Growing your own wedding flowers?!

Alibear

So this may be a bit or a hair-brained idea (I have several!) but do you think it would be possible to grow your own flowers for your wedding and get an arty friend/relative to arrange them? My mum loves flower decorating/arranging and I'm thinking of bunches of lillies for my BMs. I'm getting married in December so want winter flowers, but the wedding isn't till 2012 so I have lots of time to practice! I'll obv leave some money in the budget for buying flowers if it doesn't come off.

Has anyone else done this, or do you all think I'm mad!

Fawny_2

Hi

My friend did this for her wedding the other year, she is very green fingered & she had loads in the end. Her mum then arranged them for her & the BM. I know she was worried though in case they diid not grow or died too quick.

LEJC

If you want to grow your own flowers theres not much of a reasonable outdoor choice for December....I have lillies in the garden and they dont flower beyond july usually...
If you ar'nt a very experienced gardener and also given the time of year then I think whilst its a nice idea its a very ambitious one.

You could think about growing something that could be used as table decorations or something along those lines. Possibly that would be a little easier than growing all the flowers

If your mum is good at flower arranging however thats a different thing altogether and she can probably save you a fortune in florist costs....but I would buy the flowers rather than grow them!

Alibear

That's what I was thinking, I know florists increase costs several-fold as soon as the word 'wedding' is uttered! Plus I think a lot of flowers are frozen (esp around Valentines etc) and therefore don't last very long...

I know it's ambitious, but I've been reading tips online and it seems you can grow many flowers in pot plants pretty much anytime? I might buy some bulbs/pots at the weekend and see how I get on - could be an absolute disaster but at least I'd know in good time!

picklepick

haha I think you're mad lol
I'd work out how many flowers you think you're going to need. Work out how many flowers come from one bulb. See how many bulbs you'll need minimum and then double it! Allowing for half to not flower, die or get a disease. Then see if it would be cheaper to buy fresh flowers and get a friend to arrange them.

picklepick

Also meant to say, if you're having a winter wedding, there are winter flowing lillies. Buyingsummer flowering bulbs now and trying them out wont be the same as growing them in autumn. Make sure you get winter flowering varieties to try out in this autumn

LEJC

It does sound a lovely idea..and i'm not knocking it but what you think you can achieve now with 18 months to your wedding will possibly become a lot less ambitious as the wedding approaches...ask any of the brides who are getting married in the next few months if growing their flowers is a consideration and you'll probably find it would be a hassle they are glad to do without!

noxon

I got married on 2nd January just gone and used some home grown flowers. For December in the UK you kind of need to rely on bulbs for flowers, even indoors. If you plan ahead there are lots of bulbs you can force but you will need to start at the back end of summer. Also maybe you could use some Phalaenopsis orchids, mine flower all year round.

I kept it very simple by sticking to white flowers only with some foliage. I made the bouquets and buttonholes myself and a friend made two planted arrangements in large bowls for the registration table. I love growing stuff and have the space (and a tolerant other half) so was able to have loads and loads of pots on the go to make sure I had some flowers in peak condition on the right day- it would have been trickier if I hadn't been able to do that. I also made it hard for myself by only booking the wedding 16 weeks before it happened, whereas you've got longer to plan what you're going to do.

My bouquet:
Hand-tied white amaryllis, homegrown.

MoH posy:
Paperwhite narcissi, homegrown.
White eustoma, bought.
Eucalyptus leaves, bought.

Arranged Bowls:
White hyacinths, bought at the last-minute as none of the homegrown ones were quite ready in time!I had a LOT of hyacinths in my house and at work in Jan and Feb.
!!!!!willowtwigs.Moss.
Adiantum.

Buttonholes
White eustoma, bought.
Ivy leaves from the garden.

becca0417

We are tempted to do the same!

White_Sapphire

I've been thinking about doing this as well - I have an allotment which I could devote part of to flower-growing, plus very green-fingered relatives who live fairly close by, so maybe between all of us we might manage it!!

I completely take the point a few people have made about it possibly not costing much less than just buying flowers and getting a friend/relative to arrange them, and the amount of potential hassle. I think that if you try it this year first and then have a contingency budget (and know where to buy flowers at short notice, which ones you will want, etc) if it looks like not working out you might be able to minimise the risk.

I haven't decided if I will attempt it yet - I might grow the flowers I want to use this year, and see how easy that part is first!

maggie111

This is done a fair amount in the USA, so have a look on wedding websites over there such as Martha Stewart for advice. I know the climate's different but it will have some useful basics I reckon.