Ready?

Step 1: Check your flower of choice for any bruised petals, thorns, or leaves. You have the option to strip away all the leaves if you prefer, or you can leave some on – this is up to your personal preference. To strip the leaves off, you can do so by cutting or pulling them by hand.

Step 2: Lay the flowers stem to stem and cut the ends with a sharp knife. You want to ensure that you evenly match the height of each flower and stem. For best results, use a ruler!

Step 3: It’s time to gather the flowers in your hands and stand them on your work area. Turn them to examine how they look as a group – now is the chance to make any changes. Make sure you check how the bouquet looks from all angles.

Step 4: Hold the bouquet in one hand and wrap a rubber band around the centre of the stems tightly to secure the entire grouping. There are two areas in which you can secure the bouquet, either in the middle of the stems or near the head of the flowers, right under the petal area (about 3 inches away from the bloom).  

Step 5: Lay the bouquet on the work station in order to wrap ribbon around the area you have secured. Make sure you tie the ribbon firmly in place.

Step 6: Lastly, tie a bow in place at the front of the bouquet. Viola! You’ve created your own bridal bouquet.

Things You’ll Need to Make a Hand-Tied Bridal Bouquet:

• Fresh flowers with sturdy stems
• Sharp non-serrated knife
• Rubber band or pony tail holder
• Ribbon, lace, netting, or jeweled string

Tips & Warnings:

• Fresh flowers need to be kept in a cool place until the ceremony and photo sessions to ensure they do not begin to wilt.
• Be sure that the stems are securely tightened, if it’s not the bouquet can fall apart or the ribbon could slip off.

Reception
1. Cut the guest list. By cutting your guest list you can slash your catering costs drastically, as well as save on invitations and even the number of centerpieces since you won’t need as many tables.

2. If you have your wedding in the off-season (generally the winter) then you have the potential to save thousands of dollars.  Rental facilities usually charge more in the on-season since people are competing for venue space.  

3. Hold your reception and ceremony in the same location. This will cut travel time for any vendors you may have who are to be paid by the hour.

4. Host your wedding on a day besides Saturday. Saturday’s are usually the most expensive day to rent a wedding facility.  

5. Have bigger tables so you need few tablecloths and centerpieces – plus your guests will get to socialize with more people this way at dinner.

6. Think ahead! Shop in the off season for extra décor you may need. You can get black vases on sale after Halloween and pink ones after Valentine’s Day.

Flowers
7. Shop wholesale (obviously)!

8. Swap out costly flowers. Did you know that peonies can be five times more expensive than roses?

9. Stick to just one or two kind of flowers.

10. Use more greenery – it can add an element of class to your arrangements.

11. Include non-floral items too, like candles.

Food and Drink
12. Serve entrée duets.

13. Skip the main course – serve appetizers and drinks instead. Try something different; people like finger foods! Plus it gives people a great way to mix and mingle while munching on their tasty treats.

14. Offer beer, wine, and a signature cocktail instead of an entire free bar.

15. Serve comfort foods like barbecue chicken, macaroni and cheese, and corn. It’s something different to make your wedding unique, but it’s also fun and cheaper.

16. Skip the champagne toast.

Cake
17.  Instead of ordering a big expensive cake, order a one-or-two tiered one. Simply supplement the cake with a large sheet cake that can be kept hidden in the kitchen and served to guests.

18. Keep the add-ons simple.

19. Use fresh flowers on your cake, not sugar ones.

20. Reuse the ceremony flowers for the cake table.

21. Skip exotic fillings in your cake like guava and mango.

Stationary and Favours
22. Get single-page invites to save on postage.

23. Instead of giving a favour out to each individual guest, give them out to couples instead.

24. Or, even make your cake the favour.

25. Have your favours double as escort cards.

26. Email your save-the-date card instead of mailing it (this helps the environment too!).

27. Make your own menu cards, escort cards, and wedding favour packaging.

Photo, Video and Music
28. If there is a photographer you love, but you cannot afford see if they have an associate shooter who will photograph your wedding for less.

29. Opt for a smaller band.

30. Hire a band or DJ who can play both the ceremony and the reception.

Sure, there are probably things you don’t want to skip when it comes to your wedding day – but hopefully some of these suggestions can sprout ideas in your brain for how you might want to modify your big day and, in turn, satisfy your budget.

Source:  The Knot

Daisies are the second most popular flower for bridal bouquets after roses (of course), and they are the fifth most popular flower in the world, following closely behind roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, and tulips. They symbolize purity and innocence, plus denote classic beauty. Gerberas are available in a wide variety of colours, all of which are equally stunning. And if you buy wholesale gerberas you are going to find them to be very affordable (usually about $0.60/stem). They definitely are within most people’s budget, which is always a perk when trying to plan a wedding (their beauty makes them look rich and lively, but their price tag screams bargain!).

