One of the areas of wedding flowers that people often struggle with is planning their table flowers so I've put together a few tips to help you plan the most beautiful wild wedding flowers to fit your budget. If you're using the web to search for inspiration read my last blog post to avoid the most common Pinterest pitfalls when planning your wedding flowers.
Cost
Table flowers are an area where your wedding flower budget quickly racks up. What might seem a managable spend for one table becomes significant when multiplied by 10 or 12 tables. Consider alternating table decorations to make your budget stretch. Half your tables could have candles or smaller designs and half could have more impressive or taller designs. It is much better to cut down on the number of designs than to "dilute" the designs by taking more and more elements out or the arrangements will look half done or unfinished. This said, if your budget is forcing you to prioritise think about which elements of your wedding will appear in your photos- most likely the top table. That is where you can focus your spend as people might be less likely to notice if the table centres on other tables are not full of luxury blooms like garden roses, hydrangea and peonies.
Photo by Neil Thomas Douglas
Shape
When planning your table centres think about the shape of table. Something that will work on a round table may not be as effective on long trestle tables or banquet tables. For this sort of shape consider using a foliage runner with floral designs dotted throughout.
Table real estate
Tables quickly get cluttered once favours, cutlery, water, wine bottles and glasses are added into the mix. If you are having sharing platters too this will all use up space so think about what kind or room you will have left for flowers when you are planning.
Height
Lots of people are scared of going tall as they worry about blocking the view of people sitting opposite each other. However in spaces like marquees or vaulted rooms this is a great way of bringing colour up in the space without having to use hanging installations. Consider using thin glass conical vases which are see through or metal stands and the main floral displays will be above the diners' heads once they are seated.
Jam Jars
People often assume jam jars are an economical option for table centres but there's a lot more to them than you might think. Not all jam jars are created equal and for florists it's difficult to price up jars without seeing the size first. Think about the height and diameter of the jar, this will dictate how many stems are needed to fill it – something like a beer bottle has a narrower neck so fewer flowers are needed. You will also most likely need three or so at least in a group to make an impact otherwise they will look a little lost in the middle of a ten person table. People often assume it will be easy to collect jam jars but if you have 15 tables with three jars a table that translates to a lot of Dolmio and coffee! Remember it takes time to clean the jars and remove the labels which should be done well before the wedding. An easier option is to buy jars from previous brides on ebay who have done all the hard work!
Photo by The Curries
Candles
Candles are a great way to create soft lighting but make sure your venue allows them first. Also decide in advance who will be responsible for lighting them and when. If you are buying candles in bulk check that they have a long burn time, you don't want them to be used up before you've started your meal!
Vases
One way to save money is to provide your own vases, if you rent vases from your florist they will need to charge to pick them up after the wedding and will charge for any breakages/losses. Similarly if they include a vase as part of the design price they will need to add a mark up to the cost price of the vase – that's just good business. If you own your own vases you can give them away to guests and family members or elderly relatives that can't attend your wedding. If you do go down the route of providing your vases think about how you will store and transport them. Glass vases will need to be wrapped to avoid breakages when you deliver them to your florist.
Foliage
There is often a belief that foliage is free. It is illeagal to forage for flowers or foliage for commercial purposes so foliage must be bought in or grown by the florist themselves (or taken with the permission of the land owner). Foliage may be more economical than flowers but it still takes time to cut and condition in the days leading up to the wedding, will need to be transported to your venue and will need the florist's time and expertise to lay out once there.
Take a look at some of the wild wedding flowers I have created for previous couples in my gallery and get some inspiration, or if you'd like to get a quote please to get in touch via the contact form.