Weddingbee boards

Have you looked at the online bulk ordering places like bridesign.com or http://www.fiftyflowers.com/?

I ordered flowers from Sam's Club  - quality was excellent. The choices at Sam's are a bit limited, but they definitely have the best prices. For the flowers that Sam's didn't offer, I went to FiftyFlowers.com - a bit more expensive, but also great quality. (They also offer smaller bundles in case you don't want 70-100 blooms of a particular flower, which is Sam's typical minimum quantity.)

On both sites, be sure to read the details  for each type of flower. They give you very specific advice on when to have them delivered (usually 2-3 days in advance) and how to prepare them so they reach their peak on wedding day. I had everything delivered Wednesday morning for a Friday afternoon wedding and it was perfect.

I had a NEGATIVE experience ordering from Sam's. I placed my order several weeks before the wedding and requested they be delivered on 4/28 for my 4/30 wedding.  I ordered three different flowers: a large ammount of baby's breath (this was going to be my main flower), a bunch of hydrangea, which I was going to use for my bouquet, and a box of various fillers.

The baby's breath was delivered before 9am on the 28th and they were perfect.  I stayed home ALL day waiting for the rest to be delivered. I had tons to do, but couldn't leave the house until my fiance came home to take over my post at 4 that afternoon.  They never came.  The filler flowers were delivered on 4/29, when I was at my mom's preparing all the food for the next day. The hydrangea NEVER came.  When I called CS on 4/3, they were really helpful, refunded the cost of the hydrangea and fillers (as I really intended to use them with the hydrangea, therefore they were useless to me without them.) They were really easy to work with in terms of refunds. I was a zen bride and didn't let it ruin anything...I had a bouqet of baby's breath, which is a look I love, so it was fine...BUT, if you're not as laid back as I am, or tend to stress when things don't go according to plan, I'd reccommendrequesting deliver more than a few days ahead of time to assure you receive them.  THe flowers I DID receive I have kept really well.  THe filler flowers have been sitting in the box in which they were delivered on my front porch for the past week and they still look pretty good, though they are more hearty than if you were ordering roses or something similar.

I don't like giving bad reviews, but figured I needed to get that reality out there for future brides.

@missrobots: Yep, good to point out that it's always a risk! Being a zen bride definitely helps in general. LOL I also had a small issue with delivery (my fault because my credit card # changed between the time I ordered and the time they shipped the flowers), and customer service was extremely helpful and took care of the issue very efficiently. They really seemed to understand that they were dealing with a bride under stress, and wanted to help. :)

For those who plan to order bulk, be sure to allow enough time so if delivery fails, you can fix the problem. For a Saturday wedding, maybe plan delivery no later than Tuesday or Wednesday. If anything does go wrong, you should still get them by Thursday.

I found these photos from the day the flowers arrived, by the way - right out of the box, and then a few hours later after then had plumped up in the fresh water... they looked even better the next day, and they lasted at least a full week after the wedding. Virtually every bloom was usable, I only had two or three broken heads.

@MissSugarCookie: No problem, happy to help. Yes, they are Gerbera daisies, from Sam's, along with green spider mums, white cremon (similar to a football mum) and bells of Ireland. I ordered them maybe 2-3 months in advance and arranged for delivery on Wednesday morning for a Friday night ceremony. (Could easily have made it Tuesday or even Monday - all of these blooms looked even better Saturday/Sunday than they did on Friday and lasted at least a solid week after that.)

The first photo is just an accent arrangement that was on the buffet (we had candle centerpieces). And yes, we used all of these in the bouquets. Here's a picture of mine:

@MissSugarCookie: I found the gerberas and mums to be pretty hearty as long as you keep them in water and out of extreme heat/direct sunlight. They don't wilt easily, and they are easily revived with fresh water.

We checked into the hotel/wedding venue the day before, transported the flowers in buckets of water, and made the arrangements & bouquets the night before. It was manageable for a few reasons:

1 - We didn't have a formal rehearsal/rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. Instead, we had an "open house" in my sister's room (it was the biggest, with a full kitchen and big patio), where we had staged the flowers and other DIY stuff. As guests arrived that afternoon/evening, they were invited to come by to say hi/hang out (via a welcome note in their rooms). We put out a spread of sandwiches, salads, pizza, etc. from a local restaurant and everyone helped themselves as they arrived. Many of my friends/family members then pitched in with the flowers and other tasks. It was one of my favorites parts of the weekend, because it was so relaxed and everyone was excited to see/get to know each other. And they were happy to help!

2 - I kept the floral projects to a minimum. We only made two bouquets (for me and my MOH; my BMs carried parasols), 5-6 accent arrangements (centerpieces were candles, not floral), and a few bouts/corsages.

3 - My mom is crafty and good with flowers, so she made the bouquets/corsages/bouts. I wasn't too picky about the other arrangements, so as my sisters/cousins/girlfriends arrived, I would hand them each a vase and give them free reign to do what they wanted. They had so much fun! We even recruited the girls staying in the room next to us to make one. :)

Here are some more pics, from that night:

My oldest childhood friend (40+ years!) helps my mom make the bouts. They hadn't seen in each other in more than 15 years:

My sister was SO proud of her "minimalist" arrangement:

The arrangements start to come together.  A couple of them needed a little "help" after the fact, but the bulk of the work was done!

Completed arrangements on the buffet table the next day (including my sister's single bloom) - I know they're not perfect, but I didn't really care - they really were made with love!