DIY Inspiration

The one thing I knew about our wedding on day one, no debate required, was that all of the flowers would be white. While I love bright vibrant bouquets and centerpieces as much as the next girl, my favorite flower is and always has been the white rose, contended closely by the white peony. I find something remarkably beautiful about the quiet elegance of all-white floral arrangements and never even considered anything but signature white blooms for our celebration.

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via The Knot

The one thing I have debated regarding flowers is whether or not to go the DIY route to save a bundle of cash or to hire a florist. From the beginning I basically always intended to do the flowers myself, but then I started to get worried that my type A personality might end up too stressed out by this come to the wedding week. This led me to do a lot of research whereby I’ve found a lot of great online resources that have once again calmed my nerves and convinced me that DIY is the way to go.

Along the way, I also stumbled upon these gorgeous photos from a wedding where the bride, her mother and her mother’s crafty friends did just about everything themselves, including the amazing bouquets and centerpieces.

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April Smith Photography

Do I spy a simple all white rose bouquet wrapped in beautiful champagne ribbon? Yes, yes I do. And what’s better? It’s absolutely perfect for my vision and hopefully simple enough for me to pull off on my own. By my estimation, ordering flowers bulk online and doing them myself will save us at least $1000. That is no small amount of change! My plan at this stage in the game is to go with white rose bouquets for me and all of my lovely bridesmaids, wrapped in champagne satin ribbon for me and a shade of blue for them. I love the fluffy look of hydrangeas and plan to make very simple centerpieces for our Saturday reception using just a few hydrangeas for each as the large size allows a little to go a long way.

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Punam Bean Photography from Nole’s wedding

For our Friday cocktail party I have a growing collection of milkglass that I intend to put to good use. I’m going to plunk a few rose blooms in each and fill the room with votive candles and keep it simple and pretty. I’m not into a lot of fuss, but I do love pretty flowers and the amazing smell of roses so I am confident this is a good solution. I am going to do some trials in the coming months to ensure I’m not in over and my head and in the meantime continuing searching for more online tutorials and instructions. Here are a few I’ve already found useful that you might find helpful if you’re considering the DIY route, too…

– Step-by-step instructions for making boutonnieres
– A video tutorial for making a rose bouquet
Top Design’s Eddie Ross’s centerpiece tutorials
Centerpiece tips from Apartment Therapy
– A how-to for creating simple orchid garlands

Is anyone else planning to go the DIY route? Let me know if you have any other tips or resources to share!