Weddingbee boards

It will really depend on what flowers you want.

If you want mums- they are super cheap and you could probably do it all for $100.

If you want something like peonies or calla lillies- much more expensive.

To give you an example- I did 1 bride bouquet, 4 BM bouquets, 7 bouts, and several vases of flowers for the church.  I used circus roses, spray roses, hypericum berry, and greens and got all the flowers for $150.  (floral wire was like $3, the ribbon I used to wrap the bouquets was off a shower gift).

So can you give us an idea of what kinds of flowers you want?  Or maybe post a couple of inspiration pictures?  Because without knowing the flowers, the estimate would be really broad (ie like you $250-1000 spread!).

I just noticed that you're in the UK, so you'll have to adapt (and you're getting married on my 30th birthday!!).

In order to get her a firm budget, you'll have to nail down what you want- which flowers, how many stems in each bouquet, etc. because that will determine the price.

Are there any online wholesale florists in the UK?  If so, go on there and see how much the flowers are.

 gerbera daisies, dalias, spider mums, kermit mums, peonies (not in season), tulips (esp parrot) (again, not in season)

The gerber daisies are pretty reasonable, as her the mums.  Anything out of season (peonies and tulips) will be exhorbitantly expensive.  You can substitute garden roses for peonies, but I'm not sure of their cost.  Dalias I think are also a little pricey.

So, nail down what you want, figure out how many stems of each you'll need, do to an online wholesaler, and figure out what it will cost.  Keep in mind that the wholesalers sell in bulk, so you may have to buy the flowers in multiples of 12, 25, etc.  You don't want to pay for a whole lot of extra flowers you won't be using!

The only way to know how many stems is to actually put one together, or to be able to count exactly from a photo.  (Also- you will want to order a few extra stems in case one flower breaks or something like that)  And it all depends one how big you want them to be.

I DIYed my flowers and practiced twice before the big day.  I purchased 2 dozen roses and 1 bunch of hypericum berries.  I then assembled and disassembled the same flowers over and over again until I got the bouquet I wanted- then I did the same for the BM bouquets, then I snipped some down and did the bouts.  (I took pictures of everything so that I would remember and be able to repeat it)

I found that online retailers were much more reasonable- and I could guarantee they would have what I wanted.  If you rely on a floral shop or something and don't order in advance, then you can't be sure they will have what you want.

I went with www.bloomsbythebox.com and when I took their prices to a local florist she said she couldn't sell me the loose flowers for that low a price.  Also- Bloom by the Box offers free shipping.

For info on online wholesalers, check out these posts:

http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/diy-flower-vendor-recommendations

http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/diy-flowerswhere-to-get-them-how-to-begin

The first one includes more info about my DIY- with photos and stuff.

Good luck!