Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step1
Grow your own. Most engagements take place over 6 to 18 months. Depending on the weather of where you live, you may be able to plant your very own flowers in your outdoor or indoor garden. While you probably won't be able to plant every flower you wish to have at your wedding, consider planting expensive flowers like roses. Rose bushes don't take an immense amount of space and can produce fantastic flowers under the right conditions. Five bushes might be enough to bear 100 stems for the big day!
Step2
Shop wholesale. Major cities such as New York and Los Angeles have ports which receive flowers from all over the world. They then sell flowers to major grocery stores and other florists in bulk who then ultimately sell to you. Take the time to go to the flower district in your local city. Meet with the wholesalers and explain what you're looking for. If you're looking to spend above $1500, chances are you can save some serious coin by cutting out the middle man!
Step3
Attend flower shows. New York has amazing flower show which takes place every year. Other major cities do a well. Make a day of it with your family and fiancee and go check out the local shows. There you'll be able to meet vendors who are looking to do business. By attending the floral show you will be in a better bargaining position to save money on fresh flowers because the vendors need to compete with each other to do business. It's much better than just walking in a floral shop!
Step4
Use filler. Baby's breath, ferns and other greens are a great way to help the other flowers in your arrangement. By "filling in" your flowers you'll need less of the expensive flowers in each arrangement. Also using filler usually helps accentuate the more predominant flowers rather than having an arrangement that's crammed.
Step5
Go to the web. These days you can buy flowers direct which will ship right to your door. The disadvantage is you can't see them in person. But as fair as convenience, you can't beat it!
