TikTok has been showing a lot of couples DIYing their wedding flowers and making it look really easy, but there are many logistics that couples may not be thinking about. As experienced pros, we want to share why DIY wedding flowers aren’t worth it.
It can be appealing up front to save money (we get it, weddings are expensive!), but you still have to pay for labor in the end because someone will have to set up and take down your decor. Either that or your friends/family will have to work on your wedding day, which is a big ask! And the transportation alone will be tricky. Florists have large vans/trucks to be able to transport florals to and from the venue in one trip.
Consider when you will have time to actually put together the floral arrangements. The few days leading up to the wedding are usually packed full of last minute errands, your rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, mani and pedi appointments, etc. The last thing you want is to be stressed about finishing them on the wedding day! You will also need to be able to keep the flowers fresh and temperature controlled (that’s why florists have large coolers).
Think about the logistics on the wedding day. When do you have access to setup at your venue? Usually setup is happening while you are getting ready and taking pictures.
We always recommend hiring a full service florist. Some of the benefits are:
They are knowledgeable about which flowers are in season and which ones will pair perfectly to create the look you are going for. They also know which ones will hold up best in the heat for an outdoor summer wedding, for example.
If there are any last minute issues, they will be the ones to handle it and they have the experience and tools and know what to do.
They have the storage space (huge walk-in coolers) to keep the flowers at the right temperature leading up to the wedding.
They have large enough vehicles to transport everything to and from your venue in one trip.
They will come back and collect everything at the end of the reception so you and your family don’t have to worry about it.
They have all of the supplies such as vases and candle holders, so you don’t have to purchase and store them and then figure out what to do with them afterwards.
We also got the inside scoop from an expert Milwaukee florist, Drew Hawley, Lead Floral Designer at Flowers For Dreams:
The first word that comes to mind is quality. A professional in the industry is not just offering a beautiful, social media worthy product. They are creating a design through experience, education and understanding of the product. They are giving you quality! The second word that comes to mind is time. Timing is everything for flowers. From when to purchase to when to create, timing will make the biggest difference. So spend some "quality time" with your local wedding florist and rest assured this area of your wedding is going to be gorgeous!
When you DIY your own floral you may be saving costs but spending more on time and energy. You are watching countless videos to figure out how to design, creating additional timelines for design, finding the time to design, and asking a lot of questions. The number one forgotten question to ask yourself is where are you going to put them to ensure they stay looking good until the big day? Flowers are finicky when it comes to temperatures and need specific care up until the wedding day. It can be an overwhelming thought process while juggling the other aspects of planning a wedding. A wedding florist does all this thinking for you!
Something to think about when creating designs is what happens if your flowers are not in good shape? Flowers generally don't like to be handled and are fragile. When you selected them at the store they appeared to be beautiful blooms but after opening the packaging you come to discover that some are broken, others are bruised and possibly started to rot! Most likely you are going to trash them and go out to buy more. They're still gorgeous blooms but need some TLC. We have tricks to make even the least desirable blooms stunning!
Faux floral faux pas that I would like to clear up is that they are believed to be more cost effective. These blooms are man made products that cost three times more than fresh floral. They're an everlasting bloom so retailers can charge more. Thus, faux floral is not going to bring the cost of your floral budget down but increase it exponentially. With that being said, I recommend blending fresh that dries well with faux blooms to keep cost in perspective but also obtain a bouquet that will live on.