If you are going to use gerberas in a bouquet, or even in your centerpieces, you will find a vibrant array of colours available, such as bright pinks, oranges, purples, yellows, and they are available in classic white too. White gerberas are the ones that a bride can choose to either play up by itself, or include it with a mix of daisy shades (see right). Remember it is your day, so select colours that reflect your personal tastes and character. Try paler shades of pink or yellow for a cool classic look, or bolder colours like orange to make an exciting statement. Gerberas are so popular for weddings because of their versatility in colour variety. Their various colours suit almost any colour theme, and their bold vibrancy adds further cheer to your already very happy occasion.

As well, daisies are able to look wonderful in both bridal bouquets and table centerpieces. They are able to be grouped together or stand out alone to make a bold statement.

If you are buying wholesale flowers for your wedding to create your own bouquets and arrangements, gerberas are a great decision since they are very easy to handle, even for amateur florists. Gerberas do not wilt as easily either as other flowers that are more delicate may.  If you keep your bouquet and arrangement designs simple, and make sure to follow the suggestions on how to keep your flowers fresh, then selecting gerberas for your wedding flower is a brilliant decision. Your guests will be stunned at the beauty they can provide. Their bright, cheery nature is sure to add an extra sparkle to your already radiant day.

Gerberas are also ideal for brides who are looking for meaning with the flowers they select, since gerberas represent innocence, purity, and joy; three very positive attributes to possess at a wedding celebration. Gerberas are available year-round and they do not break the bank (especially if they are purchased wholesale).

Bring joy to one of the best days of your life by selecting gerberas as your wedding flower.

A wholesale retailer is someone who excludes retail markup and sells in large bulk numbers or quantities. If you have made it to this article, you probably know what Bunches Direct is, but for those that do not: Bunches Direct is an American wholesale flower specialist; a sister company to Bloomex, an online floral retailer. Bunches Direct was launched in September 2009 with a warehouse in Miami, Florida, after management at Bloomex noticed the popularity of their Canadian division, Flowers Wholesale. Bunches Direct specializes in wholesale flowers to save you money on your wedding, party, business event, or other special occasion. We offer the lowest prices on grower direct wholesale flowers, with exceptional quality and affordable pricing. As a result, we are a leader among wholesale flower retailers, since most wholesale sellers will not sell directly to the customer, but rather only to florists.

So, you are asking, why should I buy wholesale rather than go to a florist? Let me explain.

When you purchase from a wholesale floral company you will save money; hundreds or even thousands of dollars. With all this saved money you will be able to spend more on other areas of your wedding or save it for other expenses that will arise with married life. Plus, everyone is looking to squeeze each penny given the economic situation, so buying wholesale seems like a logical choice. If you purchase from a florist you will be faced with many extra fees – fees that can be waived through wholesale.

As well, when you buy wholesale you will get fresher flowers since you won’t be waiting for a middleman to ship your flowers. When you buy from a florist there is a long series of events. They have to contact a wholesaler, order the flowers, wait for them to be shipped (this can end up taking an extended period of time if the florist has to order from multiple wholesalers), receive the shipment, and then create your orders, before you can pick them up. Does this seem like a tedious timeline? Well, when you purchase directly from Bunches Direct, a wholesaler, we work directly with growers to ensure that you get the best and freshest quality flowers quickly.

Plus when you order from a wholesaler you get to select the exact flowers you want for your arrangements. Want white calla lilies, red and pink roses, orchids, and yellow tulips? No problem, a wholesaler will have access to all of those flowers without any delay for you, nor will you have to sacrifice any of the flowers you want for your special day.

And tying into the selection of flowers you can choose from, you also have complete control over what your arrangement looks like. You get to let your inner florist/artist shine through.

Therefore, there are many benefits to purchasing bulk wedding flowers:

• You have the potential to save lots of money to go towards other expenses associated with your wedding.
• You will receive fresher flowers since you will not be waiting on a middleman.
• You are able to select the exact flowers you want in your arrangement without fear that the wholesaler will be unable to get them for you.
• You have complete control over what your arrangements and bouquets look like.
• You get to let your inner florist/artist shine through.

So, it seems that buying wholesale is the new wave of floral retail, and it definitely has many perks for you, the consumer. If you are interested in purchasing wholesale make sure to look at the Bunches Direct website to view the large variety of flowers available, or call for a free consultation and quote at 1-866-690-8425.