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“Wedding Savings Advice & Tips On How To Plan A Frugal Low-
FLOWERS & DECORATIONS
Depending on your tastes, and the location of your wedding and reception, flowers
and decorations may be either a moderate expense or a major expense. Some locations
are so beautiful that only a few flowers and decorations are needed. Try keeping
your flower arrangements and decor simple. When deciding on flowers, keep in mind
they are a one-
1. Wedding and reception flowers.
a. Limit the number of people in the wedding party that have flowers. If you only have flowers for the bride, the groom and a few other key people in the wedding party, such as the maid/matron of honor and best man, the cost of wedding flowers will be minimized.
b. Don’t purchase a duplicate bouquet for the bride to toss, if you are not planning on preserving your bouquet for display at home. Toss the original. Or consider picking just one flower from your bouquet to toss.
c. Consider carrying a small bouquet or single flower wrapped with ribbon or tulle. Sometimes smaller is more attractive and elegant.
d. Consider using silk flowers (you can even rent them) for both the wedding and reception. They can be less expensive than many real flowers, can be kept indefinitely, and can serve for years as home decorations. As an added plus, you can acquire silk flowers well in advance of the ceremony, so there is one less thing to worry about on your wedding day. Even the wedding party can carry silk flowers, including the bride. Or perhaps the bride can have a fresh bouquet with everyone else going silk.
e. Ask your florist what flowers are in season and most economical. And consider
using non-
f. Utilize the same floral arrangements at the wedding and reception. If there
are enough ceremony flowers, and they are the right size, they can be used as centerpieces
at the reception. Or they could be used to decorate other tables such as guest book,
seating-
g. Consider using relatively modest table arrangements as decorations such as floating a few flowers or flower petals in glass bowls. These type of floral decorations are easy and do not require a florist.
h. See if any of your friends have a knack with flowers. Perhaps they could create the bouquets, wedding flowers and arrangements for the reception. Most friends love to help out and be a part of the wedding.
i. Consider buying your flowers from grocery stores or discount clubs such as Costco. This can save a significant amount. Silk flowers can be purchased at stores like Michaels.
j. After the wedding and reception, don’t forget to consider donating your flowers to a hospital or nursing home where they can continue to be enjoyed. This act of kindness may also qualify as a tax deduction.
a. Flowers are not the only way to decorate for a wedding and reception. Consider other decorations such as candles, lace, ribbons, white Christmas tree lights and other less expensive decorations.
b. For weddings held near certain holidays, your church or other wedding venue may already be decorated for the holiday and not require further wedding decorations.
c. A simple candlelit ceremony can be quite dramatic and elegant, while needing only minimal decorations.
d. Decorate the head table by buying inexpensive vases to put the wedding party bouquets in, with votives in between.
e. Bowls filled with seasonal fruits can be used instead of floral arrangements, as can single candles in hurricane lanterns. Use your imagination.
f. If you are providing guest favors, consider placing them in the middle of the table on a raised cake plate as the table decoration.
g. Personalized decorations not only cost less but add a personal touch to the wedding. One choice would be to use photographs as a major part of decorations for the reception.
h. If another couple is getting married on the same day, contact them to see if sharing decorations at either the wedding venue or reception venue is possible, resulting in significant savings.