works for you and will make you happy. With me, I had to also consider the fact that the FH and I are looking for a home. So the question I asked was would I like some fragrant flowers for the wedding or a bigger house for our family? I was quoted a minimum of $3000 for the fresh flower bouquets and there were other fees for ceremony flowers and centerpieces that could raise the price up to $7000... no thanks. I want the nicer house.

Wow! Yes, I completely agree @Jessica. The issue w silk flowers is getting them to my DW in good shape. Otherwise I would need to purchase them there and make the arrangements... which I don't think will be feasible. I'll need to put my thinking cap on tomorrow. Maybe reach out to someone in the family there that may be able to help me. (I also don't like asking for help) but maybe that's my only way out!

I paid $500 for 125 bulk white roses and a 17 piece wedding set from Sam's Club.

We are doing some flowers, but also using baskets of apples and gourds because we have a fall theme. Depending on what your wedding colors/theme are you could try to find something similar. Or course centerpieces have lots of non-floral options with candles, mirrors, etc. Try Pinterest for ideas!

I went to hobby lobby, picked out some flowers I liked and made my bouquet and my bridesmaids. For all 3 it took me 2 hours. We are also in a setting with a lot of nature and we are only doing those 3 bouquets. It was $50 for the flowers and $6 for ribbon and they are perfect for us. You might consider some diy options to save a lot.

Also, my flowers in small town MO are about 50-75 each for medium sized table centerpieces, 20-30 for bouts/corsages, I think bouquets for me and one BM is less than 150 for both. Can't remember exact prices but those ballpark numbers may be able to help you figure out when you adjust for your area or size of stuff. My florist is really reasonably priced even for a small town, so factor that in when figuring out how much to adjust up for your expectations.

My florist is doing my arch, bride bouquet, 3 BM bouquets, 8 bouts, and 4 corsages for $720 with tax and delivery. I'm purchasing flowers from the Los Angeles flower Mart for centerpieces and aisle decor. The flower Mart is charging $16 for 2 dozen roses plus $6 for each LARGE bunch of babies breath. All together between the two will be like $1200. Is think you could go the same route as me and come in under $1k if you did non floral centerpieces since it would be hard to know what farmers markets and such would have at a DW.

I had a similar reaction. I am crazy allergic to most flowers so paying $2-3k to feel stuffy on our big day seemed silly. We will be doing minimal flowers, lots of succulents, and lots of other decor like vintage books, doilies, lace, intricate China, and such. We were able to save a ton doing this!

Geez. I don't know if my florist is underpriced or what, but I'm getting a super lush bouquet, 7 BM bouquets, 8 boutonnieres, 2 corsages, FG petals, 14 centerpieces, arch decor, garland for the back of the ceremony seats, and a guest book table arrangement for barely over $2k. And her stuff is GORGEOUS. Maybe AZ is just cheaper than where most of you are.