When someone says ‘wedding reception flowers’, the mind instantly pictures extravagant tabletop arrangements, or cascading lilies on fireplace mantelpieces, and exquisite assortments of pastel petals. If you’re working with a more modest budget, however, these dreamy displays may seem unachievable.
In order to save money, it’s worth investigating much more simple, DIY, home-crafted options. Ever since I myself was a young girl, I’ve dreamed of huge vases of daffodils in every corner of my wedding reception venue. Still unsure of what kind of venue I’d like, what food I’d serve or even the man I’d marry (sigh), one thing was always certain – I want vases of daffodils, and hundreds of them. I was then shunned one day with a comment along the lines of; “don’t be silly, daffodils aren’t wedding flowers, and they don’t last long enough anyway”. This frustrated me greatly, so I’ve recently been doing research into making my daydream a reality, and have since been more convinced than ever that this will be the option for me.
You can hire elegant cut glass vases from online companies without breaking the bank at all. Have a look at the selection here on Wedding Day Hire, a UK based-company with great prices, who are able to deliver and specialise in hiring out wedding essentials as well as decorative touches. You can hire 6 vases for £6 in a range of different sizes, so you’ll get variety as well as convenience. Then, there are an enormous amount of shops and websites that can supply coloured glass beads for extra decoration to your floral arrangements that keep the flowers in place and, on a practical note, help to weigh down the vases.
When it comes to deciding which flowers to use, it’s best to go with seasonal flora, as whatever’s in bloom at that time will be much less expensive than flowers that have to be grown in a specialised environment. If you’re green-fingered, brave and have the space to do so, you can always try to grow extra flowers yourself – as I plan to do with my daffodils! It doesn’t take long to assemble the flowers, beads and glasses at your venue, and fresh, untreated flowers will almost certainly retain their glory for at least 3 days. You may have to dedicated a room or area of your home for letting the flowers all come into bloom properly before your big day – so you can simply box them up, get them to the venue, and set them up quickly and easily in the confidence that they’ll still look fabulous when your guests arrive. Don’t forget some plant food!
For an outdoor country wedding, wild flowers in jam jars or empty glass milk bottles can look absolutely charming. Lining a path with them or decorating a corner with a few jars and candles can bring fairytale feel to proceedings, and you can ask your friends and family to keep and collect all their jars in the months leading up to the date.
For Springtime, use daffodils (remember that white and other coloured blooms can be as easily grown as traditional yellow ones), or hyacinths that can be grown in customized flowerpots and give off a luscious sweet smell, or the equally fragrant and dainty Lily of the Valley – but beware – they’re poisonous when ingested so make sure they’re a safe distance from the food if you’re using them on the tables.
In Summer, roses, tulips and sunflowers are inexpensive and easily grown options, as well as being colourful and elegant.
For Autumn, Dahlias produce large blooms and come in a variety of colours. They also do very well in vases, and can be grown to extraordinary sizes if the right fertilisers are used.
In Winter, you can also use Hyacinths as long as you’ve has space to grow them indoors or in a greenhouse. There are also Poinsettias, which are a traditional festive plant for Christmas and have rich red foliage.
