Wedding Wednesday: Playing Florist

Hi y'all and welcome to Wedding Wednesday! I can't believe we're only 38 days away from our big day! I honestly feel like it was yesterday that we were a year out. Anyway today I'm going to share with you probably the craziest thing I'm doing for the wedding...the task of doing my own flowers. I will start with saying playing florist is not for everyone, especially if flowers are a very important aspect for you. I am not a professional nor will I claim to be but I love to offer help with what I've learned along the way. Luckily I had plenty of time to do research, play around, and even get an impromptu lesson from a local florist! Here are the questions I asked myself (and recommend any considering DIY wedding flowers ask themself) before making the big decision to do my own flowers...

The bouquet I made my friend Stacy for her wedding this past April

I made a charm with a photo of her father, who passed away, so he could still walk her down the aisle

Am I going to be able to handle doing them myself time wise?
I had to sit down and think if this was going to cause more stress to my week or be a creative outlet for me to use. For me arranging flowers is calming and helps me relax so anything to keep my mood up the week of the wedding is welcomed.

Yes, I did put on a navy dress to see how the flowers looked up against it! LOL

Do I have others willingly to learn and help?
Depending on how many arrangements that are needing to be made you might need some help. Do you have at least one other person who you know will be able to help with floral tasks? My mom is hands down the most crafty artistic person I know so she of course was happy to help with this. I'm teach her how to make the boutonnieres and she's going to help with putting those together while I make the bouquets.

My first attempt at a boutonniere, I've gotten better lol 

Can I take the time necessary to research and learn about the types of flowers I'm using? 
We decided to have what some may call a longer engagement so I had plenty of time to prepare and learn about the flowers I'm using. I started my research on Pinterest and found some great tutorial sites with videos that are super easy to follow. My best resource turned out to be a trip into a local florist when I went to buy supplies from a bouquet practice session. I told her that we were getting married up in Cleveland and that I was doing my own flowers. She jumped at the chance to teach me some helpful tips and facts that really made all the difference. For example, hydrangeas LOVE cold water and absorb more water when they're cut underwater. She recommended throwing some ice cubes in the buckets when they're re-hydrating from delivery. Maybe it was just Southern hospitality or maybe it was a simple act of kindness, regardless I'm so thankful for her help!

Brian is such a trooper for posing with these :)

Are my bouquet/centerpiece designs simple enough for me to pull off?
Of course I adored some of the extravagant arrangements I saw online but I'm no Rockefeller and decided to use the majority of our budget on what we (and everyone) truly appreciates...FOOD and DRINKS! Some arrangements may look complicated but once you break the elements down they can turn out to be very simple. The rustic, wildflower trend is so big now so when I find that friends are using that theme I'm highly recommend DIYing the florals. I'm a total sucker for wildflowers and if they fit in with my venue I would have had them in a heartbeat. I mean look at my sweet friend Maddie's flowers...how gorg?! These were picked from her mother-in-law's own garden, makes them even more special and beautiful!

Maddie, my adorable roommate from my first Disney internship :)

My inspirations via my Pinterest page

I've decided to stick with my main flowers being hydrangeas, spray roses, roses, and baby's breathe. I'm adding seeded eucalyptus and queen anne's lace here and there but those are just fun fillers. Brian wanted the boutonnieres to be made with spray roses and I had to agree with him because they look darling with bowties. I don't want to give away our centerpieces just yet because some of my loyal readers are coming to our wedding and I want to leave some surprises! After the wedding I plan on posting some tutorials on how I made my floral arrangements.

Today I'm linking up with Macy & Nikki for Wedding Wednesday and Jenn & Jessi for What's Hap-Pinning?! Did you do your own wedding flowers? Have any tips? I'd love to hear your thoughts!