There are plenty of things you can DIY. Just take a look around Pinterest and you'll find tutorials on how to do just about any project all on your own from home decor to DIYing your own furniture, there's no shortage of DIY tutorials. With so much information at your fingertips its no wonder it may seem like a great idea to DIY your wedding flowers. I mean afterall, you can save money and it can't be that hard. Right?
I wish I could say that DIY your wedding flowers can be a breeze, but from experience we've seen enough frustrated and disappointed clients coming to us days before their wedding asking for us to take over. Sometimes what looks simple is actually not so simple to do.
There are a number of reasons why we don't recommend anyone DIY their own wedding flowers unless they happen to be a florist. Below are a few points to consider before you embark on that Pinterest search for DIY wedding flowers.
1. Flower arranging is time consuming.
Take it from any florist, the week of a wedding is full of hours devoted to prepping, arranging, and perfecting. What many don't see are the behind the scenes work from meeting with vendors to pick up the flowers, cutting and cleaning the stems, specially hydrating certain flowers, etc... The list of what goes on even to simply prepare arrangements is a long one. The last thing you want to do is find yourself stressed with a lengthy to do list before your wedding.
Your wedding is a time to celebrate a momentous occasion in your life. Why not leave the long hours for your flowers to us?
2. It's harder than it looks.
Even the most simplest looking arrangement requires knowledge not just of the flowers themselves, but on overall design and composition. When we create we are periodically taking a step back to assess the overall look to make sure its going in the right direction. This is because floral design is very much an art and like all great art, it relies on experience and years of dedication. This is a lot to ask yourself days before your wedding.
3. You need ample prep time.
As mentioned earlier, prepping and arranging takes many hours of work and thats even when you have the knowledge. As florists, we have extensive training and schooling on floral design which in itself is art. Imagine never having painted in your whole life and suddenly having to paint something that everyone at your wedding will see?
Prep time aside, the actual arranging usually happens the day or maybe two days before depending on the types of flowers being used and the items to be created. Those precious hours before your wedding day shouldn't be spent Googling DIY tutorials.
4. Where will you store everything?
Okay, lets say you need six centerpieces, three bridesmaid bouquets, a bridal bouquet, four boutonnieres, three corsages, flowers for the welcome sign....lets just say you need a lot done! In an ideal situation where you happen to DIY eveyrthing there is one more thing to consider. Where will you store everything before the wedding?
In our shop we have one standard cooler and one walk-in. The walk-in is where we store everything from large ceremony arrangements to bridesmaid bouquets. Everytime a special event arrangement is finished it goes directly into the walk-in cooler to prevent them from maturing too quickly especially in the hotter months. Without a cooler to store your flowers you run the risk of them maturing too fast.
5. It can be surprisingly costly
You may consider DIY your flowers simply to reduce costs and with the costs of planning a wedding we don't blame you. However, there are many variables to consider from the price of containers and materials such as floral shears and tape, and where to start with the cost of flowers?
Ever since the pandemic everything has gone up in cost and flowers are no exception. We purchases bunches of specific flowers and sometimes individual (and costly) stems of certain flowers just for weddings. If you ever catch us on an early Wednesday morning, you will our SUV packed to the ceiling with flowers.
6. How will you source the flowers you want?
You may have trouble finding the exact flower and color you want. Florists have established working relationships with vendors ensuring that we can call them up and find almost any bloom. These relationships have helped us immensly in the past especially when it came to sourcing rare types of flowers that otherwise the normal person will be hard pressed to find.
7. Do you have a good workspace?
While you may think clearing off your kitchen counter will be enough space, I invite you to check out our Instagram highlights where we've saved some of our stories featuring wedding prep. You'll see our work room completely packed with buckets of flowers and our work table covered in a variety of flowers. Having the space to properly keep your flowers, buckets, containers, materials, etc while you work is essential.
What you can DIY and how!
In our next blog we will go over what you can DIY and how to do each one. Stay tuned!
And of course if you're in need of professional wedding florals in the Los Angeles area, our team of event florists has 25 years of experience. Take a look at our wedding florist page and portfolio.
